1-4pm Sunday, July 22nd at Indaba Yoga Studio
Explore vinyasa krama through the sound of live music. Deepen into postures based on resonant sound. Release with restorative yoga and sound vibrations enabling energy to flow freely.
The 3 hour workshop is split into three sections, enabling the practitioner to explore sound and movement in varied forms.
For more information, see http://indabayoga.com/workshops/
om ity ekaksharam Brahma / vyaharan mam anusmaran
yah prayati tyajan deham / sa yati paramam gatim (BG VIII.13)
If one can remember while dying to utter OM, he/she will go to the supreme goal.
I was always a bit baffled by this verse in the Bhagavad Gita. I thought that Krishna would have said, “utter my name,” but instead he suggests to “utter OM” while dying. I have often heard many of my friends who are Krishna devotees say, “OM is for yogis or Vedantists,” not for Krishna bhaktas, and I have noticed that many of the Krishna mantras do not start with OM as do many of the other deity mantras. But interestingly enough, in the very next chapter, in verse 17, Krishna says, “I am the sound OM.” The sound of the Divine in its essential manifestation, is found in OM, in other words by saying OM you are saying God’s name. I think this verse is giving instruction for how to consciously pull one’s soul out of their physical body at the time of death with the potency of OM.
Krishna is known as the supreme yogi, and the best way to understand his teachings is to immerse yourself in the practices He suggests, as insight is more likely to dawn through experience. My guru Shri Brahmananda taught me to chant the bija mantras in relationship to the chakras. Because of his guidance I practice shavasana as a practice to prepare me for my own death. While lying on my back, I recite the bija mantras out loud, moving through the first six chakras, from the root (muladhara) to the third eye (ajna): LAM, VAM, RAM, YAM, HAM, OM. When I come to the sahasrara chakra I silently chant OM, and this silent chanting of OM acts as a profound launching of my awareness into an expanded reality. After that final OM there is a profound letting go of the physical body-all of the joints between the bones seem to unhinge, tension releases, and there is a feeling of great spaciousness -perhaps it is close to what I can only imagine and assume to be something like dying-my breath stops and along with it thought and sensation-I feel like I am floating bodiless-a freed spirit. This usually only lasts for a moment or so, but nonetheless it is quite extraordinary that the chanting of the bija mantras culminating in that final silent OM can facilitate an experience of kevalam kumbhaka-a spontaneous suspension of the breath and thought, classified in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika as a preliminary level of samadhi. For a short, almost timeless moment we can experience yoga-freed of all desire-feeling whole and complete, needing nothing. You don’t stop breathing in the normal sense, instead you become integrated with the breath to such an extent that there is no need to breathe, no need to grasp the breath and bring it “into you.” To be able to die with ease and a sense of direction is the definition of a good death.
Previous to that final silent OM, with each successive chanting of the bija mantras and focusing on the associated chakra and area of the body, I always feel like I am putting my life, via my body, in order. It is a “cleaning house” kind of feeling, where things that are no longer necessary are let go of and things that were out of place get put back and the “house” is more organized and spacious for it. It also prepares me for the silence of that final OM. I don’t think you can take the short cut ignoring the other chakras and mantras and just lie down and silently chant one OM and facilitate the same kind of experience. If you don’t believe me, just try it yourself. Lie down and inhale, then exhale with the sound of OM and see if the abbreviated experience is equal to the methodical process of moving up through the chakras, dropping each body part in successive order by means of the breath and mantra.
During the death process, each element leaves the body in an organized progression starting with the element of earth in the root chakra and moving upward into water, fire, air and then followed by more subtle forms of ether. The shavasana practice I describe above-the methodical process of successively moving upward consciously through means of the bija mantras-is a meditation on the dissolution of the elements that occurs naturally at the time of death to everyone, although it may occur more consciously to a yogi. This process is referred to in the previous verse in the Gita, where Krishna gives instruction by saying, “closing all the gates of the body and drawing the mind into the heart, then raise the prana into the head” (BG VIII.12). When the prana is in the higher chakras of the head, if we utter the sound of OM at that precise moment, we might be able to aim our soul’s flight out through the top of the head, the sahasrara or crown chakra, and reach our supreme goal-liberation. Shavasana, or corpse pose, can be a practice for that important moment, as the Mundaka Upanishad describes: “OM is the bow, the arrow is our own soul, Brahman is the target, the aim of the soul.”
For many practitioners of yoga, the time spent in shavasana is taken as a time to rest from the exertion of the asanas. But when the practitioner begins to investigate the significance of shavasana, he/she will realize that it provides a tangible opportunity to consciously practice dying and even to experience samadhi. When we practice dying, we can become liberated from the fear of dying, or abhinivesha, which is an obstacle to yoga, and move towards a good death and the ultimate attainment of the supreme goal, which is cosmic consciousness-maha samadhi, liberation from samsara-no need to take another birth.
-Sharon Gannon
For most of us, daily life can be a rush from start to finish; getting from point A to B, focusing on completing tasks, and in general acting and reacting to the world around us rather than tuning in with how these interactions resonate within. After all, we are beings living in this world, and that entails keeping a roof over our heads, food on the table and attending to friends and family. In other words, daily life involves rolling up our sleeves and getting our hands dirty.
What we sometimes overlook is that we are also beings of this world; we not only interact on a day to day level, but we have an impact others, some of who we will never meet, some of whom aren’t even born yet. In fact, we contribute to the earth’s very creation. How?
The essence of all of life begins with vibration. These vibrations are the seeds of energy and start on a very subtle level- through our thoughts. When left unobserved, stronger energetic movements are triggered that eventually manifest in the physical body, through expression, sound and action. Karma, the sanskrit word for action, starts with one subtle thought, and it’s up to us whether to feed that seed and encourage it to take root, growing into words and more physical forms of action, or not to feed that seed, diminishing its worth and using our energy elsewhere. This is true of both positive and negative thought.
Being human implies sensitivity; we are animate, fluid creatures who don’t come with an instruction manual. Instead, we tend to rely instead on instincts such as intuition and our sense organs to guide us. Not unlike a handmade instrument, we each resonate at our own pitch, creating unique vibrations that reverberate off of everyone and everything within our energetic field. Some beings have very strong energy fields, felt like lightening as they enter a room. Others have more refined energy, a quieter presence, but not necessarily less powerful.
When we have the opportunity to slow down and sit with the subtle forces operating within, we begin to open an inner world of sound, deep listening and compassionate understanding for the self and all beings. We listen to the rivers of our internal fluids flowing, the breath moving our thoughts like wind blowing the clouds overhead, the rough waters of our deepest fears and the calmness and peace of our safe havens; the super conscious observing all.
Chanting mantra enables us to tune in and realign our subtle vibrations with the most granular thoughts, polishing away the build up of residue until the vibrations become a reflection of our true divine nature. Indeed, we are sensitive instruments.
Our voice is one of our most important tools in making lasting, positive change in the world. With our voice we can represent all the beings who go unheard; the trees, animals in the forest, babies that are unable to protect themselves. When speaking truthfully from a place of compassion, it can also be the greatest gift we give to those in our lives.
So often in our society we are taught to shut up and listen, yet we end up hearing the wrong voice and wrong messages; messages that make us feel small and insignificant rather than full of unlimited potential and strength. As a result we become inhibited, questioning whether we have something worthwhile and important to contribute to the world we live in. We may be dishonest in fear of upsetting others, and may even use words to manipulate intentionally or unintentionally to shield us from our own insecurities. Our throat and jaw become tight due to the stress of having an over-active, ungrounded mind.
Yoga is about learning to listen to the inner voice; watching the often turbulent sea of thoughts with our ear to the deep waters of our subconscious. We listen to our breath setting the pace of our movement, and through the steady inhale and exhale we stabilise and quiet the mental fluctuations that preoccupy us with the past or future rather than letting us remain truly present.
Sharon Gannon says we can see how our yoga practice is evolving by listening to the sound of our own voice. When we way what we mean and mean what we say our voice becomes more resonant; grounded. Compassion sweetens the voice, and awareness enables us to take the time that we need to find the appropriate words, enabling us to say less while conveying more.
One way of actively listening to own own voice and how it relates to others is kirtan. The practice of chanting sacred names creates a divine subtle energy; exercising the voice through repetition enables us to drop down into the depths of our tonality as a grounding force. By observing how our voice co-exists and intertwines with others we can connect energetically and feel more unified as a group. Physiologically, moving the jaw and relaxing the whole body through sound and rhythm softens the areas of held tension and releases past experiences that may contribute to blockages throughout the body.
A number of yogis I know dislike chanting and would go so far as to arrive late to class to avoid it; I dare say I can relate. About ten years ago I had my first chanting experience in a yoga class; the teacher had a harmonium and began the class with chanting. I was unaware at the time of the relationship between the practice and the chants, and I didn’t return for a full year. When I did return, however, something in me had shifted, and I felt the connection. From that point on chanting has been an important part of my practice to deepen my knowledge of the yoga sutras and as both a meditative and purifying tool. A wise man once told me the things we have an aversion to are the things we actually need to evolve. Though I wouldn’t like to take this too literally (for those of you who know about my aversion to mayonnaise, don’t expect me to start ingesting any time soon), there is some truth to placing oneself in an uncomfortable circumstance to detach from the (positive and negative) preferences of the mind.
A few years ago when I was pregnant with my son I lost my voice due to some traumatic events experienced at the time, including direct trauma to the throat. It took me months of working with a voice therapist to open this area back up, and through that process I found a new appreciation for the freedom of expression through the voice. How blessed we are to have a voice; may we use it to speak our truth, to live more openly and honestly, to have a positive impact on the world. Svaha!
Up on the rooftop click click click, down through the chimney comes ole St Nick.
No one sees him come, no one sees him go,
But the gifts he leaves in the morning are evidence he does show.
There are three states of consciousness that a normal person goes through during every 24-hour cycle: waking, dreaming and deep sleep. There is also a fourth state that is only known to advanced yogis, called Turiya: it is the state of Samadhi or super consciousness. Each of us is conscious when we are awake, but when we go to sleep at night, it is said that we “lose” consciousness. When we awake, often we do remember dreams, but we never remember deep sleep, and yet if we are not able to enjoy a deep sleep we will not feel rested on awaking. Scientific sleep deprivation studies show that a person will become severely ill and could even die if they are not allowed to experience deep sleep. It is interesting that spending time every night in deep sleep, a state that we don’t even remember, could be that important to us.
The Sanskrit word kundalini means a coiled serpent. Kundalini is our consciousness or awareness, our ability to know, to understand, to perceive ourselves and others, to make sense of things and put things together. In a normal person, she is said to lie dormant in the lowest chakra for most of the time. That place becomes her whole world-the world of mundane survival-eating, sleeping, working, etc. But secretly, there is nothing that kundalini wants more than to be reunited with her beloved Shiva, who resides in the crown chakra at the top of the head. But that reunion is difficult because she has been long imprisoned by her jailer, known to all as the mighty ego. Kundalini is beautiful, intelligent and capable; she is satyam, shivam, sundaram-truth, bliss, beauty. But like many women, she often will cloak her true form, awareness and capabilities and appear dumb in order not to appear too intelligent, lest she alienate or challenge the all powerful ego.
Even though when put under the light of discrimination, ego’s attributes pale next to the serene beauty of the bliss-filled, immortal Maheshvara, for kundalini, ego does have one thing going for him that Shiva could never boast of: a thinking mind, a heart filled with almost infinite varieties of emotions and a firm commitment to time in the form of past, present and future possibilities. To be married to ego insures you of a mortal trip: the promise of the adventure is enough to seduce most souls to put aside immortality and climb on board the ship, the train, the bus or the shiny motorcycle, which is revved up and ready to go-it even has your name on the custom made helmet, as if that is going to really protect you on the dangerous roads of life.
Succumbing to ego and allowing ego to run your life is addictive. Most ego addicts stay enthralled with ego’s promises for millions, maybe billions of lifetimes. But thank God, there are moments of respite from the constant demands of ego and for sure, kundalini secretly looks forward to these breathers. Fortunately relief usually comes on a daily basis. Every night when ego goes to sleep, kundalini quietly uncoils from her resting place at the root of the tree and stealthily moves through the central channel to unite with her beloved in the rooftop. She may ascend and descend several times during the night. Characteristic of her gracious nature, as she moves up and down along the way to her destination, she may take the time to stop and whisper or sprinkle magical dust in the form of a dream to gently aid the unfulfilled yearnings she knows all too well that live in each lotus chakra. But as day breaks, she faithfully returns unnoticed to her abode in the first chakra, and ego never knows of her nighttime rendezvous with her lover.
As normal people, we hide from our own true Self, pretending that we are ignorant, mortal and unenlightened. Identifying with ego, we spend our lives insisting that this is all there is to life. The spiritual aspirant, however, is not normal; the spiritual aspirant wants to wake up. Yoga practices stimulate that awakening. Yoga practices stimulate the awakening of kundalini. Meditation has been described as sleeping while awake. Instead of losing connection with consciousness, which is what happens when we fall asleep, in meditation the yogi sits and stays awake, trying to catch kundalini as she rises from her coiled resting place and ascends to the rooftop-Shiva’s abode of joy in the highest chakra. Much like children who attempt to stay awake on Christmas Eve to catch a glimpse of Santa, yogis attempt through rigorous sadhana to be able to see and unite with God. Some may view this as the extinguishing of ego, but to the yogi, when kundalini unfolds her wings and flies to her final destination it is also freedom for the ego as well. Samadhi is yoga through meditation; the yogi yokes their ego to kundalini and is able to ride the snake to the ultimate wish-fulfilling, immortal, blissful, stillness of the sahasrara chakra-the ultimate movement into stillness, turiya. Liberation is accomplished-all are freed from avidya. Kundalini is no longer held in prison by a time-bound, mortal ego. Ego dissolves into the radiance of a fully conscious kundalini, who is now known as her true Self: atman, cosmic consciousness. This final transformation is into prema-true and eternal cosmic love.
-Sharon Gannon
Focus of the Month Teaching Tips
Where Does She Go At Night? (December 2011)
1. Some background about the term Kundalini:
All yoga is Kundalini Yoga, because all types of yoga involve practices designed to raise kundalini to her highest potential-bliss. Kundalini is a way to describe consciousness. A yoga practitioner wants to expand their consciousness, raise their level of knowing into higher and higher realms of reality-raise their kundalini. A yogi does not want their consciousness to be stuck in the lower chakras–chained to ambitions motivated by money, sex and power. A yogi is someone who has lost interest in those objectives and goals; a yogi is not normal; a yogi wants liberation.
2. Allegory
The FOM essay gives teachings about the movement of consciousness into higher realms of bliss in the form of an allegory. Personifying the forces of kundalini, ego and shiva as characters in a story-as relatable persons-is very tantric. The Tantric tradition has a penchant for putting a face on the other. It helps to create connection and understanding of the cosmic forces at work in our lives.
The other story line at work in the essay is the birth of Christ, or more aptly: the Christ consciousness, which is another way of describing yogic awakening or enlightenment. I present the Christmas story as a psycho/physical occurrence, referring to ole St. Nick up on the rooftop-Santa Claus as kundalini in disguise.
3. Moving into stillness is the practice of yoga.
She is movement and he is stillness.
She (shakti) is movement and he (shiva) is stillness.
She (kundalini) is movement and he (cosmic consciousness) is stillness.
She (vibrancy) is movement and he (stasis) is stillness.
She (jiva) is movement and he (atman) is stillness.
She (prakriti) is movement and he (purusa) is stillness.
She (variety) is movement and he (unity) is stillness.
She (potential) is movement and he (reality) is stillness.
She (mortality) is movement and he (immortally) is stillness.
She (time-bound) is movement and he (timeless) is stillness.
4. To give students an experience of the dynamic essence of this essay-Moving into Stillness-you could teach a vigorous asana class following the chakras from lowest to highest (moving), followed by a long meditation and a long shavasana (stillness).
5. For chanting, you could use satyam, shivam, sundaram, or any mantra that invokes Shakti or Shiva. Or chant the bija mantras Lam, Vam, Ram, Yam, Ham, OM, OM
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