Mantra Singen – Befreiung des Herzens

Mantra Chanting - Liberation of the Heart

Mantra chanting

~How to get more out of yourself with mantra chanting

and be yourself

About the effect of mantras and my own liberation

In this article you can expect:

  1. My own liberation
  2. The effect of mantras
  3. Mantra Chanting: A Beautiful Path to You
  4. Bhakti Yoga: The path of devotion
  5. My favorite mantras

It was only when I discovered mantra chanting that I became truly free. What made me unfree were old beliefs that held me back from coming out of myself, speaking my own truth and living it.

When I participated in a sweat lodge in Peru in 2018 (which was part of my yoga teacher training), I experienced for the first time what mantra chanting, Man = mind and Tra = transcend, can do. Through chanting out loud, I began to dissolve old beliefs and finally live my true nature. It completely changed my outer world and I began to follow my heart.

My own liberation

 

Our sweat lodge was really not fancy stuff: it was a construct made of branches - similar to an igloo in shape. The mesh of branches was enclosed with thick blankets. Inside it is dark and you sit in a circle on the floor around a hole in the ground. In 4 rounds, 7 glowing hot volcanic stones are shoveled into the hole in the ground, so it gets hotter with each round. The sweat lodge, also called temazcal, is primarily for physical, mental and emotional cleansing and healing. I just found it exciting and participated mainly out of curiosity.

Our familiar circle of people, with whom I had had deeply transformative experiences over the previous two weeks, melted round and round into a magical mass of rhythm. We rattled wildly, drumming loudly and chanting Spanish mantras to it. Breathed deeply in and out through the dense heat. 

If there is a physical sensation for spiritual liberation, that's what it was for me. New melodies and new, beautiful Spanish words impacted my soul. The songs described Mother Earth, how we belong to her and are all connected. We chanted about love. Sometimes I didn't even understand the lyrics, but I just let myself be carried away and sang with all my heart.

I felt something inside me wanting to get out.

And at some point I felt tears cooling my cheeks. How my heart pounded loudly. I felt something wanting to get out through the tears in my eyes. And I let it run free. I howled loudly, sobbing and gasping for air. My loud whooping was lost in the singing and drum roll of the others. But I didn't worry about that at that moment. I just let it happen and felt a sense of liberation in me.

 

"I felt a sense of liberation inside me."

The effect of mantras

 

Today, when tears come to my eyes, I remember that this is a mouthpiece of my deep self and that I want to hear it. We all have wounds. And we can speak of happiness when these move from the inside out to experience healing.

A mantra calls to your essence.Through chanting, beliefs, emotions and deep needs of the soul can become visible.

Chanting a repetitive syllable or phrase, that is, a mantra, works on three levels:

Physical

 

Chanting is also pranayama. It is deep breathing. Again and again. The body is brought into a harmonious vibration, which can have a positive effect on the organs, the nervous system and the psyche.

Emotional

 

When we chant mantras, we feel joy, we experience an immediate lightness. You can't chant and be deeply sad. Chanting mantras can extend to the feeling that your heart almost seems to burst with joy.

Energetic

 

Since chanting has an uplifting effect on our emotions (e.g. from sadness to joy or from anger to equanimity) this increases our energy field. You may feel a throbbing in the heart space (anahata chakra) or a tingling in the throat (vishudda chakra).

Mantra Chanting: A Beautiful Path to You

 

Through this raising of your emotional and energetic state, through the stimulation of the (mostly) upper four chakras, we feel freer. The fact that today I dare to sing in front of many people has not only to do with the dissolution of an old belief ("I am not musical"), but rather with a trust in myself, in my essence.

Singing means being loud. Not mincing words (anymore). Willpower. Saying yes. Saying no. Speaking your truth and not that of others. Dissent. Encouragement. Being tender. Being powerful. Mantra chanting is all of that.

Singing invitingly offers us the opportunity to come out of ourselves. To be loud. We women have been drilled over many generations to be well-behaved and quiet, to behave and not stand out. Stand out if you want to. Be loud and wild if you want to. Of course, this also applies to all men.

Maybe you will find in mantra chanting this one way that helps you to come out of yourself more, to dare to do something. To be loud. To be you. To go your way. And that full of love and devotion.

I wish you from the bottom of my heart that you find YOUR heart's path. In whatever form that may be.

 

Your Jessy

Bhakti Yoga: The path of devotion

 

Within the 4 paths of yoga (Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Raja Yoga and Bhakti Yoga) mantra chanting is part of the path of devotion and love, Bhakti Yoga. This includes chanting, dancing, praying, rituals and ceremonies, music, creativity - everything that makes your heart blossom and with which you can express yourself. It's about surrendering to your emotions, giving yourself free rein in movement or chanting.

It is considered the easiest way to self-liberation because we simply surrender to the higher power: Letting ourselves be moved or letting the chanting flow through us. The goal of bhakti is pure love and appeals to our emotional qualities. That's why tears of joy, of healing, of love flow now and then at bhakti events.

A small selection of my favorite mantras:

Probably the most famous mantra: OM ॐ

The yogis say that the Indian Sanskrit mantras in particular are connected to an energy field (morphogenetic field) that has been built up for thousands of years by all the people who have ever repeated the mantra. By chanting the mantra OM, you become connected to this field and to these gurus, masters and all the people who have ever chanted it. Think of this abundance the next time you chant AUM.

RA MA DA SA

Ra = solar energy

Ma = Moon energy

Da = Earth energy

Sa = Energy of the universe

Say = You / personal energy

So = I am

Hum = The Divine/Higher Power

OM GAM GANAPATHAYE NAMAH

This mantra honors the Indian deity Ganesha. Ganesha represents wisdom and knowledge and overcoming our obstacles. Ganesha is therefore often called first to open ceremonies. A mantra that is wonderful before yoga practice and also ideal for a mantra meditation with a mala.

Gam = sound (seed sound) of Ganesha

Ganapathaye = Ganesha himself

Namaha = in his name or honoring him

NAMASTASYAY

Namastasyay, Namastasyay, Namastasyay, Namo Namaha

I also like to sing in my own Spanish version to thank Mother Earth:

Pacha Mama, Pacha Mama, Pacha Mama, Te amo, Te amo (Mother Earth, I love you)

All of my retreats & events include a mantra component.

Feel free to drop by:

Instagram @jessy_inti_yoga: Here I share mantra videos with you every now and then

MUST SEE: A beautiful, deeply moving film about the power of mantras: mantramovie.com/

Krishna Das | inspiring mantra singer, harmonium player, kirtan leader: krishnadas.com/

Deva Premal & Miten | For me a great inspiration: www.devapremalmiten.com

Tränen der Befreiung in Peru

Tears of liberation in Peru

Tears of liberation in Peru

~ Truly letting go in the sweat lodge.

In Peru, everything is magical anyway. All the time. Every faraway view, every breeze on your face, every ray of sun on your skin feels mystical and imbued with a deeper meaning. This is a very personal story about Peru's special magic.

"It was only when I discovered mantra chanting that I really became free". I write on my website. This is the place where this discovery took place: Peru, 2018, Yoga Teacher Training ~ I had no idea how much these three weeks would change my life. An endlessly interesting and forever lasting journey began:

The Way to Me

Simply incredible:

Munay Sonqo ~ Yoga Retreat Center

For two weeks I lived here in this very house at the top of the picture. With the holy "Apus", the high mountains in the background. Surrounded by the most beautiful garden I have ever seen until today. A true place of healing. And one evening there was a sweat lodge ritual that I participated in out of curiosity....

Half past five in the evening in Peru

 

On the evening of the sweat lodge, we all initially sat there excitedly, covered only with our small towels. Shame spread a little in front of the hut built from branches and alpaca blankets. The rustic sweat lodge construction looked like an igloo, except that it got very hot inside instead of icy. The threshold to the small entrance, which consisted of a thick cloth hanging down, was entered with a prayer.

One last, trusting look at Taki, who was to lead this ritual, before I entered. He is a rather short man by German standards, but average height in Peru. He has darker skin and black hair with a few dreadlocks. His look is warm and soft. At the same time he radiates something rugged, close to nature, wild, something organic. I've never seen him with shoes on. Or with a cell phone. Although he was probably just a few years older than me. I guessed him to be in his mid/late thirties, a young guy, then, who lived below the retreat grounds and barely mingled with the "crowd," which consisted mostly of pretty American and European yogi girls. There was something sensual about him and he radiated a special calm. Somehow he saw right through you and in a strange way this led to a deep familiarity.

Here we go

 

I knelt down in front of the alpaca curtain and thought about the fact that my towel was much too short. It was early evening and already dusky, but still quite bright. I bowed to Mother Nature anyway, "after all, she had created me just so naked, even if half of me is peeking out now," I thought to myself. I said a short prayer of thanksgiving, bringing my hands to my forehead in a prayer position. Then I brought my forehead to the earthy ground and placed both palms next to my temples with my fingers spread. It was as if I wanted to absorb as much of Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) as possible with my fingers.

Finally, I entered the dark circle with the hole in the ground in the middle. One by one we went through this ritual of entering, one after the other, without haste. Clockwise, we sat down on the small ring built of earth along the edge.

Hot - hotter - healing

 

Then we celebrated the "hombre del fuego" (the man of fire), who already had a huge fire going about 2 meters from the entrance and was sweating a lot before it really started. We cheered him with drum beats and rattles. He gratefully accepted our praise and yet I had the feeling that he was a bit uncomfortable being the center of attention. He was an important part of the ceremony: preheating the 24 Peruvian volcanic stones, the "abuelitas" (grandmothers), in his giant fire for us. There were four rounds, each with 6 abuelitas shoveled into the center of our hut. One round lasted about 30-40 minutes.

I had great respect for the heat that awaited me. Concerns about whether my circulation would hold out. And at the same time there was this irrepressible curiosity and excitement. After all, I didn't know exactly what was about to happen.

Taki, who led the ceremony with incredible dedication, was the last to enter. We greeted each of the first 6 abuelitas with "Bienvenida abueliata", Welcome Grandmother. As we did so, Taki gradually began to play rhythms on his drum. When the first stones had fully arrived and the temperature had already risen noticeably, the hombre del fuego closed the entrance with the thick alpaca blankets. It was pitch dark and only a glow of the lava stones was visible.

WHEN THERE IS A PHYSICAL SENSATION

FOR SPIRITUAL LIBERATION EXISTS,

THEN FOR ME IT WAS JUST THAT

The sound of the soul

 

Around Taki's drumbeat, his voice gradually nestled. His girlfriend and Jimena, who was something like the spiritual director of the retreat facility, knew the Spanish mantras and joined in with their angelic voices. Quickly we were able to follow as well. Our sacred circle, that protected, familiar space of people with whom I'd been traveling deeper than ever before over the past two weeks, melted into a magical mass of rhythm. We rattled and sang. Breathed deeply in and out, through the heat.

Round 2

 

The breeze did infinitely good when the hombre del fuego briefly lifted the blankets in front of the entrance hole to hold out the shovel with the next abuelita to us and gently place it with the others in our midst. Six times we called again "bienvenida abuelita".

And again, new melodies and new, beautiful Spanish words impacted my soul. The songs described Mother Earth, how we belong to her, are all connected. How she nourishes us. It was about the elements, fire, water, earth, air. About the ether. About the heart. We sang about love. Sometimes I didn't really understand the lyrics, I just let myself be carried away.

As of now, I can only give a hazy account of what exactly happened. It is important for me to mention that no drugs were part of this ceremony. All that put me into a kind of trance was the heat, the music and my breathing.

Our singing as a group got louder and louder. We stuck to a tune that felt good. Taki called out a word to the group. I don't remember what. Something like compassion or connectedness. By now we were all moving our sweaty bodies in a sitting position as much as space allowed.

We were about 15 people in a circular hut with a diameter of maybe 3 meters. By now I didn't care about the sweat of the others and my own. I continued to hum and sing to the drumbeats. Someone else from our circle now suddenly also shouted a word in the middle and a song arose from Taki's melody and courage-giving, liberating words, which were shouted out with body and soul. And at some point this song, which formed as if by itself, reached a kind of climax where all the drums gradually got louder, all the voices sang louder and it got really hot.

Liberation

 

Suddenly I felt tears cooling my cheeks. How my heart pounded loudly

 

How something inside me wanted to scream. I felt a feeling wanting to come out through the tears in my eyes. And I gave it free rein. I howled loudly, sobbing and gasping for air. I don't know for how long, but it was for as long as it took. My loud whooping was completely lost in the singing voices and music of the others. But I didn't worry about that at that moment. I just let it happen. I let go of everything. Even my towel. I can't remember when or if I've ever consciously cried so hard. And there wasn't just release. There was also something dark, something very painful. There was a shadow that I let surface from the inside.

To my surprise, the heat remained bearable even in the third round. I still had enough breath to continue singing and moving. I noticed how my voice now drowned out the desperate shouting, loud laughter or quiet crying of some others. And I just thought to myself "Yes, let it all out, don't be ashamed". By now no one had their towel on either. And when we moved to the music our wet bodies touched each other. So what. We hung on to each other, sometimes took each other's hand or changed our sitting position. We all just sat there as Pacha Mama had made us: free, connected, naked, with open hearts and deeply touched. Even in the fourth round.

The music gently died away. And the hombre del fuego lifted the cloth in front of the entrance. A wonderfully cool breeze on it into the interior. Clockwise again, one by one, we slowly left the hut.

With a bucket we poured cold Andean water from the stream that ran right next to the sweat lodge over our heads. We stood under the shining, crystal clear starry sky in the middle of Peru. Now everything was definitely washed away that no longer served me. At least everything that dared to surface that evening. I felt great. Liberated. Relieved. Filled with joy.

I found my voice that night. I was really loud and it didn't matter how it sounded. The mantra chanting, the shouting of the words, the drums - it had an infinitely liberating effect on me.

Today I believe that on that evening I inwardly decided to speak my truth from now on and to live according to it. What concretely meant that a few weeks later I quit my job, adopted a street dog, now - 2 years later - play the harmonium as a yoga teacher and dare to sing in front of people.

That I found the way to bhakti-yoga through chanting and am now walking the path of the heart.

 

And when tears come to me today, I try to remember that they are a precious mouthpiece of my deepest inner self and I want to hear them. We all have wounds. And we can be grateful when they move from the inside out to experience healing. Even if it's scary at first. Letting go of something, getting free of a thought, belief, and what we no longer are or need is something this experience has taught me.

~ May all living creatures everywhere be happy and free.

Your Jessica

The essence of our retreats & events is to suggest pathways into your glow. They are paths of healing, liberation, self-love and personal development in a yoga-based setting.

Munay Sonqo: http://munaysonqo.com/

Photos © Munay Soqo, © pexels

English
X