The Practice of Nada Yoga: Meditation on the Inner Sacred Sound
Baird Hersey
Language: English
Pages: 224
ISBN: 1620551810
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Meditation exercises for listening to the four levels of sound, to still the body, quiet the mind, open the heart, and connect with the Divine
• Details the teachings on nada yoga from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika with clear, step-by-step instructions to find and hear the inner sacred sound of nada
• Explains the 4 levels of sound through a series of practical meditation exercises
• Includes instructions for a daily nada yoga meditation practice as well as ways to strengthen your advanced practice
The ancient practice of nada yoga is not complex. It is the yoga of listening. It is a journey from the noise of the external world inward to a place of peace and bliss, to the source of the transformational power of sound--the nada. By meditating on the inner sacred sound of the nada, we can release ourselves from mind chatter and obsessive thinking. We can still the body, quiet the mind, and open the heart to create a state of mind where joy naturally arises.
Sharing his experiential understanding of the classic Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Baird Hersey offers precise, step-by-step instructions on how to find the inner sound of the nada. He explains the first three levels of sound--first, how to truly hear the ordinary sounds of the world around us (vaikhari); second, how to quiet the sounds of the mind (madhyama), such as sound memories and internal dialogue; and third, how to access visual sounds (pashyanti), tapping in to our ability to see sounds and hear colors. Mastering the first three levels prepares one for the fourth level of sound (para), the heart of the practice that connects one to the inner sound of the nada. The author provides detailed exercises to guide you through each level of sound and instructions for a daily nada yoga meditation practice.
Hersey explains that by focusing our minds on this internal sound we reunite our essential self with the eternal and infinite. In this re-union we find bliss in both body and mind, an uplifted spirit, and heightened states of consciousness.
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sounds. 11. Listen through your right ear. 12. Listen through your left ear. 13. Listen through both ears. 14. Now, instead of hearing these sounds one at a time, hear them all at once in a panorama. Listen as if you are broadening your focus from one point on a movie screen to the entire screen. Let go of naming or identifying each individual sound. Hear them combined as one all-encompassing sound. Hold that focus as long as you can. As you travel through your day, try to take notice of the
the left calf (fig. 4). Bring the toes on your left foot up between the thigh and calf on the right leg (fig. 5). Place your hands, palms down, on your knees with your arms straight (fig. 6). This will keep your spine straight. 1. Left heel under perineum 2. Right heel above pubic bone 3. Roll right knee down 4. Tuck right toes 5. Bring up left toes 6. Hands on knees, straight arms If this is not possible, sit on a rolled up blanket or pillow pointed back to front with your legs folded on
Gorakshanath describes this location, the root of the palate, as the talu chakra. He says it is the tenth door that leads upward to the divine. Initially it is best not to get attached to one particular sound. The sounds you hear may change from day to day, from meditation to meditation. It is the concentration on these internal sounds that is most important, rather than which sound we hear on any given day. Ultimately, after regular steady practice, your concentration will settle on the
waste bi-products of the brain and spine and passes them back out through the blood-brain barrier for excretion. These two processes physically nourish and clear the brain, preparing the mind to focus. After six or seven surya namaskaras our mind starts to come to a clarity it did not have before doing them. By the repetition of vinyasa we also strengthen the cerebral blood vessels that control blood flow to the brain. In any inversion blood rushes to the head. The blood vessels contract to stop
crying, their breathing completely changes from its normal cycle. Even after they have stopped crying, their diaphragm keeps moving. They still have a hitch in their breath as their diaphragm contracts in spasm. Our breathing patterns become more set as we become adults. We learn to “control” the outward expression of our emotions. When our emotions are particularly strong, our bodies don’t always comply. If we are upset or angry, our breathing may become constricted as we try to control our
