Third Lesson in the Series “Twelve Lessons from our Deep Healing Retreat”
I believe we are meant to learn from our yoga. Each session is an opportunity to take something home with us, to tend to it and keep it as a treasure we can turn to and rely on in times of need.
A low mood, a distressing interaction, a shock or the slow wearing away of one’s joy are, I feel, human experiences we all share. Everyone, at some point is going to need something to turn that they trust and know works for them.
A fair chunk of our day to day misery is probably self made. I say this, because it is an empowering stand point. Another way this is said is that we have control over how we perceive and respond to life.
My approach is more creative. I see that we are creative in-putters into our own life. I don’t rely on the day, the people around me or the media to set the days tone… to prop me up or ground me back down. If I did I’d probably be a confused wreck.
I set the tone of my life. I select the playlist, I turn the volume up or down. Literally.
Times in my life when my mood has been consistently more elevated are the years that I sang in a choir. There was always a song in my heart and often one escaping from my lips too! I’d sing at the end of the day while I watered the garden, I’d sing when I cook or make my morning cup of tea.
Especially good were the songs in latin or French. I felt like an open channel for the spirit of music to move through untethered to any meaning I (the small me) might add to it. I could be of any time, any place, as a human instrument vibrating between heaven and earth. And singing certainly does ensure your feet are on the earth. We sing from our feet on the ground - especially the high notes or more operatic tones. An this allows an up flow that connected us to the heavens. By this I mean that the space of the room around you opens up and the bigness of the space seems to ripple out all the way to the horizon. The space inside of us, is mapped out and lived in through song. We could not resonate without the empty spacious voids. A singer knows their body as inner spaces - open and free - more than the body as a solid object.
And what has all this got to do with our Deep Healing retreat in 2024?
On the very first day I mentioned the importance of choosing the song one has in their heart. One of the participants mentioned that she has a talent to instantly think up the song related to any moment. You can say a word or a phrase and she’ll have a song at hand for it. The sunny disposition and fun nature of this person certainly aligned with my theory that having a song in ones heart is a good way to live each day.
A solid day of Noble Silence is a requirement for the kind of deep healing the retreat offers. To prepare for the challenges total silence churns up, we needed to address the fact that the mind will keep putting on the same old records it always does, even in Noble Silence. A person filled with self doubt, or complaints, or defensiveness does not suddenly drop them because they are no longer speaking. They simply get to have a clearer view to watch their own inner voice and the beauty or havoc it creates. In any case, a change in the status quo of the mind is the aim. One of several techniques to create a healthy shift or opening of the mind is the use of chants and mantras.
Om Eim Hrim Klim Chamundayay Vichy Namah
Om Eim Hrim Klim Chamundayay Vichy Namah was practiced regularly to soak it deeply into our organs and bones. Suitable for a Women’s Only retreat as it refers to the three Goddesses Kali, Lakshmi and Saraswati.
We learned a deeply philosophical chant
“Om Purnman Adaha Purnam Idam”
Which can be translated as:
Om The unified, underlying sound of the Universe
That (Outer World)
is Purna (Full with Divine Consciousness);
This (Inner World)
is also Purna (Full with Divine Consciousness)
Acknowledging that everything that arises as matter, even whole universes, also dissolve and disappear before arising anew. Underlying this and unchanged is Purna.
Yoga acknowledges the Ever Present and Unchanging as a foundational reference point for our practice and our view of life. We are part of a whole.
When students become present to the vast cycle of life that’s a big thing. But to add to it the understanding that they are an expression of divine consciousness - wow! Expansiveness enters the room, vastness enters the mind, profound and awe inspiring feels can penetrate the heart. This can open the mind to possibilities for ones inner life and outer life that breaks old limitations and bonds. In basic terms: “this one precious life, connected to the vastness of all existence, is mine and it does not have to be a recycling of old habits and the accumulated dross of the past.”
Really!
Yes, really. Every bond can be broken. Every attachment can be released.
Each moment is a new moment of existence. Again, we have a creative role to play in this existence if we so choose.
Like my fun natured friend who is quick to bring up a song, we can be cheeky, open, daring, brave, and outrageous. Or we can believe life sets the pace and tone and the music is insufferable.
Choose your music, choose the song in your heart. Sing it, embody it. Name it, own it and claim your day as your own creation.
Most of my songs are old Blues Songs, some Jazz, a splattering of childlike Christian songs I learnt at school, Love Songs, Heart Ache, Pop songs, Rock, Anthems to lift the spirit and Lullaby’s to calm the mind. I am not embarrassed by the child like Christian songs because of the freedom of spoke of above. It brings a sense of innocence, reverence and hope in the benevolent forces of humanity and the universe. They each meet a need and shift my consciousness in unique ways.
Songs arise like sunshine and perfume and the kids have learned them by osmosis, spreading the love, the lightness, and open self expression. To them expression, and its many colours and textures, is a natural way to be in life. We are allowed to have feelings and moods and have them emanate from us. The beauty of a song’s feeling-tone is that it is not necessarily personally yours. That is a big yogic learning. To be a little distant from our own story and feelings. There is so much freedom when we see our own act and laugh at it. The music moves through you and is not you.
When learning the mantra and chants, it is a very special practice to continue for 108 times.
The repetition wears down our mind’s tendencies and programming. A feeling of surrendering, letting go and opening up can awaken a deep inner stillness or light to glow and radiate.
Your yoga is with you. Have a song in your heart and your yoga will hold you dear.
reference
*https://greenmesg.org/stotras/vedas/om_purnamadah_purnamidam.php