Experience Yoga~
Saha Navavatu – A Mantra of Togetherness
Man=mind. Tra=protection. Man-tra. Mantra. Mantra is a way to protect our minds or to gain protection from the mind. Sanskrit is one of the oldest indo-european languages and is a living language of luminous sound. Sanskrit awakens our hearts and is a spiritual language that awakens us to higher levels of consciousness and awareness. Sanskrit mantra is a living prayer that can repattern our thought forms and lift us to our highest potential through pranic intention.
A classic mantra of togetherness is Saha Navavatu. This mantra is a shantih mantra, a mantra of peace. Traditionally it is chanted at the beginning and end of any study. It is a mantra chanted by teacher and student. We are all each other’s teachers and students. May we learn together in peace.
We can also chant this on our own when undertaking a project or undergoing personal study. This prayer brings in help and blessings from the teacher’s beyond the beyond, or of our own personal guru’s if a physical teacher is not seated in front of us. It is a chant or mantra that protects the sacred relationship of student and teacher. It is a mantra for study.
God, Parham Brahma, formless and supreme, is our ultimate teacher. It is important to remember we do nothing on our own or by ourselves. It is “together” that we have yoga and union. If we try to accomplish something on our own we do not get very far. If we ask for divine help miracles happen and obstacles can be removed. Experiment with this concept. Operate from the ego or smaller self in the mistaken idea
that you are doer. Then, when this does not work well, beg for God’s help in all sincerity. Warning: if you operate alone too long you may find yourself on your knees crying for God. Experience the divine and find out what “both together” in this ancient mantra means.
This sacred mantra is an invocation asking for protection and guidance. It honors our teachers and sacred partnership:
OM saha nAvavatu | saha nau bhunaktu | saha vIryam karavAvahai |tejasvi nAvadhitamastu mA vidviShAvahai |OM Shantih Shantih Shantih |
Om. May we be protected both together
May we be nourished both together
May we grow in spiritual knowledge and energy both together
May our study together be luminous
May we not hate or have discord between us
Om, peace, peace, peace.
One of my favorite places to hear this is on the CD Sarva-Bhuteshu – track number 7, by Manorama D’Alvia. Her website is www.sanskritstudies.org . May we all be one together.
Mantra Workshop with Sudevi @ Everman’s – Sunday March 9th – 1-3 p.m. $35
BREATH AS THE HEART OF CHANGE
THE BREATH AS THE HEART OF CREATION
by Linda Kramer
“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts.” –Thich Nhat Hanh
According to Dr. Dean Ornish in his book, Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program For Reversing Heart Disease, deep breathing is the best stress reducer known to man. The link between stress and heart failure and the immune system is universally recognized by all health professionals. When your stress level is up, your immune system is down. When your stress level is up and your tolerance level is down — it becomes difficult to live from the heart.
Breath and thought are also partners in the act of creation. What we are thinking as we breathe manifests in our outer reality. That sounds so simple. The problem is many of the thoughts that are creating our experience or personal reality are unconscious. Our personal realities are a reflection of what we believe to be true. Our programming starts at birth. Data goes in and creates a file. We have to be conscious of the file to change it, alter or purge it. As a child we receive programming from the adult figures in our lives about the “Absolute truths” in life: unconscious ideas about love and our own self worth. If we are lucky these are happy loving messages and we create a happy loving life.
If we are not happy, we may not even be aware that we are carrying messages that separate us from happiness; these messages may be creating low self esteem and destructive behaviors. Sometimes in our state of disconnect we do not even realize that we are unhappy until we create a drama or personal disaster.
Our perceptions of the way people treat us in interactive exchanges can reveal what unconscious messages or patterns we are acting out. It is important for our self esteem to examine our behaviors—they are linked. We need to evaluate what we feel is truly missing in our lives. Is our life balanced? Do we have a material, spiritual, or happiness/fun deficit? Are material gains acquired at the expense of our health? Can we pay our bills? What are we feeding our bodies and our minds? When we can change our deepest personal lies and erase the false messages we were unknowingly imprinted with, we can change our outer realities.
We only utilize 10% of our brains consciously. That leaves considerable room for the subconscious mind to co-create with us. Even if we are consciously trying to change our life patterns we can still be derailed by old belief systems that are still stuck in our internal data files. These old programs keep us stuck in recurring situations and life outcomes. Our thoughts can separate us from the divine, and prosperity on every level—including health.
Again, we have to go beyond the surface of what we think we know. Most of us will say we believe we deserve happiness and peace. Yet, somehow we are completely unaware of our own self sabotaging program that is simultaneously running with our vision of how we what our life to be. When we are able to eliminate the shadow program we can have the life we want. We will notice the dramas start to fade and see improvement in all of our relationships. We will be in harmony with ourselves and all others. Once we are able to release our hidden resentments a whole new world of possibilities opens to us. The way creative thought works is that anything good or bad that we’ve created can be uncreated. So we have to stay vigilant about what goes across the mind screen.
There are many tools we can use to address the subconscious mind. Yoga, meditation affirmations, and hypnosis can help. Yoga philosophy teaches us (See Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 2:33) that when thinking something negative we should immediately replace the thought with it’s opposite. The Sanskrit for this is Vitarka Badhane Pratipaksa Bhavanam. This is very helpful if we have conscious awareness and the self discipline to stay present. If we don’t know what our deepest unconscious patterning is we can only make surface changes and are still shooting arrows in the dark. Even if our desire to change is great – if we are unable to accurately identify the root belief we are holding, we will have only applied a band-aid, and not addressed the cause. If we find we are stuck in any area of our life we may want to contact a professional rebirther, or someone who can help us with through mind/body therapies.
Rebirthing, or “Sacred Renewal Breathwork,” is a powerful safe gentle breathing technique which releases stress from the body and helps reprogram old patterns. This breathing technique also increases our energy level and creates more ease and peace. This application of the sacred breath as used in rebirthing was pioneered in the early 70’s by Sandra Ray and Leonard Orr. Sanra Ray is also a disciple of Babaji, also named Sri Sri 1008 Bhagwan Herakhan Wale Baba, is an immortal maha avatar and yogi master who blessed this work and supported it while in his physical Body. Ray is also dedicated to Christ believing that truth is but one.
When I took Sondra Ray’s professional rebirther training course I made big sweeping changes that are still resonating. As a self aware yoga teacher with a strong meditation practice I thought I was aware of most of the self-limiting monkey chatter in my mind. The personal transformation that took place for me was amazing. My life shifted within one week. The changes I made in my earliest rebirthing sessions had already began to shift my life in new directions. Still I hadn’t turned the circle and was still operating out of worn out paradigms and thought I knew what my patterns were. This is why Sondra recommends a minimum of ten rebirthing sessions
Those of us on the spiritual path that are guided by the unseen hand know we are always being guided. The concentrated work shifted by psyche in an unprecedented way and I am dedicated to sharing it with others. It is part of my yoga. Yoga is not limited to our physical bodies. As the Yoga Master Dhrama Mitra points out, “Our bodies are one giant thoughtform.” To change the body we have to change the mind.
A rebirthing session involves a consultation and approximately an hour of connected breathing. In the consultation, your rebirther will have the opportunity to discuss with you where you are in your life now and how they can best support you. Your rebirther will collect information from you with the goal of supporting you in resolving current issues and changing undesirable patterns.
A rebirther is a professionally trained facilitator who will guide your breath in a way that allows you to process what occurs during a session. They will guide you and support you through emotional releases, thoughts and memories that may surface and physical sensations that you may experience during a session. A rebirther is highly skilled at helping you trace complex issues in your life to the origins of your subconscious mind. By becoming aware of this information, your rebirther will support you in finding solutions and resolutions.
The rebirther guides your breath in a manner that increases the level of oxygen in the body, which increases energy in the pranic body. The increased level of oxygen stimulates the body’s natural ability to cleanse itself. Seventy percent of the bodily toxins are eliminated through breathing.
The hour long breathing session in rebirthing also raises the blood’s alkaline level which increases our health. One lovely side affect of the concentrated breathing is that it gives you beautiful skin—everyone will tell you look great! Where did you get that new glow…Deep breathing also increases the oxygen levels in the blood which strengthens the immune system. Dr. Alec Borsenko states, “Oxygen gets rid of toxicity. Bacteria, viruses and parasites are destroyed in the presence of oxygen—especially cancer.” Breathing controls the flow of the lymphatic system. When the lymphatic system is unbalanced we become unhealthy and subject to eventual pain and suffering.
Yoga teaches us that separation is the cause of all suffering. When there is a split in our thinking or in the mind/body then there is pain, and often ill health. A misdirected or false thought can lodge in the body as a physical discomfort. We’ve all experienced tightness in the shoulders or neck when we are in the presence of other’s whose thoughts are incongruent with ours. Imagine what our own thoughts can do to our bodies!
To begin the yoga of rebirthing is to begin the study of the Self. So let’s start by taking this little quiz. Be honest – No one will see the answers but you:
1. The most negative thought I have about myself…
2. What I’m afraid people will know about me….
Now turn around this thought with a positive affirmation by writing the opposite; turn it around by feeling the opposite, turn it around by visualizing the opposite; turn it around with connected breathing throughout the process. Connect your breath to your heart and soar to your highest life intention. When we are connected to our own hearts and life’s intention then we can have and be the love we want. The breath is the sacred connection. Get connected.
Linda Kramer, M.A. (Sudevi) is a transformational life coach who uses rebirthing and the principles of yoga to help others transform through mind/body therapies. Visit www.myspace.com/sudevidasi for more information: contact Sudevi@vedicstudies.net or linda@livingyouryoga.net or call (850)380-7166
Please join linda sudevi kramer for an experiential class on:
Breath as the Heart of Change
February 17, 2008 in Pensacola, Fl.
from 1:00-3:00 p.m. – $35
at Everman’s on Garden St.
*In Group experience classes everyone focuses their intention and breath
on a set theme. In the ten individual sessions as outlined by Sondra Ray,
the breath is used as a vehicle for individual change and evolution and
is uniquely personal.
Reprinted with permission from “The Light.” Thank you Dana! Please review The Light
for other articles on creative transformation.
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