All About Aum...
This blog post is adapted from a mini masterclass all about Aum. that I taught recently,
Known as the mantra of all mantras, Aum carries immense therapeutic benefits and is a cornerstone of mantra practice, a sound healing practice, most yoga classes, and definitely kīrtans!
This post compiles some of the most frequently asked questions I've received about Aum in my 10 years of teaching teachers (and nearly 30 years of being a mantra nerd!), along with some of my practical insights on chanting.
Aum is an audible echo of an...
Have you ever wondered why mantras are traditionally repeated 108 times? In all of my years of teaching Sanskrit mantra meditation to beginners and at workshops & festivals all over the world, this is one of my most common frequently asked questions. Normally, I just say that "it's traditional" because to delve into all of the reasons why mantras are changed 108 times is kinda nerdy, and to some people, kinda woo-woo! (And I like to keep things fact-based, evidence-based, and rational when I'm working with the therapeutic power of sound and mantra.)
...
I attended a memorial for the victims of the October 7 Hamas attack last night, and it was REALLY good to be with community and feel the ripples of pain and prayers and hope for peace.
It’s easy to become numb and overwhelmed by the staggering numbers and each human being’s story is so… human. Shutting down is an evolutionary efficiency mechanism to enable us to survive, and I forgive myself that luxury sometimes.*
Right now I have friends, students, and friends of friends who died at Nova, who have fled Gaza, Northern Israel, and Lebanon, who are...
Watch the video below! Chief Scientist for India's National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Dr. Hemant Bhargav, explores the fascinating intersection of ancient wisdom and modern neuroscience in his research on the effects of chanting Aum.
“What we observed was that when the subjects chanted Aum, there was a deactivation of the limbic system of the brain, particularly in the amygdala. We know that the amygdala is the primal area of the brain, which is associated with emotions like fear...
I was on the phone once with tech support for my web hosting service. The guy (who sounded like a nice Southern California surfer) was looking at my website, and asked, “What's a mantra?"
I said, “It’s a collection of sounds or words that you repeat over and over to yourself as a form of meditation, either out loud or silently in your mind.”
And he said, “So kind a like ‘think happy thoughts?' "
Laughing, I replied, “Sort of. If...
Yep, you read that right! Here's a collection of some of my slightly shocking, radically empowering views on the current state of all things sound and mantra, kīrtan and nāda yoga, vibrational sound healing therapy etc.
1. Radical analogy about Sanskrit anatomy (and why you don't want to miss out!)
2. Why I don't play the guru card?
3. Is kīrtan a cringy word for you?
4. My mantra "OH S*^T!" moment that changed my life
5. I am not the Sanskrit police but I DO want YOU to FEEL the SOUND
6. 50 years of chanting and a Sanskrit PhD but never had a mystical connection...
For chant leaders and mantra recording artists, the question of mixing mantras for chanting is one that has intrigued many, prompting inquiries about the permissibility of blending deities and languages in spiritual practice. For some, the idea of combining "oṁ namaḥ śivāya" with "wahe guru" in a single chant may feel intuitively right, but is it ethically sound? Let's delve into this complex topic, which I also cover in depth in my sound and mantra teacher training course.
Q. (From a graduate of our 500hr Sound & Mantra Training course who teaches mantra...
Are you seeking sound healing training to enhance your practice or professional repertoire? Yay! There are hundreds of sound healing courses available, but not all are created equal!
(If you cringe when someone attends a weekend workshop and then calls themselves a certified sound healer, then the following month they have their own training certification course... this article is for you!)
We've been to LOTS of them, and have addressed some of the common pitfalls and icks that sound healers and mantra...
In my Sanskrit mantra workshops and sound healing yoga training courses around the world, one of the most common questions I hear is about the timeless mantra OM. It can be written in different ways, and there is a lot confusion about it, because different teachers like to share what has worked well for them, but they might not know the experience of others.
Especially with a mantra like OM, it’s important to understand different perspectives and open ourselves up to the direct magical experience of the sound, rather than get limited by dogmatic ideas.
I’ve done pancha karma in India several times over the past 15 years.
Some of the most common questions I get from people who want to learn nada yoga and mantra with me -- and from friends/family who know I've been visiting India for 25 years and have gotten several panchakarma Ayurveda treatments in India and countless Ayurvedic massages -- are:
"Where should I go for panchakarma?"
"What is panchakarma in India like"
"How do I prepare? What should I bring for panchakarma in India"
Yes, people ask me about where to study mantra and nāda yoga in India,...
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