At Sadhana, we’re dedicated to all aspects of yoga
asana
Bringing asana (postures), chanting, meditation, and breath awareness together offers a clear path for enhancing health, well-being, and spiritual growth. Sadhana Yoga Hudson shares the rich history, philosophy, and teachings of the yoga tradition to students and teachers alike.
Focus of the Month
Silence, Sound and Anahata Chakra
I’ve been enjoying reading Silence in the Age of Noise by Erling Kagge and contemplating the silence around me, within me, and its implications in my life. Often, I can access a place of quiet by practicing yoga, or sewing, or swimming, things I do with my body that then have an effect on my mind. It is a process of creating inner silence and it’s essential for me, especially in the world right now.
In esoteric yoga, anahata chakra is the fourth primary chakra. In Sanskrit, anahata means “unstruck”, or “sound produced without touching two parts” and at the same time it means “pure” or “stainless”. It signifies the state of freshness that appears when we are able to stay vulnerable and look at the different and apparently contradictory experiences of life with a state of openness. At the heart level, it is possible to integrate two opposite forces with a spirit of cooperation and integration, which brings peace and a new perspective to a world that often operates through force and confrontation.
This month we’ll focus on sound, which at first might appear like an about-face from silence, but then again, can sound contain silence? One way we can feel our way into the answer is through the repetition of “yam”, the seed syllable for anahata chakra. Another way is through mantra, a word or sound repeated to aid concentration, as in the Buddhist chant, om mani padme hum, meaning “the jewel is in the lotus.” Another way is through bhajan, a devotional practice of singing that means ‘sharing’. And perhaps an even more subtle way is through Ujjayi pranayama, a breathing practice that means “ocean or victorious breath”. Ujjayi is a diaphragmatic breath, which first fills the lower belly, rises to the lower rib cage, and finally moves into the upper chest and throat. Inhalation and exhalation are both done through the nose, and the sound is created by moving the glottis as air passes in and out. As the throat passage is narrowed, so, too, is the airway, and the passage of air creates a ’rushing’ sound. The length and speed are controlled by the diaphragm, the strengthening of which is the purpose of ujjayi.
Here’s a quote about silence from Erling Kagge that beautifully sums up this focus:
“…It’s about getting inside what you are doing. Experiencing rather than overthinking. Allowing each moment to be big enough. Not living through other people and other things. Shutting out the world and fashioning your own silence whenever you run, cook food, have sex, study, chat, work, think of a new idea, read, dance….”
Or do yoga.