Liberated Yoga
Yoga is for everyone!
Topic: Mantras
My Favorite Mantras - Part Three
Final installment in a short series about the power of sound. We talked about how mantras can add another layer to our Yoga practice in Part One and Part Two . Today I want to finish with a couple of longer mantras that you might hear in a Yoga class, so that you know what they mean and maybe even start chanting them yourself. The most popular and also probably one of the most ancient is the Gayatri Mantra. It is from the Rig Veda, dating back 1500 BC and evokes the physical dimension (Bh...
My Favorite Mantras - Part Two
In my previous blog I talked about the four attitudes that help us deal with the mental chatter and life's ups and downs, and the four mantras that can help bring us back to balance. Here I will give you a few more mantras to widen your repertoire. A well-chosen mantra can steady us in the times of self-doubt, when our resolve to stay the course of chosen action may be weakening, when we need courage to take upon some unpleasant yet necessary task, or when we need an extra boost of conf...
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My Favorite Mantras - Part One
I mention mantras a lot in my blog, and have already addressed this subject somewhat in a more theoretical way. However, to me mantras are beyond theory - they are a daily part of my Yoga practice. Whenever I notice my mental state agitated, I have a mantra for that. Whenever I find myself judgemental - I have a mantra for that. I don't even have to be on my Yoga mat to pull a mantra out - they can be chanted mentally. They are more powerful that way anyway. A well-chosen mantra can fill the...
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Mantra - The Most Subtle Tool
If asana is more like a sledge hammer, then mantra can be like a fine scalpel in a Yoga Therapist's toolbox. Not everyone is comfortable with a mantra, so with this post I am hoping to dispel some of the concerns as well as to inspire you to give it a try. Vocalizing sounds has long been a powerful method for self-expression in our species, and long ago people noticed the power of sound on our mental, emotional, and therefore, physical state. Vocalizations can be used in a variety of ways to...
