Wednesday, April 28, 2010

# 51 - Sun Salutation Chant

The sun salutation sequence is a simple, flowing circuit of ailment specific stretches which is completed in one fluid motion that takes less than a minute.

The sound OM in this sequence is used liberally in praise of the sun:

om hram, mitraya namaha (salutations to the friend of all);

om hrim, ravaye namaha (salutations to the shining one);

om hroom, suryaya namaha (salutations to he who induces activity);

om hraim, bhanave namaha (salutations to he who illuminates);

om hraum, khagaya namaha (salutations to he who glides through the sky);

om hraha, pushne namaha (salutations to the giver of strength and nourishment);

om hram, hiranya garbhaya namaha (salutations to the golden cosmic self);

om hrim, marichya namaha (salutations to the rays of the sun);

om hroom, adityaya namaha (salutations to the son of Aditi, cosmic mother);

om hraim, savitre namaha (salutations to the life stimulating power);

om hraum, arkaya namaha (salutations to he who is fit to be praised);

om hraha, bhaskaraya namaha (salutations to he who leads to enlightenment).

If for no other purpose, this is an effective silent chant that helps achieve consistency in our hold times during posture practice. For a higher spiritual understanding, these word meanings may help greatly.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

# 50 - The Mystery of OM

As we observed in blog entry #23, OM is not a word unto itself; it is a tri-syllabic sound (the length of a+u=m) represented by a Sanskrit letter or symbol (just as sounds in other languages are represented). This tri-syllabic vibration underlines the conviction that “where the mind goes, energy flows”. OM is therefore a reverberation that is self contained enough to revive inner organs and glands with fresh oxygen that is carried through the arteries to various body parts through routine physical movement, and the conscious channeling of fresh air through the arteries.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

# 49 - Sun Salutation and Ailment Prevention

When perceived with common sense, each one of the eight postures in the sun salutation sequence helps prevent one or more of the eight common ailments by targeting a different part of the human body. For instance, the first posture (prayer position or namaskara) helps still the mind by holding the body upright and keeping the mind calm, thereby alleviating hypertension; posture number two (hands raised or hasta uttana) expands the chest muscles/ pectorals to help delay asthma symptoms by improving lung function; posture number three (pada hasta or hands-to-feet) helps alleviate constipation by massaging the lower abdomen; posture number four (ashwa sanchala or equestrian) involves bending and unbending of the knees, thereby helping prevent arthritis; anal sphincters are controlled in posture number five (danda or staff) to help prevent piles or hemorrhoids; posture number six (ashtanga namaskar or eight limbed salutation) helps optimize pancreatic function in the upper abdominal region, thereby delaying the onset of diabetes; strengthening of lower back muscles in posture seven (bhujanga or cobra) prevent lumbago; and posture number eight (parvata or mountain) helps stretch hamstring muscles, making them supple enough to alleviate sciatic pain.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

# 48 - Yoga Confusables

Although languages are logical, many Sanskrit words used in yoga postures tend to be confusing. Latin being an acknowledged derivative of Sanskrit, root words in both these language sound similar to one another (and therefore to English). So an easy way to remember names of postures is to recall core words every now and then. For instance, hasta is hand, and uttana means up (hasta uttana = hands-raised); pada is foot (so pada hasta = hands to feet); tri is three and kona is corner (trikona = triangle); vira is brave (hence virabhadra = brave warrior); ardha means half, while chandra refers to the moon (so ardha chandra = half moon); supta is supine, and vajra or vaira means diamond (supta vajra = supine diamond); maha is great, and mudra means gesture (so maha mudra = grand gesture); paripoorna is very full, (and pari poornanava = full boat); ashta is eight and anga is limb (ashtanga namaskara = eight-limbed salutation); finally, bandha means connection or that which binds (hence sethu bandha = bridge).