Sonic Bliss Yoga™

“You've Got To Ask Yourself One Question: 'Do I Feel Lucky?' Well, Do Ya, Punk?” 

Lakṣmī (luck shmii)

Her form is of a radiant soul beauty, clothed in red while sitting on and holding lotuses. she bestows abundance in the world for those she looks upon while reminding us of our transcendent nature.

She displays a downturned left palm, that gives worldly gifts while the right hand is in gñāna mudra, calling us to awaken to divine wisdom. In some images, she has one foot touching the earth, grounding us in this world with the other foot tucked in the lotus calling us to the yogic path. Lakṣmī calls to you and me to live fully in the magic of this world while being awakened to that which is beyond.

In one beautiful story, Lakṣmī is born from the churning of the ocean in an effort to make amṛtā, the nectar of life. The churning comes from the light and dark forces of the universe that makes way for the emergence of radiant life. YOUR radiant life!

This year we have all felt the churning, the squeezing, the Universal Mother saying, “Change is NOW!”.

 As Hafiz says through the amazing words of Daniel Ladinsky, in The Gift:

“God wants to manhandle us,

Lock us inside of a tiny room with Himself

And practice His dropkick.”

Like me, a yoga teacher and mom, your life has definitely been churned, kicked and turned upside down this year. I am sure you have learned things along the way. But the time is NOW to put those lessons into action. You have had to let go of some things, yes, BUT NOW taste the nectar of the churning and let it lead you to what fulfills you in this life and the beyond.

What will be your new adventures professionally and personally?

Share your ideas below to start the ball rolling. Let’s have a discussion!

If you would like to work with me privately, let’s have a 30 minute free session to see where you want to go, what is blocking you and how I can help you with the tools of sound healing, mantra and movement! Click on "Contact Us" in the navigation bar above!

The word "nada" can mean a loud sounding, droning or rushing. All of the practices contained in the tradition of Nada Yoga use sound as a method to rediscover your connection to the Universal. It is in uncovering this inner sound that you hear the vibration that is always present. It is a clue pointing you in the direction of the mystery.

The earliest practices of Nada Yoga date back to 500BC with deep listening meditations to sounds within you. But in the past few hundred years the practice of using scales with the syllables of SARGAM, the Eastern form of solfege came to be practiced. I had a beautiful experience with this practice quite accidentally while in a voice lesson singing scales. While practicing ascending and descending a musical scale I was transported to what felt like another plane of existance, like I was looking into the depths of the universe.

It wasn't until years later that I understood that singing scales can be used as a spiritual practice to balance internal energy and emotions and to transform our consciousness. You can feel the vibration of the tones in your body as well as the vibration created throught he tension between the notes or the interval in between the notes. This works on our energetic or chakra system.

Make a commitment this week to sing a simple scale daily in a key that works for you or if you aren't so musically inclined sing a note and pay attemtion to where you feel that note vibrating. You could sing a low note, a medium high note and a high note and compare where you feel the vibration within. Then, sit in silence and let your attention come to your inner ears listening to any inner sounds. Let me know what you discover!

Here I share with you a meditation video to help you ground down and release anxiety through work with the first chakra. It was orginally made for our chakra retreat attendees.

I often worry or get anxious when I feel like I can't control something. I'm a control freak! Hahaha! I want to make everything happen but life doesn't work that way. Life requires our effort but it also begs for surrender. It's like a dance. If I place a foot forward, I know there will be some kind of response in the universe. Life asks us to take our steps and then surrender and open our hearts to the response. 

In this video you will learn a simple seed syllable that can help you connect to the ground of all being and realize that you are connected and supported. We are supported by people around us and by energy around us. If we can surrender to the energy around us, we will realize that we are held up.

You are always held in LOVE.

Our kids are listening to us. It's a BIG responsibility. What sounds do we want them to hear? Anya has been listening to me chant well...since she was inside me. I just realized that. Hahaha! As she has listened and watched me practice over the years (She is now 9. We made this video last year.) she has picked up the sounds and words that I use in my practice even when they are complicated and in another language, Sanskrit! Language is an amazing gift to give to children. It stimulates the brain. So, as we grow spiritually, we also grow mentally. These 2 results of using language and chanting help ground us as well as spritually elevate us. This can move us to peace in the here and now for both adults and children.

Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi!

Namaste!!

As I prepare for my Family Yoga Kirtan Adventure workshop and Family Yoga retreat, I will bring you this series of blogs about kids and mantra. I have found chanting mantra to be an amazing tool for emotional balance both for my self, my daughter and for my entire family. Most of the time we chant in Sanskrit (Om or AUM is simple and great) but sometimes we chant in English as well, repeating a positive and empowering word or phrase like Peace, Love, Strong, Powerful etc.

This is a clip from an interview by my Sanskrit and mantra teacher, Russill Paul. Leave me some feedback on what your experience has been chanting, singing or practicing yoga with kids. And if you have any questions

Namaste!

Welcome to Spring! A time for new beginnings and growth of all kinds. Take a moment right now to set an intention and commit to honoring that intention daily. Schedule some time daily to work toward this intention actively, whether that is 5 minutes or an hour. Let me help by watering your intention with a special mantra invoking 10 sacred rivers in India from the ancient Vedic period. You can use this mantra to purify water and any space in which you practice. Listen to this mantra with your fingers in a bowl of water and after the mantra sprinkle the water around your space, your altar and on yourself. It will be a beautiful start to your day and clear the path for your intention.

This video was recorded at the spiritually charged yoga studio, Bhakti Barn Yoga in Glen Ridge, NJ(also in Millburn, NJ) Come learn this mantra with me as part of the Sacred Sound portion of the Advanced Yoga Teacher Training, starting in Sept. 2017!!

Are mantras and affirmations one and the same? They are very similar. In the yoga tradition a mantra is in the language of Sanskrit, this highly charged language of the spirit. There are many styles of chanting that use Sanskrit. It is a language of energy or prana. It is a language that builds life force energy as you speak it. Mantras can serve to connect you to the cosmos, different spiritual planes of existance and ultimately to God or the Divine. This is especially true of the Vedic style of chanting. The chanting of Vedic scripture or the words of the Upanishads. There is Bhakti chanting that is primarily concerned with total surrender to God. To offer up all you are, all of your love to the divine. Then, there is Tantric chanting. This style of chanting is the most like using affirmations to me. Here one syllable sounds are often used that are repeated over and over. When we do this, we are affirming this quality of energy that are already within us that we want to uncover. Thus, we become bathed in that energy. When we go out into the world, we are resonating with that energy and more of that energy is drawn to us. You can also do this with words in English, like affirmations.

Hold your heart and repeat, "I am love" or to embrace your power say "I am powerful." It is really endless. To keep yourself in the magic of the moment, you can say, "I am here." Give yourself a time frame with which to bask in these words. Let them hit your heart and feel their presence.

This type of practice using English can compliment your mantra practie using Sanskrit. The English can bring you within and open your heart, the Sanskrit can connect you to all there is and to the Divine.

Try this simple practice: Repeat an affirmation of your choosing for 5 minutes and then the mantra Om Gam Ganeshaya Namaha for 5 minutes. Do this in the morning and also in the evening before bed.  Or use Sanskrit first and then English. Experiment for yourself. Then, find a pattern and try it for a while, at least a week or set a goal for 2 weeks or a month, possibly 40 days!

Please met me know any feedback from your practice! Namaste!