This week...
we have been thinking about our personal mantras in our yoga classes at Kara Yoga. Beginning each class with a suggestion for each person to choose a mantra to say over and over again. As I personally have been incorporating mantras into my life, I am noticing a big difference.
A mantra is...
using the tools of our thinking mind to help create better health through healthier, more positive thoughts. It's also a tool to help the mind slip into a more meditative pattern, releasing that 'monkey mind' from constant thinking.
The mind can be cluttered often with all the many thoughts moving through it. Imagine for a moment the channeling of the chaos of the mind into the body. What are the messages our minds are sending to our bodies? Is there also a sense of chaos moving into the body and essentially making us sick?
Sample Exercise: Picture your mind repeating your mantra over and over again. Allow all other thoughts to come in and out as if on a wave in the ocean. The thoughts will enter but that doesn't mean they have to stay. Begin to watch the thoughts as you repeat your mantra (example: I am love and grace, I am healthy and well, I feel great). As the mantra is repeated, begin to see each word as though visualizing what it looks like on paper. Notice each letter in each word. Continue to repeat with deep breaths moving in and out thru the nostrils. Focus on where you are in this moment. Where are you standing/sitting/walking/exercising? Feel the air around you. Look at the world around you as though in slow motion. Become more aware of all of your body's senses. Find gratitude here. Feel the transformation.
Come in and out of your mantras as desired. It's not a bad place to go to..in my opinion.
I believe...
we have much power to heal ourselves, in how we think alone. The subconscious mind seems to latch on to what is around us, easily influenced by what we are told and what we see. So, what if you make the decision today to feed your mind the positive thoughts you would like for it to use? A tool for healing.
Mantras for me are simple words. They are always rooted in the present moment. It's feeding my mind thoughts on how I want to feel NOW. For example, "I am healthy and I feel great!". Then, I repeat over and over again. Each time I say it (either out loud or inside my head), I can feel the transformation happening.
Throughout history Mantras have been used for healing. Find out more at Wikipedia about the origins in different countries and religions and how using different dialects might interest you in order to have a more sacred and rooted connection.
