Mindfulness yoga for Spring, 2019 was devoted to Chants and Mudra teaching at Greendglade Community Center. Spring brought us life awaking and using sublime energy of mantra sounded like a good theme for my series.

“Chanting is a pleasure that transcends the senses; it takes us beyond the bounds of time and space Thus it soothes in a most profound way. It soothes on a cellular level. It merges our finite identity with the infinite, and so dissolves us. It relieves us from the sights and sounds and stimulation of the material world and delivers us into a spiritual space, where the sound is God (Sabd Brhma). Through the sweetness of devotional surrender, mantra turns the negative into positive.”

~ Arundhati Maknerjee

Teaching chanting our western minds brought some obstacles on our way to synchronize minds and hearts in this creative process. There was no problem with sounds production, but a devotional part was lacking at the beginning of our group work.

Mantra / Chanting Benefits

Pronunciation: By enunciating the mantra, the tongue taps certain points along the roof of our mouths, sending signals to the hypothalamus, which in turn, regulates the chemical activity streaming into all parts of the brain and body.

Rhythm: Through repetition of the mantra, patterns of sound are inscribed onto the brain. The unconscious becomes the conscious, the automatic becomes deliberate, the mindless becomes heartfelt. Through repetition, the mantra washes over us, as the waves in the sea gradually get us wet. It dissolves us into unison, which is the essence of yoga. Chanting of the mantra, which is all about sounds and vibrations, is the most important. So it comes with a meter or pitch and rhythm.

Projection: When we chant from the navel point while articulating the mantra, we not only stimulate the upper palate, but we vibrate the central channel by which prana, or, life force, flows–what yogis for millennia have referred to as the shushmuna (or shushumna by some translations). This dual process is said to move us into the realm of anahat–the realm “without boundary.”

Thus it opens up our intuitive power, as after a few weeks of work, Lyn – Chants & Mudra participant shared:

“Last week was amazing.  I have been chanting every morning in my volcanic rock bath and love the resonance and feeling of well-being I experience. I was very surprised to discover this as I am sound sensitive and often avoid or shut down sound as it makes me irritated and angry. Not so with chanting!  I believe the vibration is resonating in different parts of my body and is balancing my energy. Last Sunday I spent 4 hours power-hosing and chanting “Ohm Gum Ganapataye Namaha”. I finished the work and felt amazingly relaxed, calm and content. Last year the same task left me irritable, grumpy and out of sorts with life. But sounds penetrate everything! “

Is it amazing to vibrate yourself from “inside out” using sounds.

“As music has charms to soothe a savage beast, so the spiritual sound of mantra soothes the restless mind…”

New series of Mindfulness Yoga: Breath Jounrey will start on May 3td, 2019 at Panorama/ Greenglade Community center. Come to join us to discovery your breath jounrey in a full potential in supporting circle of mindfulness lovers.

Posted by Veronika Prielozna, MA, RYT500 & C-IEHP founder of Mindfulness Yoga. Teaching yoga at Panorama/ Greenglade Community and Oak Bay Rec Monterey, Victoria BC.

Reference:

Inspired by an article of Arundhati Maknerjee and energy of Mindfulness Yoga: Chants & Mudra series. https://blog.sivanaspirit.com/sp-gn-mantras-the-science-behind-its-effectspart-ii/