Day 27: Kirtan Kriya Meditation

 


In Sanskrit, a kirtan is a song, and kriya refers to a specific set of movements. In the Eastern tradition, kriyas are used to help bring the body, mind and emotions into balance to enable healing.

A few years ago I opened Insight Timer in preparation for meditation. I saw a guided meditation called Kirtan Kriya. I am a big fan of Kirtan, a call and response type of chanting, so I opened it to check it out. After I practiced it a few times, it became one of my favorite meditations. You can chant along with this video on YouTube if you find that easier.

Meaning of the Chant:

SAT NAM seeds the truth in our consciousness by waking us up to our divine identity.

SA is the beginning, infinity, the totality of everything that ever was, is or will be.

TA is life, existance and creativity that manifests from infinity.

NA is death, change and the transformation of consciousness.

MA is rebirth, regeneration and resurrection which allows us to consciously experience the joy of the infinite.

Chant is in the three languages of consciousness:

- Human, normal loud voice, the world.

- Lovers, audible whisper, longing to belong

- Divine, mentally, silent, infinity

Directions:

Sit up straight. Bring your focus to your 3rd eye

Chant SA TA NA MA. While chanting alternately press the thumb with the four fingers. Press hard enough to keep yourself awake and aware of the pressure. Keep repeating in a stable rhythm and keep the hand motion going throughout the meditation.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Five Minutes in the John. Chapter Six. Final Thoughts

Image
 "The act of meditation is being spacious.” – Sogyal Rinpoche Let's review. We are invited to sit in meditation for 15-20 minutes a day for a committed period of time like a month. We are keeping it simple with the 1-2-3 method. Sit. Breathe. Stay. We have reviewed the benefits and the obstacles. All is in order. Maybe I am the only one, but I wonder how meditating started. When did people first sit and why? What were they hoping for? It is speculated that meditation practice may be as old as humanity itself. I imagine early man staring into a fire or up at the stars in the sky. No internet. No TV. No books. So contemplation was basically part of life. You hunted, foraged, ate and sat around the fire until you slept. As life became more organized and less nomadic, spiritual thought and practices developed. India has the oldest written information about meditation, followed by China. No one really knows for sure when it started or why, but we do know this: it offers something
Read more

Day 1 of The 28 Day Meditation Challenge

Image
Meditation is the one simple thing we can do to support physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Simple, but not easy, as they say. Why is that? All we are asked to do is sit quietly for a period of time. While it doesn't seem hard, it can be challenging to "do nothing" amid the myriad of responsibilities and distractions that go with everyday life. That is why meditation is called a practice. We work at it everyday not to get better at meditating, but to bring us benefits of health, wellness, spiritual connection and calm. If you decide to accept the challenge, it just might change your life. This is first part in a 28 day series to inspire and support your meditation practice.  Even in the midst of disturbance, the stillness of the mind can offer sanctuary. - Stephen Richards  I had a friend who was an avid meditator for years. Knowing her, you could tell there was something different about her. Her life wasn't unique, full of ups and downs like the rest
Read more

Five Minutes in the John. Chapter Five: Why Don't We Do It?

Image
A most useful approach to meditation practice is to consider it the most important activity of  each day. Schedule it as you would an extremely important appointment, and unfailingly keep your appointment with the infinite."                                               – Roy Eugene Davis We know what's good for us, yet human nature takes a rather lackadaisical approach to good practices. We floss and then we don't. We go to the gym and then take a break. Sometimes it is only when we give something up that we discover how much we need it. That is good to know and can tip us over from "I should" to "I want to". When I surveyed clients about meditation there were basically two reasons why they didn't sit. Lack of time and a potpourri of excuses including “I can’t”, “I don’t know how” and “it’s not my thing”.  Remember the song by the Guess Who?
Read more