The Pagan Heart
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June-July 2005 Issue
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Working with Energy: The Mudras and Chants
By Catherine M.
Start by using the meditation exercises to relax your body and focus your mind. Move into a seated position and run through the Dancing Fingers Mudra a few times before begining the following Mudras and chants. Do not leap into all seven in one day. Take three days or so to learn the first, adding a new exercise in on the fourth day and so on. This will give you a chance to not only become familiar with the Mudra and chanting, but also to really get to know your Chakras. As you learnt when reading about the Dancing Fingers Mudra, Mudras are simple hand exercises that access the energy feeding the Chakras and help to balance it. There is one exercise for each Chakra point. The Sanskrit chants are one syllable sounds - one for each Chakra designed to be used in conjunction with the Mudras. The particular sound and note of each when chanted resonates with the energy within your body, helping to awaken (the kundalini) and "tune" (the life-energy). When combined, as described in the exercises below, the chants and Mudras have an intense and immediate effect upon the energy within the body. You may find as you progress that three days isn't long enough before intriducing a new Mudra and chant. If this is the case, simply take longer. It is important not to push ahead of your comfort level as this is a very intense form of energy work. If you are in an emotionally unbalanced state, these exercises will force you to confront those emotions. They will also encourage the release of watse buildup in your body - both physical and mental. And they create a state of body awareness that makes stopping them suddenly rather uncomfortable. These exercises bring balance to your energy - your body gets very used to and comfortable with that. Stopping will allow the old imbalances to return, and you will be hyperaware of them, which can be uncomftable. The exercises will balance your Secondary Chakras, and increase your own awareness of the energy that emanates from each one. I have found that at least three times a week is the minimum optimal work required. Daily is of course best. Pick a time to do so and try and stick to that time every day. At first it may take 30-60 minutes to work all the way through. Once you are familiar with the process you can tune up and move on in 15 minutes - or sit back and savour it as you thoroughly get into it. As you work through the Mudras and Chants, focus on your breathing for 7 - 10 breaths while chanting the sound anywhere from one to five times during the exhalation. You can use loud sounds or soft, as long as you make some noise. Experiment to find what works best - when you are doing it right, you will begin to "feel" your Chakra tingle or vibrate.
Root Chakra: Place the backs of your hands on your knees. Let the tips of your thumb and index finger touch. Focus upon where you think your Root Chakra is (actual awareness will soon develop) and chant LAM (pronounced L-ah-mng). Navel Chakra: Put your hands in your lap, palms up, on top of each other. The left hand lies underneath, its palm touching the back of the fingers of the right hand. The tips of the thumbs should touch gently. Focus upon the Sacral Chakra and chant VAM (V-ah-mng). Solar Plexus Chakra: Put your hands before your stomach, slightly below your solar plexus. Let the fingers join at the tops, all pointing away from you. Cross the thumbs and straighten the fingers - they should be together. Focus on the Solar Plexus and chant RAM (R-ah-mng). Heart Chakra: With each hand, touch the tip of your index finger to its corresponding thumb. Put your left hand on your left knee and your right hand in front of the lower part of your breast bone (so a bit above the solar plexus). Focus on the Heart Chakra and chant YAM (Y-ah-mng). Throat Chakra: Loosely interlace your fingers so that the backs of each finger tip rests upon the opposing palm. Take the thumbs and form a circle (with the interlaced index fingers forming the base). Let the thumb tips touch and pull them slightly up. Focus on the Throat Chakra and chant HAM (H-ah-mng). Third Eye Chakra: Put your hands before the lower part of your breast, palms facing each other but not touching. Touch the tips of the middle fingers, and bend the other fingers into the palms. Rest the backs of them against their corresponding partner. The middle fingers should be straight and pointing slightly forward. Touch the thumb tips and let them point towards your chest. Concentrate on the Third Eye Chakra and chant AUM (Ah-ow-mng). Crown Chakra: Put your hands before your stomach. Let the ring fingers point up, touching at their tops. Interlace the rest, starting by folding in the left thumb, crossing the right over it, then left finger, right, etc. Palms should be slightly apart. Focus on the Crown Chakra and chant NG (nn-g). |
Primary article for June-July - How to Become a Healer Without Harming Yourself I
Secondary article for June-July - One Woman's Sacred Vision
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