Om Nama Shivaya

Magnificent altar to God at the Basilica Notre-Dame

Many thanks to Kim for her question "what does Om Nama Shivaya mean?"
Today's posting is my answer that I emailed to Kim earlier this afternoon.  If you have any questions, post them on the blog in the comments section or email me.

Om Nama Shivaya is a classic mantra and one that I play in my yoga studio. There are many different CD's available containing variations of the accompanying tune, and they are also listed on the blogsite in the music section.

Om Nama Shivaya is one of the most powerful and sacred mantras and repetition of it is said to purify the practitioner. The phrasing and energy of the sounds are designed to create a transformation in your consciousness and enable you to attain a higher state of awareness.

The six syllables of the full chant refer to the first six chakras that run from the root of the spine to the ajna chakra (3rd eye.)

While there is no direct translation it can mean "I bow to God" and repetition should be done with full awareness of its meaning, rather than simply repeating it for repetition's sake.
Om refers to the universal Energy, or sound of God
Nama, as two syllables, na ma, can mean "I bow before you."

The trinity of syllables of Shi va ya refers to Shiva, or God and asks that all God's energies be directed to you to bless you and lead you to the highest state of peace and meditation, which we refer to as Bliss.

Shiva is also the image of God which is said to bring to a close the trinity cycle of Creation, Destruction, and Rebirth.
Some people think of the mantra and God as the destroyer of our illusion (maya) and ignorance that stands in the way of perfect union and enlightenment.

When I say this mantra I see it as a means of cleansing (removing illusions), praising God and receiving blessings, and a means of entering and attaining the state of Bliss.

The two words, namah and shivaya, are also referred to as the panchakshara (five letter) chant. Pancha means five.
Tradition has it that when you chant these five sacred sounds while meditating on Lord Shiva (God) you will be blessed by visions of Shiva (God) - the Lord of the yogis.

As with all mantras, as a minimum it should be invoked morning and evening 108 times. You can repeat it mentally or out loud, fast or slow. But as mentioned above, the mantra should be repeated with respect and awareness of what you are saying as though you are actually bowing before God.

Mantras act like a shield to block unwanted thoughts and energy, however the vibrational sounds of mantras are powerful and protect you by their energy too.

As you continue to repeat this mantra, I hope that you will feel the vibrational energy as though you are being merged as one into God's loving embrace.

Om Shanti
God is Peace

Peace, Light, Love

  A dragon holding a golden key.  What will it unlock?

Many thanks to Flo for sharing the dragon with us. I've photographed it on my yoga mat in my yoga studio.  Note the dragon's breath as it protects the key.

Last week I posted an article about dragons and while they don’t exist except in our imaginations, there are real things that can create fear and anxiety in each of our lives, if we allow them to.  Inner Happiness

These fears prevent many of us from exploring and seeing the potential that lies before us every day. If our imagination can project fear, then it can also project happiness.

Instead of allowing the fears to burn away your hopes, desires, and potential, meditation and affirmations help you to take control of your thoughts and actions and overcome any internal and external obstacles.

Unlike stories where a knight will arrive and slay a dragon, the only person who can eliminate the dragon breathing down your neck with it's fiery breath is YOU.

Meditation and assertive affirmations remove all feelings of helplessness and of being lost.

The inner light of meditation connects you to the Universal Source that infuses you with peace and love.
When you are connected to the source of Love, there is NO PLACE for fear to reside.

Period.

It's that simple.

When you are learning to meditate there will be times when you feel positive, only to have doubts later on.  Love is stronger and each time that you meditate you will REINFORCE your strength and the power of Love.
This power exists within you and you can tap into it every time that you meditate and bring it into all your activities.

Assertive affirmations are a great way to keep you focused on the wonderful individual that you are.  They act like a shield to block unwanted thoughts that will harm you if permitted to continue.

Holding a positive image in your mind during your meditation practice helps you to stay focused.  Following your meditation, you can concentrate on this image whenever you experience the mind wandering from a peaceful state.

One image that I like to focus on is the face of a person that I love.  I invite this person into my heart and see their divine qualities.  Slowly, I fill my mind and body with love until it is overflowing.

During my waking moments, I can re-experience this loving feeling whenever I draw this person into my mind's awareness.  It's a simple yet effective method of developing concentration and awareness of Love.

Use the strength and power of your meditation practice to chase away any dragons and seize the golden key that will unlock the door to health and success in all that you do.

Peace, Light, Love

Chakra, Sun and Moon

Thank you to everyone who wrote to let me know how much they enjoyed the photographs and observations from Montreal.  I had a wonderful time exploring new sites and meeting interesting people and returned home safely on Sunday night.

On Monday I taught a meditation workshop that focused on the chakras that run from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. Chakra is a Sanskrit word that means "wheel" and carries energy through a subtle channel called sushumna.

Each chakra has a specific energy and therefore purpose, such as intuitive knowledge, however while this energy exists, many people go through life without activating or using these natural gifts.

Meditation enables you to utilize these energy wheels by using the powerful feminine energy called kundalini to pierce the center of each chakra and allow a series of transformative experiences to occur.  This energy exists in both men and women and provides you with exactly what you need at this moment in time.  For some, it occurs as a profound feeling of joy, cleansing of emotional stuff, enhanced creativity, or intuitive knowledge and knowing what choices to make.

However, learning to awaken this energy is best practiced with a teacher to address any questions that will arise, that your posture and practice is correct, and to ensure that energy can flow freely as obstacles are released.

As an overview, the workshop was in three sections:
Pranayama,
Concentration
Meditation.

All three sections contained practices that would travel through each of the chakras and awaken the kundalini energy.

PRANAYAMA
A healthy body is one where the life-force flows steady and even, unrestricted in its ability to direct energy throughout every area, and one that is vibrant and energized. When blockages occur to restrict this flow, the result is a disruption within the cells and dis-ease occurs, manifesting in illness.

Passive breathing occurs without any conscious thought or awareness and permits strong emotional drives to adversely influence your thoughts when exposed to negative energy or situations.

This allows cellular distress to occur and random thoughts and behavior to fire off, eventually resulting in illnesses ranging from mild sadness or anger to a downward spiral of abuse and actual physical symptoms.

Active breathing, at the other end of the spectrum, protects and preserves. It requires your dynamic input to be aware of what you are thinking and feeling, how you are going to act, and consequently creating a balance within your body, mind, and spirit.

SUN AND MOON
In today's posting, I thought that I would share one of the traditional pranayama practices that we did during the chakra workshop.
It is suitable for you to practice at home.

Known as Sun/Moon or Surya/Chandra breathing, it has been used for thousands of years as a means of bringing balance to both hemispheres of the brain, bringing the brain into alpha wave, and permitting the two energy channels of Ida and Pingali to travel around each of the chakras via the subtle energy body.
Ida and Pingali originate at the root chakra and weave around each chakra before crossing behind the nostril area. This specific breathing technique has many benefits, including preparing the mind for meditation and allowing the flow of kundalini to emerge.

Method
Sitting in a comfortable seated position with the spine erect, bring awareness to the rhythmical flow of the breath.
The breath should be slow, steady and even with no straining or effort.

Using either hand, place the thumb and ring finger on the nostril crease.
The 2nd and 3rd finger can either be curled in the palm of the hand (Vishnu mudra) or placed between the eyebrows. (Nasagra mudra)
Using complete breath, close the right nostril and inhale slowly and steadily through the left nostril.
Top of the inhalation, close left nostril and exhale through the right.
Inhale through right nostril
Top of the inhale, close right nostril and exhale through the left nostril.

That completes one round.

Continue for 10 rounds or at least 3 to 5 minutes, exhaling through the left nostril when you are complete.

Keep each breath the same length.

You may find that one side of your nose is more open than the other. Unless there is a physical obstacle such as injury, with regular practice, both nostrils become open, the brain becomes balanced, and the subtle energy channels allow kundalini to flow.

BENEFITS
• Nourishes the body and prepares an open channel for kundalini to flow
• Continuous practice eliminates desires and cravings.
• Allows the breath to flow without restriction, eliminating the toxins and waste products that reside in residual air and saturating the cells with oxygen.
• Creates alpha brain waves and develops a calm and positive state of mind
• Deepens concentration
• An even breath flow produces even thoughts
• Strengthens the diaphragm and abdominal muscles
• Soothes the nervous system
• Increases blood flow to the brain