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!

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.