Summer Yoga and Meditation Summary

Big thanks to all of you who attended my classes this summer at Yoga Within!

Here are a few links to past posts I mentioned in case you'd like to delve a little deeper.

In June: We practiced a Tibetan meditation of Taking and Giving known as Tong-Len which includes asanas and breathing to offer the six perfections or Paramitas for the benefit of others. (Ahem.. and ourselves!)

In July: We practiced a "loving-kindness" meditation and worked with the mantra Soham, I Am That.

And last Sunday: We practiced Sun Salutations, or Surya Namaskar.  I chanted the mantras as well as their translations and the affirmation poem my Mom and I composed a few years ago.  You can find it all here: Surya Namaskar - Salutation to the Sun.

I also introduced you to japa, or repetitive chanting of mantras using a mala, or string of 108 beads.  Curious about that sacred number?  Check out Kali's Kitchen's Post Number 108!

Legends of Yoga: The Birth of Patanjali

Patanjali, Image Source: Wikipedia

Patanjali, the author of the Yoga Sutras is often referred to as the Father of Modern Yoga, but many modern yogis know very little about him, or why he is so revered.

Around two thousand years ago Patanjali wrote the wisdom of yoga down for the first time.  He wrote it in the form of Sutras, a codified style of writing meant to be memorized and then interpreted, or "unpacked" by one's guru.

Today, The Yoga Sutra, also known as Yoga Darshana is considered one of the most authoritative texts on yoga, famous for outlining and elucidating an "eight-limbed" path known as Ashtanga (asht meaning "eight" and anga meaning "limbs").

Admittedly, scholars know little if anything about his actual birth, but nevertheless, as with all teachers of great renown, cool legends abound!



The word "Yogini" in Devanagari script.



Once there lived a great Yogini named Gonika.  She lived alone in a small hermitage where she practiced diligently and meditated happily. 

One day she caught sight of her reflection in the surface of her water pot.  She saw deeply etched lines on her face and white streaks in her hair. 

She realized that her time on earth was limited and wondered what was the point of all her realizations if she had noone to pass them on to.  So she prayed for a worthy student. 

As she stood in the river one morning offering her prayers to the sun, she contemplated this.  She scooped up water from the river in her hands, and as she did so, she saw something flutter lightly down like a feather or a little leaf.  It landed in her cupped palms.

When she looked down she was surprised at what she saw! 

Some say she saw a little snake in her palms, homage to the belief that Patanjali is an avatar or incarnation of Adishesha.  Some say it was a teeny, tiny child.  Either way, she placed the being gently onto the shore and instantly he grew into a handsome, intelligent boy who asked respectfully for permission to be her son and her student.

Gonika, of course, accepted.  She named the boy Patanjali because he had fallen or floated down (pat) into her prayer-folded hands (anjali).

He studied the wisdom of yoga with her until he was a young man and then founded his own school of yoga which emphasized swadyaya or self-study. 

His teachings have showered blessings and wisdom onto generations of yogis to this very day!

Surya Namaskar - A Prayer to the Light

In yoga, one of the most challenging and active practices is a series of flowing movements known collectively as The Sun Salutation or Surya Namaskar.

Although many schools of yoga focus on this series as a central practice, others consider it a warm-up to the asanas, a way to heat and stretch the body to improve flexibility and lessen the chance of injury.

What many modern yoga students in the west do not realize is that it is actually an ancient and timeless prayer to Surya, the Sun. 

  
photo from iloveindia.com

It is traditionally performed at sunrise with awareness and devotion, honoring various aspects of the Sun's divinity and our own radiance. 

Many yogis begin each day facing east, repeating this series of asanas 3, 9, 12, 54, or even 108 times!

Special mantras accompany each posture.  Chanting them sharpens the intellect and helps us to grow in reverence for the brillance of nature - both external and internal.

According to the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre Kirtan book, here are the mantras and translations which accompany each posture.  In the diagram below, position one is depicted just above the posture at the far left, with hands together in Namaste.



Position 1:  Om Mitraya Namaha, Prostrations to Him who is affectionate to all.
Position 2:  Om Ravaye Namaha, Prostrations to Him who is the cause of change.
Position 3:  Om Suryaya Namaha, Prostrations to Him who induces activity.
Position 4:  Om Bhanave Namaha, Prostrations to Him who diffuses light.
Position 5:  Om Khagaya Namaha, Prostrations to Him who moves in the sky.
Position 6:  Om Pushne Namaha, Prostrations to Him who nourishes all.
Position 7:  Om Hiranyagarbhaya Namaha, Prostrations to Him who contains all wealth.
Position 8:  Om Marichaye Namaha, Prostrations to Him who possesses rays.
Position 9:  Om Adityaya Namaha , Prostrations to Him who is the Son of Aditi.
Position 10:  Om Savitre Namaha, Prostration to Him who is fit to be worshipped.
Position 11:  Om Arkaya Namaha, Prostrations to Him who is the reproducer of everything.
Position 12:  Om Bhaskaraya Namaha, Prostrations to Him who is the cause of luster.

If you'd like to hear these mantras pronounced, you can check out this kind-of-scratchy but cool, old-school recording at Geet Ganga by clicking here.

Last summer, at a particularly challenging point in our lives, my Mom and I composed the following prayer together to encourage ourselves and our yoga practice. 

It is a liberal translation of the original Surya Namaskar mantras written in affirmation style.  For us, it personalizes and embodies the feeling-vibration of each mantra and its accompanying position. 

Just like the Sanskrit version, we chant each line mentally (or out loud with the drone of the Shruti Box) as we move through the asanas.

It is very close to our hearts, so truthfully, it is with some hesitancy that I post it. 

I generally prefer to keep it to myself, or include it only orally as part of live teachings to promote a more traditional and intimate understanding of the Philosophy of Yoga.  But so many of you in Yoga teacher training programs in the last year have requested it, that I offer it to you with thanks and love, here in writing now. 

I hope that by doing so, you will be encouraged to salute and radiate your own highest Self regardless of what's happening (or not happening) in your life today. 

A Prayer to the Light

I am a friend to all.

I open myself to change.

I bow to the Light.

My inner Light shines.

I move through life with Grace.

I am helpful to all.

I am generous, warm, and open-hearted.

I am strong.

I am part of Divine Creation.

I like who I am.

I am growing.

I radiate Peace.

- Colleen and Tara Woltjen, August, 2010

The following mantra may be chanted at the end of Surya Namaskar practice to reiterate the benefits:

ādityasya namaskāran ye kurvanti dine dine
āyuḥ prajñā balam vīryam tejasteśān ca jāyate
आदित्यस्य नमस्कारन् ये कुर्वन्ति दिने दिने
आयुः प्रज्ञा बलम् वीर्यम् तेजस्तेशान् च जायते

By performing Sun Salutation day by day,

your age, consciousness, strength, essence of humanity
and glow will never fade away.

Om Hraum Mitraya Namaha - May the light of friendship shine, drawing noble companionship!