Did you know that you can use your body like an instrument? While chanting your tongue strucks meridian points in your mouth that stimulate your brain in a way that has a healing impact.
THE NAAD
One of the outstanding qualities of Kundalini Yoga that made me love this style of Yoga is its holistic understanding of mantras and sound and the way these sacred words of wisdom are used and treasured during the practice. It is a real science that has merged into the term of the Naad.
The science of Naad is based on the concept that everything in the universe has a vibration. We all vibrate on different frequencies. Our thoughts frequencies are higher than the vibration of a stone, but everything vibrates, even the silence does. In this sense: Naad is the basic sound for all languages through all times. This sound comes from one common source or sound current. It is the universal code behind language and therefore behind human communication.
While practicing Kundalini Yoga chanting or the use of mantras is integral. I personally find it very helpful to work with a mantra during meditation because it helps my mind to focus on something. I imagine it like the mantra functions as a lasso for my thoughts, because every time my mind is wandering away the mantra brings me back to the here and now.
But how does it really work? Here is how the science of Naad works on a physiological level:
MERGER THROUGH THE WORD AND THE GUPHAS
According to the Teachings of Kundalini Yoga: There are two caves (guphas) in the body - in the lower triangle there is the bij gupha (seed cave) which relates to the sexual organs. In the upper triangle there is the gian gupha (cave of knowledge) which relates to the tongue and the mouth. The science of Naad Yoga is concerned with the gian gupha.
There are 84 meridian points located on the hard palate of the roof of the mouth which are stimulated by the movement of the tongue while chanting. The points are like a keyboard that is wired to a computer. The computer is located in the hypothalamus area of the brain. It receives the impulses from the repeated patterns of the sound one produces while chanting.
This stimulation of the brain is translated into instructions that regulate chemical messengers that go to all vital areas of the brain and body. The hypothalamus lies just below the thalamus in the midline of the brain. It is connected by blood vessels to the pituitary gland — the master gland of the body. The hypothalamus is known to regulate vital functions like hunger, thirst, body temperature and sleep. It also triggers the regulation of moods, emotional behaviour and sexuality. The special sound patterns of the mantras stimulates the hypothalamus to change the chemistry of the brain.
This adjusts the functions of the endocrine system and the metabolism to create a neutral balanced mind and does strengthen the immune function. Many positive states of mind can be created by chanting. It can conquer depression, enhance intelligence and intuition, and open the power of compassion.
In other words by the mere power of chanting you can actually reprogram the distribution of the chemical messengers that you send out to all your vital organs. If you imagine your body as an instrument and your brain as a recording studio you could also relate to yourself as a small music enterprise that holds the power of healing within. Without spending money on doctors, healers and meds you can manipulate the chemistry in your brain and body to your benefit: You hold the power to reprogram your (bad) habits just by chanting mantras. Sounds like magic - too good to be true? Why don't you try it?
GIVE IT A TRY
Choose a mantra according to your need or one that you feel attracted to by its sound, chant it everyday for 15 minutes at least for 40 days in a row. You can make a research about the mantra about what it means, but during chanting you don't need to think of the meaning as such, just try to concentrate on the right pronunciation of the sound and feel the vibration of it in the heart area. Chant from the navel and enjoy the sound your own voice produces. Connect to your heart by the means of your voice. Acknowledge the effect of the mantra by contemplating your state of mind before chanting and after - without judgements. Just feel the difference of the before and after.
I suggest the next time you are chanting: remember what sacred instrument your body is and how it serves you on your spiritual path of finding awareness, growth and a great source of healing. Chanting truly is a powerful tool for healing and we all can't have enough from it right now and forever.
I am wishing you to have some beautiful experiences of discovering your own music enterprise that lies within the vibration of your voice. It can be as holy as liberating as healing. Give it a try. <3
Sat Nam Wahe Guru
Do you have an experience with a special mantra that has helped you in the past? I would love to read about it in a personal message or in a comment.
If you'd like to buy some mantras, I can recommend this page:
Where do you download your mantras?
The information about the impact of chanting on a physiological level and the picture of the 84 meridian points have been taken from the "The Aquarian Teacher - Level One Textbook", issued 2020 by the Kundalini Research Institute
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