Saturday, July 10, 2010

The Path of the Bow and Arrow

I am in Miami. Just finished a workshop on the Baghavad Gita with Manorama, a Sanskrit scholar who has a Sanskrit studies college in New York. (Pronounced MaNORama or Ma) The Gita, or Song of the Lord, is a Yogic Upanishad, meaning those teachings which one receives while being close to the teacher, so the teachings are meant to be imparted orally. I chanted the poetic verses of the Gita for 7 hours today and fostered a new relationship with the text. I have to admit that previously the Gita was not a favorite Yogic road map for me, which was part of the reason that I signed up for this workshop. The beauty of a vibrational language like Sanskrit is that the sounds encourage union and cultivate Oneness. And the meaning of the words is contained in the sound vibration of the words. When we chant Sanskrit, we know the meaning in our hearts and in our bellies. Sound, Shabda, comes from Space, Akash, and the more subtle the element, the more powerful it is. Space is the most subtle of the elements, so working with sound is a potent endeavor. The 51 sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet correspond to and heal the 51 petals of the lotuses of the Chakras, the energy vortexes in the body.
I leave Miami tomorrow morning.......I had forgotten the beauty of Coral Gables, the international flavor of Miami and the vividness of the tropical sky. Thank you Prana Yoga Miami, my gracious workshop facilitator and hostess.
Back to teaching at Bliss Monday morning at 9 am. Our theme this week is inspired by Arjuna, the main player in the Gita- we will be working with The Path of the Bow and Arrow- Awakening the Warrior.