Just Like a Prayer



Oregon Waterfall

Music, drums and sound vibration have had a powerful place in our ritual, ceremony and daily, devotional life for thousands of years.  Yoga uses sound vibration, formally in Kirtan, which is a session of music and chanting, often accompanied by drums and other instruments.  This sound vibration is also a part of every yoga session, beginning and ending with chants (in Sanskrit).  They are usually prayers of peace (such as Om Shanti) or of tranquility and reality. 

The word “chant” can easily scare some, but chant is just another word for spoken prayer (usually in another language), which exists in every religion and culture. The Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary, the Nicene Creed – they are all chants.  Just like a Jew may pray in Hebrew, a Muslim in Arabic, a Catholic in Latin, Buddhists in Pali or Tibetan, Yogis often pray in Sanskrit, since that is the original language of all the yogic prayers. While a devotional and spiritual practice, yogis believe chant and prayer has scientific grounding because the vibrations help yogis increase their health, well being and clarity of mind.  Consistent chanting can calm our nerves, heal our bodies, open our hearts, and prepare our minds for meditation.

Spiritually speaking, chanting is a healing practice that allows us to speak with God, to have a conversation and open ourselves up to the divine power. Although I had experienced an occasional "Om" here and there at the beginning of yoga classes, it wasn't until the Ashram where I was certified that I was introduced to chanting in a serious way.  I had never given it much thought before, but joining together and repeating beautiful, rhythmic prayers with a group morning and night for a month straight gave me an electrified spiritual buzz that I cannot explain. 

Though since then, I’ve gone through plenty of periods of doing yoga without prayer, I find myself in a place now where I just don’t want to do yoga without a hearty “Om” at the beginning (the sound of cosmic consciousness, of God) and my Ashram prayers at the end. Like spiritual bookends to my practice, these prayers are grounding and remind me why I’m doing yoga in the first place.  Afterwards, I feel light, energized, peaceful, and ready to take on anything. I feel like it taps into something deeper, something that connects us all together, and then that energy connection taps into divinity, whatever that may be.

At its most simplest root, chanting is just a lovely, calm practice.  But I also can’t help but think of more intense results of the power of chant. Take Tina Turner, who began chanting the Buddhist Nam Myoho Renge Kyo and completely changed her life around.  She said chanting this prayer (which means “Hail the Wondrous Truth of the Lotus Sutra” (one of Buddhism’s sacred texts) was like life’s mirror and gave her a strength and clarity she never had before.  She left her abusive, addicted husband, Ike and started her life over, becoming a devout Buddhist.

There are many chants I love...the Buddhist Pare Gate which tells of the Buddha’s passing into parnirvana (ultimate release from death); a haunting Hindu chant about a devout yogi sitting under the stars every evening praying to God; an African chant praising the Divine (Ashe! Ashe!); but I’ll end with my favorite of them all.  In Sanskrit, Lokaah Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu translates roughly as “May all beings of creation be filled with peace and joy, love and light.”  Ahhh….isn’t that nice?

Question of the Week:  Do you have a specific prayer, mantra, chant or saying that calms or speaks to you?  If so, please share it with us!