For a while I practiced mantra japa with my mala beads. I so enjoyed using my voice in that way. I found the repetition soothing and the experience delightful (like deep meditation). I realized that mantra was sorely lost from my yoga practice. Why limit your mantra chant to the beginning and end of your practice (which is what I used to do with the chant Om), when you can use it all the way through?
Of course I still love to use Om, but now I mix in Namaha, srddha namaha, ma ha ra, ma, allah aznah (from the Sufi tradition), ma ha ha (I love coming up into crescent lunge while powerfully — and happily — chanting ma ha ha). Using my voice in my practice and the effect that the seed sounds have on my body and emotions has added a ability (as well as fun) to my practice (and my life, for that matter).
I think that one of the reasons I was drawn to Kundalini yoga was considering of the wonderful mantras and meditations. Two of my favorites are perfect ways to introduce the capability of sound and using your voice to your practice. Here they are:
Ra Ma Da Sa — that is a fabulous healing meditation that calms and sooths. After 11 minutes you’ll feel wonderful. You can download an MP3 of that meditation, as well as instruction, at Spirit Voyage.
Kirtan Kriya — The first day I was lead in a meditation using the Sa Ta Na Ma mantra I was blown away by how supreme it was. Click here for an excellent explanation of the mantra as well as full directions for Kirtan Kriya.
Using my voice in my yoga practice and my meditation practice has helped me to use my voice in other areas of my life. And as someone who used to smile pretty and not say anything that might rock the boat (what can I say, I was brought up with the mantra “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”), that’s quite an accomplishment.
My other reason for using mantras in my yoga and meditation practice is the vibration and energy that they produce in my body. The pancamaya model in yoga is ordered from gross to subtle. At the gross level, there are practices which work on the body, like asana and pranayama. Changing the subtle level — which is the most fundamental level for overall transformation — comes from practices like chanting and meditation. Why not combine the two with the two practices above?
Have fun using your voice and experiencing the capability of sound!
Namaste!
Original post by insideoutweightloss
