Mantra yoga and juice

Heads are a metaphor for the complexity and different roles of each human being and their past, present and future. At the same time, they represent the comprehensive knowledge of the yoga sutras.sahasra - a thousandśirasaṁ - headsśvetaṁ - whitepraṇamāmi patañjalimTo Patanjali, I salute.The closing verse completes the Ashtanga Yoga Opening mantra by bowing down to Pantanjali as the representation of the devotion to purity. praṇamāmi - bowpatañjalim - patanjali Ashtanga Yoga Closing Mantra ōṃsvasti prajābhyaḥ paripālayantāṁ nyāyena mārgeṇa mahīṁ mahīśāḥgobrāmaṇebhyaḥ śubhamastu nityaṁlokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantuōṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥThere are many ways of intonation and pronunciation practiced by different teachers and traditions of chanting. For reference, you can listen to our chant of the Ashtanga Yoga Closing Mantra, recorded during our annual Italy Retreat. Ashtanga Yoga Closing Mantra TranslationAs for the opening chant, we chose a translation of the Ashtanga Yoga Closing Mantra in accordance with the Sharath Yoga Centre in Mysore.ōṃThe sound of Isvara (pure awareness)svasti prajābhyaḥMay all be well with mankind.paripālayantāṁ nyāyena mārgeṇa mahīṁ mahīśāḥMay the leaders of the earth protect in every way by keeping to the right path.gobrāmaṇebhyaḥ śubhamastu nityaṁMay there be goodness for all those who know the earth to be sacred.lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantuMay all the worlds be happy.ōṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥOm peace, peace, peace. The meaning of the Ashtanga Yoga Closing Mantra (Mangala Mantra) svasti prajābhyaḥMay all be well with mankind.Alternative translations:- May all beings be well.- May all sacred beings experience success.The Ashtanga Yoga Closing Mantra is an ancient prayer for peace and was first found in the Rig Veda. Starting with the word “svasti”, melding the meaning of well-being, blessing and success, that shall be brought forth to all beings and give them security, allowing a life free from fear or danger.svasti - well-being / blessing / successprajā - bring forth / bearing / seed / subject / all beingsabhyaḥ - free from fear or danger / secure / safeparipālayantāṁ nyāyena mārgeṇa mahīṁ mahīśāḥMay the leaders of the earth protect in every way by keeping to the right path.Alternative translation:- May the great leaders protect by following a path of righteousness.Ensuring well-being and security for all, is partly the responsibility of people who have the power - whether it be due to social, political, financial or spiritual resources or wisdom, by striving to always be justifiable and following the highest possible moral standards. “Righteousness” could also be understood from a religious perspective, as following the path of God. In the context of yoga practice, righteousness could also mean the aspiration of connecting with Isvara. paripālayantāṁ - protecting / may be protectednyāyena - judgemārgeṇa - pathmahīṁ - great / great worldmahīśāḥ* - great priest / of a people / sun / powerful *mahīśin - searching for a road or pathgobrāmaṇebhyaḥ śubhamastu nityaṁMay there be goodness for all those who know the earth to be sacred.The Mantra continues wishing peace to religious as well as to common people, who treat the earth respectfully. gobrāmaṇe - Brahman, cows and menabhyaḥ - free from fear

Text, Translation and meaning of the Ashtanga Yoga Mantras. Mantras in Ashtanga YogaThe chants at the beginning and end of each practice support us in setting our minds to focus on the present moment. Through regular repetition and study, an in-depth philosophical connection can be made with any mantra. The Ashtanga Yoga opening Mantra expresses respect for the teachings, and the transformative potential of the practice. The Ashtanga Yoga Closing Mantra (also known as Mangala Mantra) wishes for peace, prosperity and happiness for all beings, which complies with the main intention of yoga practice, which is to end suffering and gain freedom.Because of its dependency on cultural, philosophical, religious, scientific and linguistic frameworks, every translation of Sanskrit texts, but also in general, is to a certain extent necessarily also an interpretation shaped by one's own background. To comprehensively understand the translations and meanings of these Ashtanga Yoga mantras, an extensive study of Sanskrit and the mentioned related frameworks as well as the comparison of different translations and guidance by different scholars would be necessary. In the following article, we share a part of what we have understood and learned so far from our teachers and in our self studies. Please bear in mind that there are different editorial transcriptions and traditions, which are an ongoing subject of study and always leave room for further perspectives and learning. The meaning of omōṃThe sound of IśvaraIśvara is an incorruptible form of pure awareness, which is independent of cause and effect. Commonly also translated as god, we prefer to refer to Iśvara as pure awareness. Whereas God is typically regarded as a supreme being, pure awareness is not represented by a specific form of being. Instead, it exists beyond time, omnipresent and distinct from the world that we perceive through our senses. In Patanjali’s yoga sutra 1.28, Patanjali says that through repetition of chanting om, its meaning will become clear. Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra I.24klēśa-karma-vipākāśayair aparāmṛṣṭaḥ puruṣa-viśēṣa īśvaraḥ Iśvara is pure awareness; distinct, incorruptible, independent of cause and effect and free of latent impressions. I.25tatra niratiśayaṃ sarvajña-bījam Its independence makes it an incomparable source of omniscience.I.26sa ēṣa pūrvēṣāmapi guruḥ kālēnānavacchēdāt Existing beyond time, Iśvara was also the ideal of the wise.I.27tasya vācakaḥ praṇavaḥ Iśvara is represented by the sound om. I.28taj-japas tad-artha-bhāvanam Repetition reveals its meaning. Ashtanga Yoga Opening Mantraōṃvandē gurūṇāṃ caraṇāravindēsandarśita-svātma-sukhāvabōdhēniḥśrēyasē jāṅgalikāyamānēsaṃsāra-hālāhala-mōhaśāntyaiābāhu puruṣākāraṃ śaṅkha-cakrāsi-dhāriṇamsahasra-śirasaṃ śvētaṃpraṇamāmi patañjalimōṃThere are many ways of intonation and pronunciation practiced by different teachers and traditions of chanting. For reference, you can listen to our chant of the Ashtanga Yoga Opening Mantra, recorded during our annual Italy Retreat. Ashtanga Yoga Opening Mantra TranslationWe chose the following translation of the Ashtanga Yoga Opening Mantra according to the Sharath Yoga Centre in Mysore, which is widely acknowledged and respected. ōṃvande gurūṇāṁ caraṇāravindeI bow to the lotus feet of Gurussandarśita svātma sukhāvabodheThe awakening happiness of one’s own Self-revealed,niḥśreyase jāṅgalikāyamāneBeyond better, acting like the Jungle physician,saṁsāra hālāhala mohaśāntyaiPacifying delusion, the poison of Samsara. ​ābāhu puruṣākāraṁTaking the form of a man to the shoulders,śaṅkhacakrāsi dhāriṇamHolding

Accidentally stumbled across Kirtan musician Dave Stringer while I was doing a Google search for yoga music. The music was so beautiful I felt compelled to chant along.After a few songs, I realized I was feeling an incredible sense of peace and happiness. It was a feeling so blissful, the only thing I could imagine it compared with might be a chemically-induced high. At the time, no one else I knew had ever heard of Kirtan, and it seemed a little strange, so I decided to keep it to myself, but I continued to do the chants every day. Ten years later, I can honestly say mantra meditation has been one of the most transformative influences in my life. As a psychologist and a researcher, I wanted to understand better how something so simple could generate so much positive emotion. I searched “meditation high” and found that others were reporting something similar, but back then almost nothing existed in the academic literature to explain this phenomenon. Over that past decade, however, the ancient practices of Kirtan music and mantra-based meditation have experienced a resurgence around the world, in large part due to the more mainstream acceptance of yoga and mindfulness in Western culture and the medical community. While the scientific study of such practices on well-being is still in nascent stages, in the last few years, a number of research studies have found that mantra-based meditation practices can have a positive effect on mood and cognitive function. A recent review by Lynch et al. at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland looked at 37 studies that had examined the effects of mantra in the general population on outcomes of anxiety, stress, depression, burnout, anger and psychological distress. The findings indicate that mantra meditation interventions may have beneficial effects on

A day, until we complete the number. We undertake this in order to purify ourselves of at least the grossest obstacles that could hinder our success in tantra practice to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all.Vajrasattva Meditation within the Context of Engaging in Tantra Practice In all four classes of tantra, we practice Vajrasattva mantra and visualization meditation as part of the preliminaries section of the full sadhanas of all Buddha-figures. Later in the sadhanas, we repeat the Vajrasattva practice in an extremely abbreviated form after recitation of the mantras of the Buddha-figures, in order to purify any karmic aftermath from faults in the mantra recitation. Practice of yoga tantra and anuttarayoga tantra in the Sakya, Kagyu, and Gelug traditions – and, likewise, practice of yoga tantra, mahayoga, anuyoga, and atiyoga in the Nyingma tradition – entail taking the tantric vows with any empowerment (initiation). In such cases, we may also practice Vajrasattva mantra and visualization meditation for purification of weakened tantric vows or weakened close bonding practices (dam-tshig, Skt. samaya). If we lose the tantric vows by fully transgressing them, we may purify the negative force of the action through 100,000 hundred-syllable repetitions and then retaking the vows. [See: Factors Involved in Transgressing Tantric Vows] In all of these tantra contexts for Vajrasattva practice as well, our motivation needs to be bodhichitta. We wish to avoid experiencing the negative consequences of our actions that would hinder or delay our ability to help others and our attainment of enlightenment. The motivation is not simply an initial scope non-Mahayana one, simply to avoid worse rebirth situations and the suffering of pain and unhappiness. In short, on all levels, Vajrasattva mantra and visualization meditation needs to be a Mahayana practice. After all, only Mahayana asserts that karma can be purified. Therefore,

Meaning “Sun Salutation,” Surya Namaskar is an important part of a well-rounded yoga practice. It’s a series of 12 yoga postures that gently warm up the spine, generate internal body heat and prepare the body for the bulk of the yoga practice: longer holds in yoga asanas.Surya Namaskar is not part of the traditional group of yoga asanas mentioned in the ancient texts. Nonetheless, it’s considered a complete sadhana, or spiritual practice, as well as one of the best practices for maintaining physical health. Surya Namaskar includes asana, pranayama (breath work), mantra (chanting) and dhyana (meditation). Moving with the breath is an important part of Surya Namaskar, as is focusing one’s awareness on the physical body or even the chakras. Each movement in the classical Hatha version of Surya Namaskar has a corresponding mantra. These encourage reverence to the sun: the giver of life and symbol of the spiritual self.At the physical level, Surya Namaskar strengthens, builds muscle, boosts metabolism and stimulates the respiratory, reproductive and circulatory systems. At the energetic level, it activates the body’s solar energy and generates prana, the vital life force. (Learn even more about why we Wake Up and Salute the Sun.) There are three common variations of Surya Namaskar. The first is the classical Hatha Sun Salutation, described below. The second and third are Surya Namaskar A and B, which are practiced in Ashtanga and Vinyasa yoga styles. While each has their own benefits, the classical Hatha Sun Salutation flows between forward and backbends with each consecutive movement, focusing on spinal flexibility.Surya Namaskar: Asana and Mantra1. Pranamasana – Prayer PoseStand near the top of the mat with the feet hip-distance wide. Exhale and bring the palms to touch in front of the chest.Mantra: Om Mitraya Namaha – "Salutations to the Friend of all." 2. Hasta Uttanasana – Raised Arms PoseInhale and reach the arms toward the sky, palms facing forward. Gently arch the back.Mantra: Om Ravaye Namaha – "Salutations to the Shining One."Exhale and bend forward, bringing the palms to the floor on either side of the feet. Bend the knees as needed.Mantra: Om