The Enchanted Prana (#42, #43. #44)

My heart is so full at this moment as I sit out in my back yard. Inside my mind I hear the sound of stillness. I use to call it the sound of silence until I learned to hear it even in the noise. It is the sound of the unmanifested. It's the sound of space and the stillness between noise. It's a sound which reminds me that there is always peace among the defined chaos. Close to me I hear my hair crackling around my ears and the wind as it blows through my ear canal. In my reach- I hear flies buzzing and the bench I'm sitting on creaking. In and around my yard, I can hear birds and crickets chirping, leaves dancing in the wind, the buzz of bees and the hum of hummingbirds playing, my neighbor’s pool fountain flowing, air conditioning units running, cars passing by and dogs barking. I take it further....I hear the constant rush of the busy street several blocks away, a lawn mower, construction, more dogs, more leaves and more birds. I close my eyes for just a moment and reach out as far as my focus will go and I hear 2 airplanes- one low, one high flying nearby. Now I bring it all the way back in, one at a time, bringing my attention closer and closer until I finally reach that place of stillness again.

I wanted to take you on that little journey mainly to tell you one thing- I was just as connected to the furthest sound of the airplanes as I was to the sound of stillness within my own mind. When we bring our awareness to whatever is happening now, we are finding a place of peace and meditation. It is not as complicated as we often think it is. Yes it's nice to be in an actual quiet place, but know that no matter where you are, you can find peace. Easier said than done, I know, but the more we practice…the more we begin to truly understand what “peace” actually is.

My whole life I have felt a connection to something that is beyond this world. I was fearful of this connection at times because I couldn’t explain it. I went through small periods of time where I would try to meditate, but I never quite understood “bringing my mind into the present moment”. I didn’t realize that it was as simple as listening and feeling a single breath. Instead, I would count my breaths and in the middle of counting, my mind would be wandering. Last year, exactly a year ago, I took my first conscious breath. Yes I’ve been conscious in the past, but it was the first time that I understood what I was doing. It was the first time I was “aware” of the stillness in my mind and was okay with it. Now I can almost immediately hear that sound of "stillness" and it brings me so much peace inside of the fear I felt as a child. It was also the first time I realize I could observe the chatter in my mind as if I was a spectator on the sidelines. Kinda made me feel a little schizo, but it was also quite liberating!

My parents have taught me so much about meditation….

-My dad is very active, outside mountain biking several times per week. Due to the extreme trails he rides, his mind must be keen and constantly in the present moment. If he loses focus for even a short time, it could cause him a bad spill. Although he is a very spiritual person, I think he would say that this is his predominant method of meditation! It was quite amazing for me to realize that something so active could move you into such a deep, focused practice of meditation!

-My mom, although she is also active in nature, walking quite often, she has taught me about still meditation. She introduced me to Chakras! “The Sanskrit word Chakra literally translates to wheel or disk. In yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda, this term refers to wheels of energy throughout the body. There are seven main chakras, which align the spine, starting from the base of the spine through to the crown of the head. To visualize a chakra in the body, imagine a swirling wheel of energy where matter and consciousness meet. This invisible energy, called Prana, is vital life force, which keeps us vibrant, healthy, and alive.” (Taken from www.Chopra.com). I found this idea so incredibly powerful and special. There is something very healing about drawing your attention throughout your body with a particular thought, focus and color in mind. At the bottom of this post, I will give a short summary for each of the 7 Chakras with their corresponding colors.

Because I just came up on a year since I started consistently meditating, I thought it would be special to create a scene in which my enchanted character would showcase each Chakra throughout her body. She would be like a fairy goddess of chakras and spiritual energy! I challenge you to find a place of stillness as often as you can during the day. Just bring your attention inward and be aware of a few breaths.  Not only has this brought me more peace & balance, but it has also quieted my mind enough to receive more inspiration and revelation. Soon, it won’t even be necessary to be in a quiet room or closet (although that’s still really nice), you can also find that place in the middle of a crowded city!

Introducing….

The Enchanted Prana

#42

#43

#44

{Closeup Crops for small details, image quality and makeup}

Behind the Scenes:

The Crown:

I've gotta say that this color scheme was quite challenging! When you see a rainbow...its beautiful, but trying to dress someone in the colors of the rainbow from toe to head...is a little scary! One of the first things I knew was that I wanted to collaborate with my mom on the forehead necklace pendants! She has a business of buying and selling incredible gems, crystals and other minerals and I knew she would be so excited to look for the perfect pieces. Once I asked her, she immediately started searching and sending me pictures of gorgeous stones! We landed on this STUNNING indigo African Amethyst for her forehead (representing the "third eye"). And then this breathtaking swirly green Malachite for her Heart Chakra pendant. I was in love!
[She works mainly through facebook and you can get in touch with her about anything you might want, on there! www.facebook.com/TheJoyfulMystic]

I wanted to create some sort of tall, violet colored headpiece for her "Crown Chakra". I couldnt decide which flower looked more violet so I did both. I used this paper fan as the base then added lots of flowers and leaves to it! Its kinda wacky and it was REALLY uncomfortable for Jill to wear, but she totally pulled it off!

As you can see below, I'm NOT a clean creator :-/!

The "Dress" (or something like that)

I just needed colors!! I found these yellow and sequins tops from the thrift store, then added all this long red sheer fabric from "The Enchanted Awakening" shoot, bought a few yard of this green fabric which perfectly matched the malachite pendant to use as the wing-ish things and v'walla! My costume!

You also might recognize these beautiful arm cuffs. They were originally from "The Enchanted Discovery" shoot I did in Louisiana. They were made by my incredibly talented friend, Ashley of Freckles Fairy Chest! I just added a few orange flowers along with the monarch butterfly to represent the 2nd, Sacral orange Chakra. This Chakra is connected to our passion, creativity, sensuality and reproductive organs. I thought having flowers and a butterfly would represent "life" very well!

Testing out the Utah location!

My brother in law makes a good model! 

Hair, Makeup & Model:

Lets start with my model! My sister in law, Dr. Jill has always been in my mind as a model, but I just hadn't received the inspiration to use her yet.I had this particular shoot planned for this month, but I still didn't have my model. Jill and her husband (my brother in law) David were coming into town this month with their brand new baby (yes, she just had a baby!!!) and Jill offered to help out. The second she offered, I got chills all over and I imagined her as my model! I asked, she accepted. Not only did she look beautiful as this character, but the reasoning has become more apparent to me. Jill, being a new mommy has needed to learn really quickly how to find balance in her life. Staying grounded while creating life, being strong in her career, having and open heart with this new little life she created, communicating her needs to her husband and family, having the motherly intuition  to do what is best for her child and trying to stay connected to a higher power that can help her! That last sentence described the Chakras in a way from bottom to top. Anyway...This could fit together with anyone, but I thought motherhood was a beautiful representation.

Once again, Brittany of "Makeup by Brittany Benko" rocked this incredible look! Of course when I told I wanted her purple eyes trailing up to violet along with blue lips and collar bone contouring she was so excited!! I love when I give her the opportunity to work with bright colors!! She does such a good job! The main thing used for color including lips was The Electric Pallet by Urban Decay. She also used Anastasia Beverly Hills Blonde Dip Brow! GORGEOUS!! I love you to pieces, Brit!

At the same time, I was adding extensions in a very sloppy way, but it works for pics!!

My lovely gal-pal Sarah did the majority of the "behind the scenes" pictures while I was shooting!! LOVE that she is willing to help me outside of our "real work" doing weddings and stuff! Shes always so thorough and I'm never left unsatisfied!! Love love love you, babe!!

Ready to go!:

Of course we were anxious to get to our location while the sun was still up. Although the sun went down before I got all the shots I wanted...We were able to magically make it happen and make the necessary adjustments for the lighting we were given! I have been having so much fun with my off camera flash, Glow by FlashPoint found on Adorama. So easy and incredible!! I used it for all 3 images. It works with back light pictures, shady pictures and dark scene pictures!! I'm in love with it!

Jill being and awesome new mommy!! Pumping in the car!! I couldn't resist this picture!!

I'm always on a time crunch...no matter how much extra time I give myself!! Here I am doing her nails while driving....WHILE she is pumping!! Love this life!

And here rushing to get her clothed!! Aren't these sun pictures that Sarah took, so beautiful!! LOVE

What would an enchanted shoot be without Andrew (my husband) pulling funny faces while being my slave?! The wind gusts were pretty rough at times causing the headpiece to pull on pour Jill's head!! Andrew had to keep blocking the wind with my reflector so she could have a break!

And then my brother in law, Art was an awesome addition to the Enchanted team. He was our taxi and my light stand man! the wind was freaking me out and we were actually kinda high up on a rock so I was thankful to have him there holding it steady!

Here is Sarah helping Jill down the rock! So thankful for my helpers!! So fortunate!! 

Here I am looking at my shooting angle options! Mind you..I was/am still in pain from a fall I had from a rope swing onto my tail bone, so any chance I had to lay down was amazing :-)

Also trying to figure out the best ways to let the fabric fall. Its not easy! The wind takes it where ever it wants to go, but it obeyed us and did what I needed...with a few tricks :-)

I am SOOO in love with this picture of the 3 of them! Especially Andrew!! hahahaha!!!Honestly it was one of my favorite pictures of Jill with her hair blowing all pretty!!

After the crown came off, Jill was standing next to the car and she looked so radiant! I had to snag one more close up!

After a LONG day...we went to a delicious pizzeria and devoured it!! Even my gluten free (mulch-as my brother in law would call it) pizza was amazing!! PLUS Jill got to rock this awesome makeup in public! Going somewhere in public after these shoots is becoming quite a tradition!!

This is my dream! Its my passion!! I LOVE this with all my energy!! I'm so thankful for every helping hand along the way!! I am so lucky to have people who care so much and enough to help! Thank you all for reading to the end and supporting the project! Its like my own baby!

XOXO,
Kira Sanoja


Chakra Info:

The Chakras of Matter

The first three chakras, starting at the base of the spine are chakras of matter. They are more physical in nature.

First Chakra: The Muladhara is the chakra of stability, security, and our basic needs. It encompasses the first three vertebrae, the bladder, and the colon. When this chakra is open, we feel safe and fearless.

Second Chakra: The Svadhisthana chakra is our creativity and sexual center. It is located above the pubic bone, below the navel, and is responsible for our creative expression.

Third Chakra: The Manipura chakra means lustrous gem and it’s the area from the navel to the breastbone. The third chakra is our source of personal power.

The Fourth Chakra: The Connection Between Matter and Spirit
Located at the heart center, the fourth chakra, anahata is at the middle of the seven and unites the lower chakras of matter and the upper chakras of spirit. The fourth is also spiritual but serves as a bridge between our body, mind, emotions, and spirit. The heart chakra is our source of love and connection.
When we work through our physical chakras, or the first three, we can open the spiritual chakras more fully.

The Chakras of Spirit

Fifth Chakra: The Vishuddha chakra is the fifth chakra, located in the area of the throat. This is our source of verbal expression and the ability to speak our highest truth. The fifth chakra includes the neck, thyroid, and parathyroid glands, jaw, mouth, and tongue.

Sixth Chakra: The Ajna chakra is located in between the eyebrows. It is also referred to as the “third eye” chakra. Ajna is our center of intuition. We all have a sense of intuition but we may not listen to it or heed its warnings. Focus on opening the sixth chakra will help you hone this ability.

Seventh Chakra: The Sahaswara chakra or the “thousand petal lotus” chakra is located at the crown of the head. This is the chakra of enlightenment and spiritual connection to our higher selves, others, and ultimately, to the divine. It is located at the crown of the head.

- See more at: http://www.chopra.com/ccl/what-is-a-chakra#sthash.geLywXFb.dpuf


Camera Settings and Stats
Camera: Canon 5D MarkIII
Lens: Sigma 24mm-105mm f/4
(in order of image)
Aperture: F/11, F/4, F/4
Shutter: 1/80, 1/60, 1/60
ISO: 160, 160, 160