PAC 156, Yoga and the Chakras

I'm honored to be a guest in your Yoga class today to introduce an asana practice which focuses on the pranamayakosha.

It is adapted from the "Yoga of Lady Niguma" which was taught to me directly by Geshe Michael Roach.  Through postures and meditation, we will concentrate on the movement of prana through the nadis and chakras.

According to the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, there are 72 000 channels in the body through which life energy flows.  They intersect at hubs referred to as chakras, meaning "wheels".  These chakras are knots which prevent the rising of Kundalini.

Tibetan Buddhist practitioners of Yoga have their own unique interpretation of this system of subtle channels which you can read about here, here and here.

Geshe Michael describes the history of this series and the life of Lady Niguma here.

And teaches the first series in full here.

I hope you learn something today which is of help to you in your studies and in your daily life.

I look forward to seeing you next month for an Introduction to the Language and Literature of Yoga.

The Holiest River in the World

Athabasca River, Jasper Alberta

"What is the holiest river in the world?

Some might say the Ganges in India. Others would propose the Jordan River or the River Nile.

But I say the holiest river is the one that's closest to where you are right now.

Go to that river and commune with it. Throw a small treasure into it as an offering.

Next, find a holy sidewalk to walk on, praise the holiness in a bus driver, kiss a holy tree, and shop at a holy store."

By:  Rob Brezsney author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.



The Power of Sacred Sound, June 27, 2014

Tibetan Singing Bowl, with Engraved Tara

This Friday, June 27, from 7-9 pm join me at Yoga Within to make some joyful noise!

Nada Yoga, the Yoga of Sound, uses mantras, chanting, singing and storytelling to purify our hearing and speech, raising our vibrational resonance in the world and within.

Nada Yoga embraces the notion that the basic stuff of the universe is vibration, and that by resonating with it, using verbal, instrumental and subtle sound as a medium for meditation, we can not only enjoy, but elevate our lives.



No musical experience necessary!

Prayers for Shyamdas

Oh, it is with many tears that I offer prayers for release from samsara for one of my most beloved Kirtan Wallahs EVER.  Shyamdas left his body in India a couple of days ago.  World-wide his students and fans are saddened, but I doubt he's feeling the same way. 

Since I saw him in the Fall of 2009 at the Omega Ecstatic Chant Retreat in New York, I've been affectionately referring to him as the "Drunken Uncle" of the Kirtan scene. 

I arrived that weekend utterly broken hearted and desperately in need of a big bhakti bandaid and some serious pressure washing for my nadis. 

All of the artists were amazing:  Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, Snatam Kaur, Deva Premal and Miten, David Newman (Durga Das) and Vishal Vaid... but I was so shattered that I just couldn't relate to either the ecstatic dancing or the sweet meditative vibes. 

I simply wasn't "in the mood".

At four in the morning, onto the stage came Shyamdas.  He had the voice and air of the last drunk Uncle standing at the end of a night of wedding celebrations.  His Bhava, and the perfection of his imperfection cracked me wide open. 

You can get a glimpse of what I mean in this Shyamdas Tribute on YouTube from Substratum Films.  The clips were pulled from interviews for the upcoming documentary One Track Heart, which I shared with you just a few days ago in this post.

Shyamdas-ji, from the bottom of my busted and bursting heart, thank you!  May you be forever melting in Blissful Union with the Divine!  Jai Sri Rahde!  Jai Sri Krishna!

Padmanadi Vegetarian Restaurant

Oooooh I just came back from dinner at the most wonderful place, Padmanadi Vegetarian Restaurant!

Family run and beautifully decorated, the food is a delicious mix of Thai, Indonesian and Indian cuisine.  Totally vegan and totally amazing!

We shared coconut rice and two dishes, Lemon "Ribs" and "Chicken" Curry followed by dessert and steamed soy milk chai... mmm... what a treat!

I hope you're having a great long weekend enjoying the beautiful summer weather and the fabulous lightning shows.  See you at yoga tomorrow!

Soham: I am That

Soham is an abstract or formless mantra, a mantra "without qualities".

Like the bija mantra Om, it doesn't invoke any particular deity.  Rather, it invites us to recognize our unity with the absolute or infinite nature of the universe.

The formless mantras are among the oldest, originating in the Vedic texts.  Yet we repeat this mantra naturally with each and every breath, "Soh" as we inhale, and "Hum" as we exhale.

As such, this universal mantra calms the body and mind, helping us to "Be Here Now".

Try concentrating on the sound of "Soh" as you inhale and feel the energy rising from the base of the spine along the sushumna nadi toward the crown.  As you exhale "Hum", feel the energy descending from the crown to the base of the spine. 

For a more detailed explanation of how to use this mantra in meditation, click here to visit swamij.com.

Although the vibration and the awareness are more important than the translation, the meaning is So-Aham, I am That or That I am.

Saraswati with Swans

This mantra helps the meditator realize that s/he is existence itself, timeless and without limitation of qualities or form. 

It is used mainly by experienced yogis and those who do not identify with a particular personification of the divine. 

It is sometimes referred to as the Hamsa mantra meaning "swan", a symbol of purity, prana, detachment, spiritual realization, escape from samsara, and identification with the Atman or Highest Self. 

Madhava!

I'm still swooning from the kirtan this afternoon at Acu Harmony and Health in Stony Plain!

I can't quite tell if it was the talent of Brian McLeod and Marcus Fung or the delicious raw chocolate Lacie handed me on the way out, or both, but I'm still feeling kirtan-high, and its so sweet!

Kirtan is a call-and-response style of singing.  It is a practice of Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion.  Basically, you sing divine names over and over and over again!

The simplicity of the words, the stories behind them, and the way the songs start out slow and quiet and get louder and faster and then softer again seems to rattle things into place. 

I think of kirtan as a pressure washer for the nadis - it really gets the crap out!

Today, we were a small group of women, like giggly gopis, charmed and enchanted by Brian's Krishna-like flute and digeridoo, and Marcus's infectous smile as he shared songs and dances honoring the voluptuous curves of the Divine Mother. 

But kirtan events can be anything from a family gathering to a huge festival featuring famous kirtan wallas like Jai Uttal, Krishna Das, Shyam Das, Bhagavan Das, Deva Premal and Miten, Snatam Kaur, Karnamrita Dasi, Durga Das (David Newman) and many more.

Kirtan is sweet in a way you can't understand unless you've tried it.  The same way you can't explain honey to someone who hasn't tasted it.  It's Madhava....

Madhava is a name of Krishna meaning "Sweet as Honey", describing the irresistable allure of the divine. 

One morsel of the All-Attractive One and you're hooked!

I didn't always find Kirtan sweet. 

When we were first introduced during my Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training I found it intruiging but strange. 

The Sanskrit words got jumbled.  I couldn't read the long strings of syllables fast enough to join in.  I was sore from sitting crosslegged on the hard, rough, sloped cement floor of the temple and worse yet, like most people, I was brutally self conscious of my voice. 

Sometimes the melodies were filled with dreamy longing or dripping with devotion I wasn't relating to.  Sometimes the tamborines and droney harmonium were just too clattery and wierd. 

And sometimes the songs made me feel things... things I wasn't aware I was feeling... good or bad, happy or sad, the kirtan drew it out.

Soon enough, like commercial jingles, the tunes got stuck in my head.  I started to have favorites.  They started to mean something to me.  The taste of the divine name was growing on me.

It stopped mattering to me whether or not my voice sounded "good".  I realized that like the other practices of yoga, it wasn't about performance or perfection.  It was a medium for transformation and I had lots of love and pain all mixed up together in my heart that needed an outlet.

Now my favorite ashram pastime is singing these love songs to God in the ocean of bliss and tears with my friends.  In times of joy they are a celebration and in times of heartache and disappointment they are medicine.

Kirtan lets us express ourselves and our emotions without indulging in or having to share our personal stories.  We can be in community with friends or strangers regardless of our mood, and lift our spirits by actually loosening knots around the Anahata Chakra. 

In other words, in kirtan we can literally sing our hearts out!

It was super sweet today to be part of the Stony Plain Sangha!  As sweet as honey in fact... or rather Lacie's artisan raw chocolate! 

Thank you, it was wonderful,  I can't wait for the next one!