March Monthly Theme: Mantra

A mantra (from Sanskrit: man- "to think" and -tra meaning, tool) literally means "instrument of thought." Originating in ancient India out of Vedic Hinduism, mantras serve a variety of functions and are especially popular as aids to meditation and devotion. As powerful sound vibrations, mantras encompass various forms of sacred utterance (syllable, scriptural verse, or sacred formula), which can be repeated silently or chanted for different purposes such as instilling concentration, facilitating spiritual growth, and helping to visualize a deity. It is said that a mantra, when recited with proper understanding and intonation, can revitalize the mind with mystic power and help deliver it from illusion to enlightenment. Mantras have also been used in religious ceremonies to accumulate wealth, avoid danger, or even allegedly to eliminate foes.

Different sounds have different effects on human psyche. If a soft sound of wind rustling through leaves soothes our nerves, the musical note of running stream enchants our heart, thunders may cause awe and fear.

The sacred utterances or chanting of Sanskrit Mantras provide us with the power to attain our goals and lift ourselves from the ordinary to the higher level of consciousness. They give us the power to cure diseases; ward off evils; gain wealth; acquire supernatural powers; worship a deity for exalted communion and for attaining blissful state and attain liberation.

Over time, the most famous of all Hindu mantras became Aum, which is called the "pranava mantra" (the source of all mantras). Aum is considered to be the most fundamental and powerful mantra, and thus is prefixed and suffixed to all Hindu prayers. It represents the underlying unity of reality, called Brahman, the godhead, as well as the whole of creation. Merely pronouncing this syllable is said to allow one to experience the divine in a very direct way.

One of the main forms of puja, or worship, in Hinduism is repetition of mantras (called Mantra japna), which is said to lead to moksha/liberation. Essentially, Mantra Japa means repetition of mantra, and has become an established practice of all Hindu streams, from the various Yoga to Tantra. It involves repetition of a mantra over and over again, usually in cycles of auspicious numbers (in multiples of three), the most popular being 108. For this reason, Hindu malas (bead necklaces) developed, containing 108 beads and a head "meru" bead. The devotee performing japa using his/her fingers counts each bead as he/she repeats the chosen mantra. Having reached 108 repetitions, if he/she wishes to continue another cycle of mantras, the devotee must turn the mala around without crossing the "meru" bead and repeat.

Any shloka (scriptural verse) from holy Hindu texts like the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Yoga Sutra, even the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Durga saptashati or Chandi are considered powerful enough to be repeated to great effect, and have therefore the status of a mantra

In addition to Hinduism, mantas are also used by Buddhists, Jains, Tantrikas, Sikhs and followers of some new religious movements. The practice of prayer in the Abrahamic religions is said in some ways to have a similar function to mantras.

February Monthly Theme: Fear

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we... give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." ~Marianne Williamson

Fear is a ubiquitous emotion experienced by all beings in varying degrees. All fears originate from our perceptions and past experiences (karmas). Some fears keep us alive and are necessary for our survival. We refer to these fears as instinctual. Other fears keep us from living a fully expressed life, keeping us bound and enslaved. Often an isolating force, these fears widen the gap between our self and others, preventing our divine Self from emerging.

The Taittiriya Upanishads teach that, "until we realize the unity of life, we live in fear." When we are unsure about the world around us, we typically react in a negative and defensive way, as we interpret the unknown as posing some threat to our comfort or security. Whatever word we use to describe this feeling of insecurity or uncertainty, our reaction is usually rooted in fear. Steeped in our dread, we see the world from a dualistic viewpoint and label things as good or bad or you are this and I am that. Utilizing objects, old ways of thinking and/or our tendencies (gunas) to disengage from the terror we are feeling reinforces the separation of the self from the experience. As a result, we empower the fear that further cocoons our divine Self, distancing us from our innate intelligence, strength, and confidence. If done over a lifespan or the course of many lifetimes this behavior creates mental impressions on the subtle body referred to as samskaras. These impressions deepen through repetitive action, like circling the same path over and over, resulting in a conditioned mundane existence.

As yoga practitioners we have an opportunity to get to the root of our fear and eventually free ourselves of these mental confines and samskaras. Since our body is made up of our karmas, utilizing meditation, asana, pranayama, diet and high intention gives us insight into where we resist the Self. This physical inquiry can resolve our karmas back to their source, opening us up to resolution, healing and subsequent freedom.

With meditation we have the ability to witness our inner landscape, investigating the origins and depths of our fears. As love is the opposite of fear, we notice where we lack in self-love through the observation of our thought patterns and internal dialogue. In order to resolve our fears, we must love ourselves enough to face and understand them with a compassionate awareness and a non-judgmental heart.

Asana practice helps us further connect to the root of our fears because it allows us to feel the sensation of tension and tightness housed in our bodies. It also affords us the opportunity to observe our fearful reactions to certain postures and the mental and emotional discomfort they elicit. Through asana we are able to explore the edges of what is known and unknown allowing us to uncover resistance in the mind and body. This may be especially apparent with lunges, back bending and other asanas that release the psoas ("so-az"), as this is a key muscle to our fear reflex. Working to release the psoas and stretch the front of the body can provide insight into our emotional state. Important to our postural stability, the psoas links both sides of the lower back to the front body ending at the lessor trochanter, deep inside each hip.

Pranayama practices like nadi shodhana not only clear our energetic channels (ida, pingala, and sushumna), but also stimulate the frontal lobe, the command center to our emotions and personality. It balances both sides of the brain and calms the mind and nervous system. When balanced neurologically, we are less reactive to whatever fears we might be experiencing.

A vegetarian diet also provides a means to be free of fear. When factory farmed animals are in preparation for slaughter they release stress hormones and other chemicals as a response to the fear of their own death; when we subsequently eat their meat, we consume that fear–one bite at a time. Choosing a diet that doesn't create fear in other beings will have a direct impact on the fear we experience in our lives.

Incorporating these practices coupled with the high intention of facing what scares us will cultivate familiarity. This familiarity develops the courage needed to change our deeply ingrained responses and relationship to our fears. Once we realize that what we fear is not real but a mental construct, we soften and embrace the totality of life. No longer inhibited and bound by fear we are ignited with a drive to live life courageously. Free and at ease with all that is within us and around us, we are steadily, joyfully and fearlessly connected to the earth.

~ Giselle Mari, 2010

January Monthly Theme: Meditation

Meditation is the art of watching your mind think. According to the science of meditation, the mind is considered the instrument that the Self uses for perception. The mind has four functions or aspects. The lower mind is called, manas. It is the part which collects data. To utilize this information intelligently, two other functions of the mind come into operation. The first is the ahamkara, or sense of I-ness. For example the sensory mind can see a flower, but it is the I-ness that says, “I see a flower.” When information is presented to the mind, a decision, judgment, or discriminative ability is necessary and this is called the power of the intellect, or the buddhi. The fourth function of the mind is the memory bank, which stores all past experiences. This is called the chitta. Beyond the mind and mental functioning lies the inner or higher field of consciousness called the “SELF”. This is observed through the practice of meditation.

According to the yoga sutras, our pain and suffering is created by the misperception that we are separate from nature. The realization that we aren’t separate may be experienced spontaneously, without effort. However, most of us need guidance. Patanjali’s eight limbed system provides us with the framework we need.

Just as there are numerous styles of hatha yoga, so there are many ways to meditate. Remember while practicing any meditation technique that thoughts are not a problem to you, the meditator. You can just watch them and know they are waves of perception that arise, stay, and then pass. The Pure Consciousness/SELF is always present and each wave is just a modification of that. Some techniques include:

1. Repeat a mantra to yourself: use a sound or phrase as a point of focus.
2. Chanting: an extension of mantra with pitch and sound
3. Use of Imagery or visualization.
4. Gazing; such as candle gazing or tratak
5. Breathing: using the breath as a point of focus
6. Physical Sensations: watching your physical sensations

Overall, research has confirmed that profound physiological and psychological changes take place when we meditate, causing an actual shift in the brain and the involuntary processes of the body. When the mind calms down in meditation, EEG shows waves that are smoother and slower and categorizes them as alpha waves. As meditation deepens brain activity decreases, and the waves are then classified as theta waves. In the end, meditation may be rewiring brains to reduce stress. Studies have shown decreased perspiration and slower rate of respiration accompanied by a decrease of metabolic wastes in the bloodstream, lower blood pressure and an enhanced immune system among meditators. Furthermore, research shows a decrease in stress, anxiety, and a greater sense of inner peace.

December Monthly Theme: Pranayama

The September theme of the month is the 4^th Limb of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga—Pranayama.

Prana is the vital force that animates the body, enlivening it with motion, intelligence, radiance, transformation and artistry. Though closely associated with the air we breathe in, Prana is subtler than air. Rather, air is the medium through which we absorb Prana into our being. This Prana is introduced into our being through breath, and upon entering our being it courses through invisible channels called nadis ( a concept similar to the Chinese meridians), that crisscross our being. The science of Yoga informs us that we human beings possess 72,000 nadis.

Pranayama is the science of breath control. Breath is intricately connected to the mind and emotions. When one is calm the breath is deep and slow. When one is tense, anxious, angry or fearful the breath is either, held, irregular, short or difficult. Therefore by changing your breathing pattern you can regulate your emotions and feel calm. Careful regulation of Prana, through a series of spiritually determined and scientifically validated sequences of inhalation, exhalation, and retention, maximizes Prana absorption, retention and application in healing the body and mind.

Some of the Pranyama techniques outlined in The Hatha Yoga Pradipika that you can expect to do this month are: Kappalabhat (shining forehead), Nadi Shodana (alternate nostril breathing), Ujjayi (victory breath), Surya Bhedana (sun piercing), Chandra Bhedana (moon piercing), Sitali (cooling), and Bhramari (black bee.)

November Monthly Theme: Gunas

In Samkhya philosophy there are three major guṇas which serve as the fundamental operating principles or "tendencies" of prakrti (universal nature) which are called: sattva guṇa, and rajas guṇa, tamas guṇa. The three primary gunas are generally accepted to be associated with creation (satva), preservation (rajas), and destruction (tamas). The entire creation and its process of evolution is carried out by these three major gunas.

All material nature is made up the interplay of three energies or "gunas". Part of the work of yoga is to go beyond the limitation of seeing life as forms and concepts, and to see the underlying qualities of things. The gunas are a great map for navigating your way through life. When you can recognize which of these energies is at play in your life, it makes it so much easier to bring about a state of balance.

Sattva:

Sattva is a calm, peaceful and clear energy. The Sanskrit word is based on the principle "Sat" or "being, as it should be, perfect."

People that are Sattvic are calm, centered, compassionate and unselfish.

Food that is Sattvic is nourishing & easy to digest. Cereals, Fresh Fruit, Pure Water, Veggies, Milk, Yogurt

Rajas:

Generally: is a passionate, frenetic, creative, tumultuous energy.

People that are rajasic are full of desire, thirsting for worldly enjoyment, and even at more extreme ends of the scale, fueled by competition and ambitiousness. The Sanskrit root means "impure". It is also related to the root rakta, "redness". And raga, "passion." If you think of living in a bright red room or a woman wearing a red dress, you can feel the energy of Rajas.

Food that is Rajasic is quite stimulating (often times over stimulating). Eg: spicy, sour, acid foods like coffee, hot peppers, onions and so on. If you find yourself eating really quickly too, this too can be rajasic. If you have ever been to a big smorgasbord and eaten way too many combinations of food, you would have belly will be feeling the effect of Rajas Guna

Tamas:

Tamas is dull, insensible, gloomy and dark energy. The Sanskrit word literally means "darkness, dark-blue, black"

People that are tamasic are gloomy, sluggish, dull and blinded by greed. Sometimes people who are tamasic can be characterized as lazy and slothful. If you spend the night drinking tequila in Margaritaville, the next morning you will find yourself deep in the heart of Tamasicville On the darker end of the tamasic scale, they can be unconscious of the needs others, dark and destructive.

Food: that is Tamasic is stale, under or over ripe. Heavy meats. Canned, reheated or fermented foods. Eating too much is Tamasic.

October Monthly Theme: Bandhas

Bandhas are interior body locks used in yoga. There are three bandhas - Mula Bandha, Uddiyana Bandha and Jhalandara Bandha. Each bandha is a lock, meaning a closing off of part of the interior body. These locks are used in various pranayama and asana practices to tone, cleanse and energize the interior body and organs. When all three bandhas are activated at the same time, it is called Maha Bandha, the great lock.

Root lock or Mula Bandha: The first of three interior body “locks” used in asana and pranayama practice to control the flow of energy. To activate mula bandha, exhale and engage the pelvic floor, drawing it upwards towards your navel. If you don’t know how to access the pelvic floor, think of it as the space between the pubic bone and the tailbone. Initially you may need to contract and hold the muscles around the anus and genitals, but really what you want is to isolate and draw up the perineum, which is between the anus and genitals. Do not hold your breath. Engaging mula bandha while doing yoga poses can give the postures an extra lift. This is especially useful when jumping.

Abdominal lock or Uddiyana Bandha: The second of the three interior body “locks” used in asana and pranayama practice to control the flow of energy. Uddiyana bandha can be practiced alone or in conjunction with mula bandha. To engage this bandha, sit in a comfortable cross legged position. Exhale your breath, then take a false inhale (draw the abdomen in and up without taking in any breath.) Draw the belly up underneath the rib cage. To release, soften the abdomen and inhale.

Uddiyana bandha tones, massages and cleans the abdominal organs. If you are familiar with mula bandha, you will see that the drawing up of the pelvic floor naturally leads into the drawing up of the abdomen. This is how the bandhas work together.

Throat lock or Jhalandara Bandha: The third and last of the three interior body “locks” used in asana and pranayama practice to control the flow of energy. Jhalandara bandha can be practiced alone or in conjunction with mula bandha and uddiyana bandha. To engage this bandha, sit in a comfortable cross legged position. Inhale so the lungs are about two-thirds full, and then hold the breath in. Drop the chin down, and then draw the chin back closer to the chest so the back of the neck does not round. Hold as long as is comfortable and then bring the chin up and release the breath. To practice in conjunction with the other two bandhas, first draw the pelvic floor upwards, engaging mula bandha. This leads to the abdomen drawing in and up under the ribcage (uddiyana bandha). Finally, the chin drops to the chest and draws back into jhalandara bandha. When practiced together, the three locks are known as Maha Bandha, the great lock.

September Monthly Theme: The Koshas

A Kosha usually rendered "sheath", is one of five coverings of the Atman, or Self according to Vedantic philosophy. They are often visualised like the layers of an onion. Belling states:

According to the Kosha system in Yogic philosophy, the nature of being human encompasses physical and psychological aspects that function as one holistic system. The Kosha system refers to these different aspects as layers of subjective experience. Layers range from the dense physical body to the more subtle levels of emotions, mind and spirit. Psychology refers to the emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of our being. Together, all aspects make up our subjective experience of being alive.

Annamaya Kosha

This is the sheath of the physical self, named from the fact that it is nourished by food. Living through this layer man identifies himself with a mass of skin, flesh, fat, bones, and filth, while the man of discrimination knows his own self, the only reality that there is, as distinct from the body.

Pranamaya Kosha

Pranamaya means composed of prana, the vital principle, the force that vitalizes and holds together the body and the mind. It pervades the whole organism, its physical manifestation is the breath. As long as this vital principle exists in the organisms, life continues. Coupled with the five organs of action it forms the vital sheath. In the Vivekachoodamani it is a modification of vayu or air, it enters into and comes out of the body.

Manomaya Kosha

Manomaya means composed of manas or mind. The mind (manas) along with the five sensory organs is said to constitute the manomaya kosa. The manomaya kosa, or “mind-sheath” is said more truly to approximate to personhood than annamaya kosa and pranamaya kosha. It is the cause of diversity, of I and mine. Sankara likens it to clouds that are brought in by the wind and again driven away by the same agency. Similarly, man’s bondage is caused by the mind, and liberation, too, is caused by that alone.

Vijnanamaya Kosha

Vijnanamaya means composed of vijnana, or intellect, the faculty which discriminates, determines or wills. Chattampi Swamikal defines vijnanamaya as the combination of intellect and the five sense organs. It is the sheath composed of more intellection, associated with the organs of perception. Sankara holds that the buddhi, with its modifications and the organs of knowledge, form the cause of man’s transmigration. This knowledge sheath, which seems to be followed by a reflection of the power of the cit, is a modification of prakrti. It is endowed with the function of knowledge and identifies itself with the body, organs etc.

This knowledge sheath cannot be the supreme self for the following reasons;

• It is subject to change.
• It is insentient.
• It is a limited thing.
• It is not constantly present.

Anandamaya Kosha

Anandamaya means composed of ananda, or bliss. In the Upanishads the sheath is known also as the causal body. In deep sleep, when the mind and senses cease functioning, it still stands between the finite world and the self. Anandamaya, or that which is composed of Supreme bliss, is regarded as the innermost of all. The bliss sheath normally has its fullest play during deep sleep: while in the dreaming and wakeful states, it has only a partial manifestation. The blissful sheath (anandamaya kosha) is a reflection of the Atman which is bliss absolute.