Yoga
Yoga literally means union. It is a physical and spiritual practice designed to take you beyond the mind, and to give the experience of merging individual finite consciousness with infinite universal consciousness.
Mantra
Mantra can be described as the ‘creative projection of the mind through sound’. Mantras are used as a way to consciously and positively transcend limitations of the mind.
Your emotions can be described as vibratory frequencies or thought waves, which underlie the patterns that your mind plays out. The pattern you choose to play in any moment defines your vibration and projection. By using mantra we are consciously choosing to project a positive vibration.
Mantras are essentially sound formulas that, through their meaning and repetition, change the patterns of the mind, alter the chemistry of the brain and ultimately work to elevate consciousness.
Many of the mantras in kundalini yoga come from the Sikh tradition. The following translations encompass the meaning and intention of these sacred sounds.
‘Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo’
We use this mantra to tune into the class. It can be translated as I bow to the wisdom or teacher within. It connects us to wisdom of all the teachers throughout the ages, wisdom that we each have inside of us if we choose to be still and listen.
Aad Guray Nameh
Jugaad Guray Nameh
Sat Guray Nameh
Siri Guru Devay Nameh
This is the mantra of protection, we often chant this mantra straight after we have tuned into the class. It can be translated as I bow to the Primal wisdom, I bow to wisdom throughout time, I bow to the True wisdom, I bow Great unseen wisdom.
Wahe guru
This mantra is commonly used during a kundalini yoga classes. It can be translated as transformation is ecstasy. When we chant this mantra, through connecting to the teacher within, we transform darkness into light, challenge into opportunity.
Sat nam
We use this mantra at the end of a class to close the session. It can be translated as truth is my name. It can be used as an affirmation to speak your truth.
Kundalini energy
There are thousands of different Kundalini yoga sets known as kriyas. Each kriya works to produce a particular effect on the physical or energetic body or the mind and strengthens and balances the nervous and glandular systems.
In yoga philosophy, Kundalini energy is described as the creative energy of the soul, it is our untapped human potential, which lies dormant at the base of the spine. Once awakened, this energy opens the gateway to increased awareness, fulfilment of our potential and a sense of connection with ourselves, each other and the world within which we are part.
Transition
We are in a time of change, we have shifted from an age defined by hierarchy and secrecy into an age of awareness, openness, information and energy.
We need the tools to cultivate flexibility, intuition, wisdom, stamina, introspection and renewal. We need the ability to consider every action we take within an interconnected ecological, global and universal context. As the complexity of our world increases, so does our need to develop the ability to deal with it. This is where the practice of yoga and meditation becomes fundamental.
To reconcile the increasing quantity of information, choice and complexity of our outer world with the landscape of our inner world, we must develop the ability to filter information through cultivating the neutral or meditative mind. Kundalini yoga can be described as a technology to generate the inner energy we need to thrive, as we consciously shift with awareness into an age of openness, unity and compassion.
