mantra

You are currently browsing articles tagged mantra.

The best laid plans of mice and men

August 20, 2010 in Yoga, creativity, mantra, music, video, writing | 1 comment

Namaste. Thanks so much for all the well wishes and welcome backs!  

I've been on a relatively fast pace since returning from India, and really felt the need to sit in quiet reflection. I headed off to Ananda Ashram for a few days of Mauna, the practice of sacred silence.

Arriving at Ananda is like coming home. No matter where you've been, the ashram always takes you back, and it's like you never left. I always pause at the old iron gates to set an intention for my stay. When I looked inwards, what came back was 'quiet'

Classical indian singing lessons at ananda ashram

Sitting down for my first simple meal, I looked up and there was the radiant Shrimati Kankana Banerjee sitting across from me.

She smiled and said, more as a statement than a question: "You're coming to my class tomorrow?"  Before I could think about an answer, I felt my head nodding yes.

Turns out that Kankana is considered the best vocalist in india and she was at Ananda to teach a weeklong immersion in Classical Indian Singing.

          You can't always get what you want.

I was a bit resistant to this idea of not just singing, but singing all-day… I mean, I made my vow not to speak for 3 days, I was committed… or rather attached to my plan.

I surrendered to the new plan, the opposite of what I 'wanted.'  That next morning, I fixed myself a really huge mug of green tea and settled in for my first lesson.

           But if you try some time.

Kankana played an ancient harmonium, and led us in stringing many single syllables into beautiful – swimming melodies called Ragas.

           You just might find. 

Practicing the Raga scales is very meditative, There's a true sense of surrender to it  She leads, you follow, it's simple, beautiful, and beyond mind.  

My friend Kamaniya said "I didn't see you leave, but noticed you were gone for some time, and saw you come back into your body, different." 

            You get what you need…

At some point, hours into the practice, I merged with the seductive sounds, sliding into a peace I've never experienced before. Words don't describe this new threshold, so I'll not even try.

Three days of Mauna practice may have been good for me, but surrender to the new plan was even better.  

I grapple with decisions sometimes. When faced with several equally nice sounding options, my mind gets all attached, looking for the 'right' decision. Is one ever really more right than the other?    

I've got this great opportunity to study with my teachers this October. It will take some effort to travel to Ohio to be with them for a few days. Planes, travel details and expenses… but mostly, being away from the students I'm so blessed to have.  

As I churn this choice in my mind, and type this, it seems I still haven't fully grasped this lesson that surrender is best. That things tend to appear right when we need them, and often not in the tidy packages we are looking for.

To make room for them, we sometimes have to un-make our minds.  Have you found yourself changing plans midstream, how did it work out?

I'll leave you with this beautiful video of Kankana singing:

Next Saturday August 28th is our free Open Mic Music Night at Yoga and Nia for Life.  And note the Live Music Yoga class with special Guest Tom Lena – 9am Sunday September 5th.    Om Shanti,  I'll see you in class.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

May All Beings Be Happy and Free

June 21, 2010 in ahimsa, mantra, video, yoga films | 4 comments

A must-see video of our favorite Mantra preformed by a middle school choir:

They are singing Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu… The beautiful mantra I share with you at the end of each Yoga Class. It means:

     "May all beings – in all places – be happy and free."   

The melody comes from Girish's latest ablum, which I'm honored to have helped produced.  You've been hearing sneak-peeks and early edits from 'Diamonds' in class.

Great news!  looks like Danielle is coming up from Jivamukti Yoga NYC to assist our Sunday morning 9:00 4'th of July Yoga class  in West Concord.  

It's a joy to teach on all the holidays.  Most studios close, and the mix of people coming from all over makes for a very nice class.  We get our practice in early and have the rest of the day to savor it.

There's just a few spots open for the local Fall retreats…  all the details on the Yoga Events Page.

Om Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu…

Happy Solstice – I'll see you in class.

-john

Tags: , ,

Why 108?

May 28, 2010 in Uncategorized, Yoga, jnana | 6 comments

my odometer at the spring Yoga retreat in massachusetts

On the way to teach at our Spring Retreat I had run a few errands, and took a long-cut to visit a friend, and look at some harmoniums.  

When I pulled up at the retreat center and shut off the car, I looked down to see a perfect 108 on my odometer.  

I teach Japa Meditation to Yoga Students, where we use a Mala, a string of 108 beads to count the recitation of a chosen Mantra, or sacred word.

In the Yoga Asana communities you'll often see people practicing 108 sun salutations for a cause, or on the change of seasons.

Invariably the question:  "Why 108?" comes up.  There are many opinions about Why 108, but here I'll mention a few that people tend to agree upon.

108 comes from multiplying 9 times 12.  Two sacred numbers in many traditions.  

9 is the number of planets that are said to rule us (the grahas),  and 12 is the number of zodiacs in Hindu astrology.  This allows 108 combinations of planet – in – signs.

The ancients measured, quite accurately, that the distance between the earth and the sun as 108 times the sun's diameter.

The distance between the earth and the moon is just about 108 times the moon's diameter.  (some say it moved)

The diameter of the Sun is 108 times the diameter of the earth.

Like the Beatles song from The White Album,  this number 9 just keeps coming back:

9 x 1 = 9
9 x 2 = 18, 1 + 8 = 9
9 x 3 = 27, 2 + 7 = 9
9 x 4 = 36, 3 + 6 = 9
9 x 5 = 45, 4 + 5 = 9
9 x 6 = 54, 5 + 4 = 9
9 x 7 = 63, 6 + 3 = 9
9 x 8 = 72, 7 + 2 = 9
9 x 9 = 81, 8 + 1 = 9
9 x 10=90, 9 + 0 = 9
9 x 11=99, 9 + 9 = 18, 1 + 8 = 9
9 x 12 = 108

and… 1 + 0 + 8 = 9 

A baseball has 108 stitches.  In Ayurveda and martial arts, there are 108 marma, or pressure points on the body.

Have you heard any others?  click on the comment link to share what you've heard.   Japa Mala can be a very powerful, and comforting  form of mediation.  in a future post I can go over the details, but it's best learned in person.  

I'd be glad to teach you the basics to get you started, shoot me an email.  You can see some nice malas on the link to the left.

Om Shanti,   -j

Tags: , , , ,

Yoga Books

September 21, 2009 in Yoga, abundance, books | Add Your Comment

 I’m often asked "What Yoga books would you recommend?"   I have more than a few favorites, but first a caveat.

Jnanna Yoga is the pursuit of knowledge.  However it can be a trap.  When we approach our Yoga studies like the rest of our modern lives we ‘collect’ Yoga knowledge. We stuff ourselves with the facts and figures and leave no room for clear understanding.  Our culture is about more.  Yoga is about less.  

There are acres of ancient texts available, ancient maps to liberation, We’re fortunate that the modern masters have translated them for us.  As usual in our culture, we can drown in our abundance.  

Paramahansa Yogananda taught that once we integrate a single sentence into our lives, only then should we move on to the next line.  A book would last a while huh?

When we approach our practice from the point of less is more, then we can appreciate the subtle.  No need to run after every workshop, or fill your schedule with classes.  Honor the space between things.  This practice of space shows up in our lives, doing less, needing less, making some space for the unfolding.  Pour a cup of something. Sit and sip. That’s enough.  

I was brought to this most amazing Puja, (fire worship) for Chamundi, a form of the Mother. Very complex.  All sorts of Mudras, Mantras, songs, and offerings to the fire.  It took 4+ hours to conclude.  At the end my teacher handed me a mala, and whispered a mantra in my ear.  "Condensed" he said.  The entire 4 hour ceremony contained in 7 words.  Yes, the rituals are sacred and important, but balance is key.

You’ll never learn all the mantras.  No need to, they are all contained in our sacred sound ‘Om.’  Can you really feel Om?  It’s no surprise that we need to approach our Yoga Studies in a Yogic mindset of balance.  Can we practice that most ancient Mantra of ‘enough?"  Okay.  here’s the short list:

I have a well used, and often referred to copy of the Jivamukti book:  

Jivamukti Yoga: Practices for Liberating Body and Soul

and you’ll need a copy of the Sutras:

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Commentary on the Raja Yoga Sutras by Sri Swami Satchidananda

 and perhaps a  translation of the Bhagavad Gita:

The Bhagavad Gita : A Walkthrough for Westerners

Start there.  Savor them, a page a day.  Let me know what you think. The teachings are vast, give up the idea of absorbing them all this time around.  

Om Shanti,  I’ll see you in class.

Tags: , , , ,

Kirtan

July 24, 2009 in Yoga, music | 2 comments

 I’ve been asked several times this week, "What is Kirtan?"   

The experience of Kirtan is beyond words, But I’ll give it a try.  Technically, Kirtan is a method of learning via call and response. Back before teachings were written down, they were passed in an oral tradition.  Students would learn the acres of scripture by repetition and rhythm.  

In the Vaishnava tradition, Kirtan is the only way to self-realization that works in our current times. Way back in the Sat-Yuga, (age of truth) people lived to be 100,000 years old, and that is the last time that Yoga really worked.  In our current age, Kali-Yug,  the age of darkness, we don’t have enough time, and must recite the name of divinity to realize our own divine nature. 

If we lived to be 100,000 years old, our IRA’s might have enough time to recover huh?

In our culture, Kirtan has come to mean songs of devotion, called out in Sanskrit by a leader; responded to in chorus along with some instruments.  You hear some of these songs in Yoga class.  The voices unite, and you feel really good after.  You can ‘hide’ in the chorus until you find your range, and join in…. Everyone can sing kirtan.  Really.

My personal experience of Kirtan is that the whole of Yoga is contained within it.

The songs are sweet, or Ahimsic in nature.  They are devotional: Ishvara Pranidad.  We sit still, in Asana.  These Mantras takes all our breath, a focused Pranayama.

Once The rhythm is established, we slide into Pratyahara, a withdrawal from the external senses.  This brings about a single point of focus: Dharana, the gateway to Meditation: Dhyana.  In this meditation we are cleansed of negative thoughts and emotions: Kriya.

When the music stops, In that viscous-stillness we look within: Swadyaya, and get a glimpse of Samadhi, our blissful true nature.  

That’s a sliver of how Kirtan has unfolded for me.  To find your truth about Kirtan, come try.  I host at least once a month, and maintain the Boston Kirtan Facebook group where you can find out about all the local offerings.

Namaste.

-j

Tags: , , , ,

Guru Purnima

July 7, 2009 in Yoga | 3 comments

On this Day, the full moon between July and August.  We are asked to remember our teachers, and honor the scriptures and textbooks that bring us knowledge and light the way on our path.

GURU BRAHMA,
GURU VISHNU,
GURU DEVO MAHESHWARAH
GURU SAKSHAT PARA-BRAHMA,
TASMAI SHRI GURUVE NAMAH.
  

Guru is creator

Guru is Sustainer

Guru is Transformer

Reverence for all my teachers.

Guru Sakshat is the phrase that is most predominant in our Physical Yoga practice.  this is the current teacher, in this moment what can you learn about yourself, and your world-view.  

 Create the posture, you are Brahma.  

Sustain the posture you are Vishnu.   

Watch for what is revealed in this moment.  The fragile space between doing. This is the essence of Guru Sakshat.  Learning what we can from our current predicament.  

Whether the quiet space of child’s posture, or becoming the eye of the storm in your most challenging posture.  This is it, this is where the Yoga comes.  don’t miss it. 

Release the posture back to where it came from,

you are Maheshwarah, or Shiva.  Transformation.

 We have to release what is, to make room for what we are becoming.  

 See all as your Guru, especially your biggest challenges.

Om Shanti, I’ll see you in class.

John

 


 

 

 

Tags: ,

Making Time for Practice

June 4, 2009 in Yoga | 2 comments

Namaste!

Just when I had thought I’d heard all the reasons not to practice, A regular and committed student told me: "My Dog ate my mala."  Didn’t we all try that in grade school with our homework?

For those new to Yoga, a Mala is a string of beads we use to keep track in our mantra, or Japa Mala practice.  The beads help focus our mind, and keep our commitment to the practice.

There are countless distractions to our regular practice, and without a firm commitment, our practice can become peripheral, or slip away completely. 

 There’s a great story from my teacher’s teacher Sri Brahmananda Saraswati.  A student asked how to make time for his meditation practice, and he replied, "No problem, 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the evening."  The student replied, "But I don’t have 10 minutes."  "Oh, Then you need an hour" was the teachers response.  

With regular practice, lasting benefits come, 10 minutes a day in between the days you take a class really help your practice to stay fresh, your mind, and body to stay supple. Where can we slow down, and make space for stillness, and a concentrated practice?  

What works best for me is getting some early morning practice in, then finding opportunities throughout the day to practice Asana and Mantra;  I plant and tend a garden at a friends house, and the walk there is a beautiful opportunity for spontaneous meditation practice.  

Sometimes it’s Japa Mala, a song, or silent appreciation is what’s needed.  What serves me best is getting out of my own way, and letting my practice out.   Slow down. Breathe. A glass of iced tea can be a meditation.  Weave practice into your day and your day will become practice.  

As the ‘nice’ weather rewards us for the Tapas of New England Winter, it’s been traditional over the years for the studios to empty out.  Not so these last few years, especially at Yoga and Nia For Life.  (Sometimes we take refuge in turning on the air conditioning)  

A bunch of us are meeting up for the special 108 minute Summer Solstice class on Sunday June 21, 12:30.   Hope you can join us!

For the record, L. and M’s dog really did eat their Mala.  I made sure to get them another, and they are practicing regularly.  If you’d like to learn Japa meditation, (it’s great beach-walking practice) let me know, we often practice this in our workshops and focus classes.  

Please share where you fit in practice, click on the ‘add your comment’ link in the upper left hand corner.  We can all learn from each other.

Om Shanti, I’ll see you in class.

-john

P.S.  Our Fall retreat is fully booked up, I’m forming a short wait-list, and if there’s enough people interested in coming we can explore adding a second weekend.  There’s also been many requests for a Spring retreat.  Let me know if that interests you, and I’ll see if we can set something up.  

 

Tags: , , ,

Mantra Yoga

May 20, 2008 in Yoga | 2 comments

Namaste.

In Japa Mala Mantra practice, once you learn the technique and mechanics, the key to results is focus, and practice.

Focus: on the result you wish to see, if it’s change, phrase it in a positive tense, see yourself as already in that new state. Really experience it with all your senses. How does it feel?

Practice: if this is new to you resolve to practice your mantra 4,000 times then, follow through with it.

Sounds like a lot? just 1 round a day for 40 days, a round each in the am and pm for 20 days, or the fast track, 4 times a day for 10 days. You can do this. You’ll be glad you’ve done this.

In the engineering community we had a saying, Want change? Make change.

Change takes action!

Thought is a start, plants the seed.

Thought + intention = the potential for change.

Thought + intention + regular practice = Transformation

This is a science. The science of clearly focusing the mind, (dharana) to make space for meditation(Dhyanna.) If you practice, you will see the results. Remember that it’s just one of many paths.

Don’t rush, fully articulate your mantra, respect the space between the beads, and the sounds. Like the transitions in your breath and your asanas, everything matters…. or nothing matters.

If you’re wearing your mala, it’s the right wrist (sun) for men, the left wrist (Lunar) for women.

I’d be glad to answer any questions, send an email or ask me after class.

Om shanti, peace… I’ll see you in class

john

Tags: , , , ,