Healing with Breath and Sound Workshop - Ziva Yoga Studio, with Blanca - October 10, 2010
The floor was smooth and polished beneath my feet as I entered the tranquil space just a few minutes late, tip toeing to the open space where a blanket and bolsters were set up facing the teacher. Serene and beautiful she looked; regal and official on her pile of cushions with a small table beside her lit with a ghee lantern, a picture of her guru, and a picture of her guru's guru, a vase of flowers, and a hand bell for beginning and ending the chanting sessions. In front of her was a low set podium holding her notes and in front of that was an iron easel with white paper board sheets propped up, the top card displaying a hand-written mantra in big letters:
Shantipathah: A Prayer for Peace & Harmony for our studies. We were given a hand-out entitled: "The Practice: Bija-Mantra Sounding- Expanding Your Vocal Power", and the other side of the page read: "The Inner Sound of the Human Voice", and showed a diagram of the energy of sound flowing through the chakra pathways in the human body.
To open, we each tested our solar (right side) and lunar (left side) breath to see if it was balanced and which one felt more activated. We were then shown how to properly balance the breath by placing the fist of our most active side under our opposing armpit, and then performing a special breathing exercise, described as alternate nostril breathing, which took us about 5 minutes. I personally came out of the exercise feeling very relaxed, calm, and energized.
We were offered hot tea, which totally hit the spot, and sitting up straight, in lotus position, in a single, straight line, we students faced our instructor ready to begin.
She first introduced herself as Blanca, and gave a brief history of how she was brought into the world of Ayurveda and particularly healing with sound vibrations.
She walked us through the chakras in the body, using the diagram on the handout and explaining carefully the position and the movement and meaning of each chakra, and the particular stage of life at which each one is usually developed and potentially mastered. She described how the human voice is a divine human instrument and the most powerful healing tool we have. She said "Sound brings harmony and clarity into your life".
We now knew the locations of the chakras in the body and were now ready to learn what sound to put with each area. We started with the root chakra and worked up through all seven chakras. We learned that these sacred vowel sounds were called the 'bija mantras'.
"The bija sounds reverberate in the body and balances the viatl prana (life force), intuition, mind, health, and the breath as well" Blanca told us.
We worked through several rounds of the bija mantras and then sat quietly for several minutes, becoming aware of the subtle changes that had transpired in our bodies.
The sounds of the chakras starting with the lowest and working up to the highest are:
Lam
Vam
Ram
Yam
Ham
Om
and the seventh chakra in the center of brain is silent
By reciting seven rounds for seven minutes for seven weeks you can "gradually cleanse and harmonize your inner vibrations and bring them into alliance with your personal sound". (
The Practice - handout)
Find a tranquil place in the early morning and sit facing the rising sun to practice this powerful healing with sound exercise.
A couple participants reported that their stomachs felt entirely more relaxed after we finished the sound practice. I felt incredibly calm, clear, and alert - almost like I was buzzing.
I highly recommend Blanca's Healing with Sound workshops to everyone. There is no experience necessary, or even any introductory knowledge. Sound truly is the most powerful healing instrument that we have. We should use it more often.
Thank you Blanca for sharing this wonderful knowledge with the community. I hope to see more workshops offered, and this particular practice expounded on and offered in a more advanced series.
