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| Tao Garden Health Resort Tao Yin /Yoga Program | Vāgyoga, Mantra & Japa Yoga, Bhajan Singing Retreat | |
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Special Workshop:21 -27 December 2008Sing your way into the next year!Register now! | Vāgyoga, Svara Yoga & Kundalini YogaYoga Postures, Breathing, Mantra- & Japa YogaBhajan Singing & Indian Music PerformancesVāgyoga Guru Shri Tripathi Vagish Shastri |
Vāgyoga, Svara Yoga & Kundalini Yoga
It has been said that Sanskrit is the mother of all languages, which considering ancient languages such as Babylonian or Egyptian, may not be
entirely true in a historical way. But Sanskrit most certainly
is the way to find back to the original language in a personal way,
because it brings us back to our own voice, body and mind.
Sanskrit
is a Yogic language. In Sanskrit each sound that our speech organ can
produce is related to specific parts of our body, where it is
produced, the direction in which it vibrates, and the 'form' of the
vibration (round, linear, spiraling, elliptic, angled and reflective). Thus the sound 'A' is produced
from our throat, it is round, and vibrates into the chest; the sound 'I"('ee') is
produced from the palate, it is linear, and vibrates into the crown of the head; the sound 'U" is
produced on the lips, it is elliptic and vibrates to the front.Mantra's have no meaning, it is said. But Mantra's can be understood in Sanskrit. On grounds of their different frequencies, and form, and their place of production, single Mantras sound in different directions and when composed into a complex Mantra, a weaving of sounds is manifested in and around our body. Because of the order of the Sanskrit 'Alphabet', which is based on the anatomy of the human body, the simple chanting of the 49 root-sounds of the Sanskrit language yields the most powerful Mantra. The 49 'letters, or as they are called in Sanskrit 'A-kshara', un-decaying, and together they form a chain of sounds, the Akshar-mālā, which spirals down the body from the crown, exactly filling the petals of the lotuses in each chakra.
The best way to come to the understanding of Mantra's, is to first learn to chant the Aksharmāla, and start to understand the nature of its order. Which then brings us on the path of Vagyoga, the not very well known Yoga of Sanskrit Language as such . It comprises both the study of Sanskrit as a language and as the source of all Mantras. Vāgyoga also includes Svarā and Kundalini Yoga; where Vāgyoga teaches the connection between Sound, Rhythm and Meaning, Svara Yoga connects Rhythm, Breathing and Time-flow. In Kundalini Yoga, our study of Vāgyoga reaches its culmination, as we find the connection between Sound and Spirit: we can hear the Inner Voice and the Inner Music, and vibrate in tune with the Universal Sound, OM.
Vibrating and singing the sounds of Sanskrit, opens and clears the 'Central channel', the Sushumna Nadi, and builds up the protective shield around the body (Aura, Energy-Body). Vāgyoga opens our voice and allows us to vibrate sounds deep inside our body, until no more sound is heard on the outside: we have reached the deepest level of Mantra, called Parā-Vāṇi (beyond sound) and Parā-Turiya-Shabda (unbeaten sound, 'the sound of silence'). In the table below you can follow the 49 Akshara on their way through the 7 Chakras:
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| The 49 Akshara or 'letters' of the Sanskrit Alphabet are inscribed in the Petals of the Lotuses of the 7 Chakra's as follows: | |||
Sahašrara Çakram-Crown Thousand fold Lotus |  | ॐ OM | Silence pure vibration |
Ajña Çakram-Third Eye Twofold Lotus |  | अं
अः or हं क्शं | ओ३म् OM pure sound |
Vishuddha Çakram-Throat Sixteenfold Lotus |  | अं आं इं ईं उं ऊं ऋं ॡं ऌं ॡं एं ऐं ओं औं अं अः am ām im īm um ūm ṛm ṛṛm
ḷm ḷḷm em
aim | हं Ham ether element |
Anahatta Çakram-Heart Twelvefold Lotus |  | कं खं गं घं ङं चं छं जं झं ञं टं ठं kam kham gam gham ngam | यं Yam air element |
Manipuraka Çakram-Solar Plexus Tenfold Lotus |  | डं ढं णं तं थं दंधं नं पं फं ḍam ḍham ṇam tam tham dam dham nam | रं Ram fire element |
Svadhisthāna Çakram-Sexual center Sixfold
Lotus |  | बं भं मं यं रं लं bam bham mam | वं Vam water element |
Muladhāra Çakram-Root Center Fourfold Lotus |  | वं शं षं सं (हं) | लं Lam earth element |
| Thus the Aksharmālā follows exactly the numbers of petals in the lotuses of the chakra's. If we chant in this way, we start at the crown and move down along a straight line, the central axis of the body, which is called Sushumna Nādi in Sanskrit (Yoga). | |||
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Yoga Postures, Mantra, Yantra & Japa Yoga
On the basis of a series of specific yogapostures, breathing exercises and meditation/relaxation, Vāgyoga is the ideal preparation for Mantra- and Japa-Yoga, the art of weaving sounds into vehicles of the mind, as a protective shield or to achieve wellbeing. | If we chant in concentric circles around the body's central axis, the sounds of Sanskrit form a Mandala, which in Tibetan tradition is known as the འཁKhor-Lo-Dem-Chog and in Sanskrit, Chakrasambharam Mandala. Now the center, in which is inscribed the sound ओम् Om, corresponds to the Crown Chakra, and the outgoing eight circles represent the rest of our (energy-) body. If you imagine a person sitting in Lotus posture, seen from the top, the Mandala will actually form a Pyramid or a Merkaba. |  |
through visualization and find out how it can help to open, close or seal the 5 'super-natural' faculties of our mind: (1) (Mind produced-) Magical Powers (Iddhividhā Divya), (2) Divine Ear (Sota Divya), (3) Telepathy (Çetopariyañāṇa), (4) Remembrance of former existences (Pubbenivāsānussati), (5) Divine Eye (Çakŝusa-Divya), (6) Knowledge of Extinction of Mental Causes (Āsavakhayajnāna)
Bhajan Singing & Indian Music Performance
In Sanskrit tradition, there is no difference between learning a language, vibrating mantra's and singing.
All these are considered Yogas. Even singing Sa, Re, Ga, Ma (the Indian
'do're'mi'), becomes an important Yoga practice once we understand
their correspondence with the Chakras.
During the workshop you will learn to sing Bhajan's (Indian devotional songs) and also understand them. Singing Bhajans is great fun, and once you can understand them, it becomes a form of Yoga. A book with Bhajans and Mantras, written in Sanskrit and 'ABC', as well as their translation, will be handed out, so you can continue the chanting and singing at home. Tuning forks, Tabla rhythms, Drone and Tanpura-sound will guide our voices, and Indian musicians will be invited to perform for us (and maybe with us).
During the workshop you will learn to sing Bhajan's (Indian devotional songs) and also understand them. Singing Bhajans is great fun, and once you can understand them, it becomes a form of Yoga. A book with Bhajans and Mantras, written in Sanskrit and 'ABC', as well as their translation, will be handed out, so you can continue the chanting and singing at home. Tuning forks, Tabla rhythms, Drone and Tanpura-sound will guide our voices, and Indian musicians will be invited to perform for us (and maybe with us).
Vāgyoga Guru Shri Tripathi Vagish Shastri
"Vāgyoga
is the not very well known Yoga of Sanskrit study. It comprises both
the study of Sanskrit as a language and as the source of all Mantra's.
Vāgyoga also includes Svara and Kundalini Yoga. Famous
amongst India's Pandits and Western scholars alike, Shree
Tripāthi Vāgish Shāstri from Vārāṇasī has been my Guru for more than 14
years. On the occasion of his 75th birthday a ceremony was performed
and I gained permission to enter the most holy temple of Lord Shiva,
Kashi Vishvanath. Vāgish Shāstri teaches regular classes and seminars at his residence at Shivala Ghāt in Varāṇāsi. Follow the link
below to view Dr. Vāgish Shāstri's website. Click here to see a short video with Gurudeva Vāgish Shāstri.
These courses are taught by Ajahn Al, who has
been a certified Healing Tao Teacher since 1992 and a certified Yoga
Teacher since 1984. He studied with Master Mantak Chia for many years
and studied different forms of Yoga and Meditation with a variety of
teachers, such as Saswitha Yoga (a dynamic form of (Kashmiri) Yoga), Iyengar Yoga (a very precise way of doing Yoga), Vāgyoga
(the Esoteric Yoga of Sanskrit Language) and Mantra Yoga (which he
first learned from Shyam Bhatnagar & Harish Yohāri in 1982 and
later from the Brahmin Shri Tripāthi Vāgish Shāstri of Vārāṇasī). He then
studied Tantrayāna Buddhism with Tibetan monks. The culmination of his spiritual journey occurred in 2002,
when he was initiated by the Thai monks into Vipassana Meditation. They
brought him to a cave, where he spent 4 months in Samādhi, after which
he was ordained as a monk. Follow the links below to read more. For more information about this retreat and other courses with Ajahn Al, or to organize a retreat elsewhere,
please contact: Alyatra@Gmail.com
| Register here for Tao Yoga & Vipassana Retreat, Sunday October 5 through Wednesday October 15 2008 | Register here for: Vāgyoga, Mantra Yoga & Bhajan Singing Retreat Sunday December 21 - Saturday 27 December 2008 Sing your way into the next year! |
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