Being away from London has forced me to go deeper into my own practise, to continually challenge myself and find new things to inspire me. I have been blessed with having the opportunity to practise amongst nature, in beautiful surroundings from sunrises over stunning mountains to sunsets to the sound of the ocean. But I have also had to practise wherever I can find a enough room, in cramped, dirty, noisy and hot spaces. I have also had to miss daily practises when travelling for extended periods of time but am learning to be able to meditate on bumpy bus rides and with people around me!
I have missed my gurus from home (namely Claire Missingham and Alessandra Pecorella) for their support, assistance and inspiration. I do still very connected to my teachers and honour them in my practise but nothing can quite match Claire's deep hands on assists to help me find space I never knew I had, her rocking music, rhythm and spiritual energy or Alessandra's creative sequencing and connection with nature.
Claire Missingham's Online Classes
Thanks to the joys of technology I can stay closer to my gurus! Claire Missingham has created a brilliant serious of superb online video classes available all for free! There's classes to suit all from Mama Flow for the lovely pregnant ladies out there, to a class for non-yogis to give it a go through to challenging dynamic practises. What a gift to make her teachings available to all and spread Vinyasa Flow across the world :). Check them out here: and enjoy!
http://vimeo.com/32294749top
http://www.claireyoga.com/new-video-classes
Alessandra Pecorella - Shabda Meditation CD
I was very happy when Alessandra Pecorella released her meditation CD 'Shabda' featuring Ann Malone's beautiful live, healing music from Ann Malone :). It's a wonderful series of three meditations which take you on a journey through the chakras using attention on the breath and Mantra.
"Shabda is the Sanskrit word for sound, spoken words that are uttered, whispered or repeated mentally. Sound is vibration with the power of creating a concept, an image in our mind. In this cd i explore the use of Breath , Awareness and Sound along the Chakra System." Alessandra Pecorella
As I've mentioned before I have been lucky enough to receive Alessandra's teachings first hand with an introduction to some preparatory Kriya exercises. The exercises included chanting OM up and down the chakras with the breath and breathing a thread of light up and down through the central channel Sushumna Nadi from the root/Mulhadhara chakra to the third eye/Ajna chakra.
The CD explores similar exercises and Alessandra explains "these techniques are preliminary practises to balance and strengthen the nervous system of the practioner in preparation for Kriya Yoga". I have been using this CD to open my meditation practise before entering into the deeper Kriya exercises I learnt in India. The CD is invaluable as it enhances my focus and coinnection to Sushumna Nadi and helps me to tune into the chakras.
It is also a beautiful coincidence that there is a meditation using Om Namah Shivaya which is a Mantra I have been chanting regularly, often 3 rounds of my mala beads. This Siddha mantra means 'perfect being', it creates harmony and helps to balance the chakras. The Mantra has 6 syllables which are each associated with 1 of the 5 elements which are in turn related to the specific qualities of each Chakra:
Om - Mantra of Light/Element is Ether/Third eye/Ajna Chakra
Na - Element is Earth/Root/Mulhadhara Chakra
Ma - Element is Water /Swadisthana Chakra
Shi - Element is Fire/Naval Centre /Manipura Chakra
Va - Element is Air/Heart/Anahata Chakra
Ya - Relates to Sound/Throat/Vishudhi Chakra
The Cd is available on Itunes http://itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/alessandra-pecorella/id493042249
Check out Alessandra's website for further information and inspiration: http://alessandrayoga.com/meditation
The Primordial Sound of OM
One in All
Om Sweet Om
All in One
Om is in Cosmic Sound
Om is formless God
Om is Cosmic Light
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As I began using Alessandra's CD I was reading River Sutra by Gita Mehta and it related well to this particular extract that I wanted to share:
"Om is the three worlds
Om is the free fires
Om is the three gods
Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva"
"The first sound of Om is the manifest world
The sound of waking consciousness
The sound of gross experience
The second sound of Om is the unmanifest world
The sound of dreamless sleep
the sound of potential experience
The half syllable of Om is silence
The sound of the unmanifest world
It is the ultimate goal
The incomparable target"
I have missed my gurus from home (namely Claire Missingham and Alessandra Pecorella) for their support, assistance and inspiration. I do still very connected to my teachers and honour them in my practise but nothing can quite match Claire's deep hands on assists to help me find space I never knew I had, her rocking music, rhythm and spiritual energy or Alessandra's creative sequencing and connection with nature.
Claire Missingham's Online Classes
Thanks to the joys of technology I can stay closer to my gurus! Claire Missingham has created a brilliant serious of superb online video classes available all for free! There's classes to suit all from Mama Flow for the lovely pregnant ladies out there, to a class for non-yogis to give it a go through to challenging dynamic practises. What a gift to make her teachings available to all and spread Vinyasa Flow across the world :). Check them out here: and enjoy!
http://vimeo.com/32294749top
http://www.claireyoga.com/new-video-classes
Alessandra Pecorella - Shabda Meditation CD
I was very happy when Alessandra Pecorella released her meditation CD 'Shabda' featuring Ann Malone's beautiful live, healing music from Ann Malone :). It's a wonderful series of three meditations which take you on a journey through the chakras using attention on the breath and Mantra.
"Shabda is the Sanskrit word for sound, spoken words that are uttered, whispered or repeated mentally. Sound is vibration with the power of creating a concept, an image in our mind. In this cd i explore the use of Breath , Awareness and Sound along the Chakra System." Alessandra Pecorella
As I've mentioned before I have been lucky enough to receive Alessandra's teachings first hand with an introduction to some preparatory Kriya exercises. The exercises included chanting OM up and down the chakras with the breath and breathing a thread of light up and down through the central channel Sushumna Nadi from the root/Mulhadhara chakra to the third eye/Ajna chakra.
The CD explores similar exercises and Alessandra explains "these techniques are preliminary practises to balance and strengthen the nervous system of the practioner in preparation for Kriya Yoga". I have been using this CD to open my meditation practise before entering into the deeper Kriya exercises I learnt in India. The CD is invaluable as it enhances my focus and coinnection to Sushumna Nadi and helps me to tune into the chakras.
It is also a beautiful coincidence that there is a meditation using Om Namah Shivaya which is a Mantra I have been chanting regularly, often 3 rounds of my mala beads. This Siddha mantra means 'perfect being', it creates harmony and helps to balance the chakras. The Mantra has 6 syllables which are each associated with 1 of the 5 elements which are in turn related to the specific qualities of each Chakra:
Om - Mantra of Light/Element is Ether/Third eye/Ajna Chakra
Na - Element is Earth/Root/Mulhadhara Chakra
Ma - Element is Water /Swadisthana Chakra
Shi - Element is Fire/Naval Centre /Manipura Chakra
Va - Element is Air/Heart/Anahata Chakra
Ya - Relates to Sound/Throat/Vishudhi Chakra
The Cd is available on Itunes http://itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/alessandra-pecorella/id493042249
Check out Alessandra's website for further information and inspiration: http://alessandrayoga.com/meditation
The Primordial Sound of OM
One in All
Om Sweet Om
All in One
Om is in Cosmic Sound
Om is formless God
Om is Cosmic Light
+(640x480).jpg)
Street Sign in Rishikesh, India
"Om is the three worlds
Om is the free fires
Om is the three gods
Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva"
"The first sound of Om is the manifest world
The sound of waking consciousness
The sound of gross experience
The second sound of Om is the unmanifest world
The sound of dreamless sleep
the sound of potential experience
The half syllable of Om is silence
The sound of the unmanifest world
It is the ultimate goal
The incomparable target"
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