40-Day Learn To Chant (Choose Your Own Chant)

I have discovered that direct experience is the best teacher, so in Day 1, we're diving right into practice. As we go, I'll include instruction each day before we begin, and end with questions that invite you to reflect on your experience.

It is very common as you engage in any new practice for resistance and discomfort to arise. This is mental and physical strength training, and as such all the resistance that arises when we engage in an exercise program will also arise here. Just begin to notice them. What messages are coming up? It's more important to notice those that to do this perfectly. It will get more intense, and then it will flush out as you stick with it.

The first discomfort that will likely come up is how to sit and the physical discomforts that arise. So let's dispel and address this one first and then we can move on to all else that will likely arise and start working on the jewels present in this practice.

In order to root this practice into your system and best set yourself up for success, a sacred container is necessary to protect the flow and magic of what you're doing to allow it to unfold naturally. Today we'll talk about creating space in your home, and/or your calendar to make sure you're set up for success.

In Day 5 we'll go over the use of mala beads and crystals that can enhance your practice and help occupy the mind so you can drop deeper into practice. These are not required at all, but can help with repeated practice.

In day 6 we'll talk about the last tool that is my favorite to use with chanting essential oils. Our sense of smell is the fastest sense that reaches the brain. With regular practice, when we use essential oils before practice it signals to our brain what we're doing next so the body can calm and we can drop in even deeper.

Engaging in a practice like this can be wildly awkward, especially if singing is not your thing. Today we'll talk about the practice I had to engage in order to get comfortable with it. If it's uncomfortable, don't worry, you're not alone!

A surprising result of this practice is unleveled communication skills. Today we'll talk about how this practice can help you tune into yourself, your emotions and your needs, and therefore make it easier to communication your needs, once you know what they are.

Hearing your own voice can be challenging, especially if you didn't feel like you had a voice in previous times. Maybe you're not use to calling upon your voice, physically or metaphorically, and that can bring up a lot of emotion as well. Notice what's happening physically and emotionally as you dive further into this practice. We'll talk more about emotions that rise as we go. For now just notice what you notice and if anything is arising. The book referenced is The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk.

Chanting practice, especially in the beginning, can be incredibly awkward. If you're feeling that, you're not alone. We often spend intentional time silencing ourselves, or trying to stay beneath the radar, and engaging in a practice like this where you can be see and heard can be uncomfortable. Just let it be that way and it will shift over time.

Today we're talking about where voice lives in the body. Do you feel it in the throat, chest, somewhere else? Do you notice stuck or stagnant energy, and pay attention to how this shows up differently each day of practice, and how it changes over time.

Today we're talking about tuning the body, frequency and intention, how those things overlap, and how you can start paying attention to the different aspects that come up during practice from day to day. The power of attention and intention is introduced here as tools to deeper your commitment and further your practice.

Today we're talking about rhythm. Notice where rhythm is showing up in your body and where it is not. Start noticing how everything I've already mentioned overlaps with one another, unfolding more and more within yourself.

Today we're talking about the release of energy and emotions that start to come up as you engage in this practice. Perhaps you're sleepy, energized, cranky, or something else. Emotion = energy in motion, so as you chant emotion can naturally come. Just let it be there. This is a witnessing and allowing practice. The more you offer it space, the more it will trust you, and a whole new level of knowing yourself arises.

Now we're getting into the heart of the emotions that come up. This practice is about so much more than just chanting. It really is a witnessing practice, and a way back home to communing and creating dialog with yourself.

By now, you're probably noticing resistance. The further you go down the path, the louder the voice to quit will get. This is a re-patterning practice. Every day you show up loosens the grip on the old way. Keep going and ignore the voice that says you really should be doing something better with your time.

Today we're talking about the energy of emotions as a way to take you deeper into loosening the identification with emotions and seeing them as something that moves through you, rather than something you ARE. This incorporates meditation and yoga nidra tools as they all overlap.

As energy is moving with chanting practice, byproducts of that energy movement come in the form of yawning, belching, sweating and crying. These are all normal as part of practice. Just as energy moves with acupuncture, chiropractic, reiki, or any other physical or energetic modality of healing, so does it move with chanting.

Today we're talking about following your heart song as we tune into a level of devotional practice that shows up the further you go. Dropping attention into the heart will help you tune into it and ease the pain and tension that comes up. Imagine pulling taffy or ironing out a shirt, stretching the chant as you go. In this way you are cleaning the energy out and purifying it back into balance.

If you've made it this far, 20 whole days, then you can make it 20 more. You already know you can do this. Feel so proud of your accomplishment. I'll see you on the other side of the summit. Just like pulling taffy, follow the follow the rhythm of your heart song, stretching it out with each note, purifying the stuck energy and bringing you back to yourself.

Overwhelm is a totally normal part of this practice. As we sit, allowing the emotions to bubble, overwhelm may come as all the emotions start to percolate and we don't know how with our conscious mind to process them. The beauty is, you don't have to. Just let them wash over you and they will do their magic on their own. You will know when you know, and that will be the perfect time.

Anger is an emotion that can have huge impacts, both in experience and in healing. Allowing yourself to let it rise can offer space for deep transformation on the other side.

Today we discuss this sacred practice that came to me organically during chanting as anger began to rise and I needed to release the valve and liberate myself from holding on to it.

Today we're continuing with feeling the feels from the "go free yourself meditation" and giving yourself permission to let it rip and release yourself from the burden of holding onto emotions that are not serving you.

Today we're diving into the theme of getting your voice and how opening up to deeper emotions can also allow for deeper wisdom, compassion and healing to present itself. If it feels scary, just let it be there. You don't have to do anything with it, or fix anything. Just allowing them to move will begin to do the work organically.

Today we're talking about the process of healing and the deep value in the practice you are engaging. It is not a small task and deserves deep honor and reverence. Be gentle with yourself as you shift through this. Many versions of yourself are likely to arise, and all of that is perfectly normal.

Today we're talking about grief, the emotion that can sit side-by-side with anger. Even if you don't come to this practice with grief, it may surprisingly show up as grief is stored in the lungs. It's ok if it doesn't as well. There is no right way to practice this. Allow whatever is coming to reveal itself so that you may know yourself more deeply.

Boredom is a common experience in chanting as well. When engaging in something new, our mind and body resist the unfamiliar and pull our attention to anything other than this! All emotions are completely allowed, even boredom.

Last but not least, agitation. There are many other emotions that may be coming up for you, but these are the ones I've struggled with. Allow whatever comes for you to come. As we near the end, the mind is going may get really busy wanting to keep you from the finish line. Allowing that to be in the drivers seat will help you reach the finish line.

Now is when the magic really begins to happen and energy starts to sing. Between 30-40 days a shift happens that opens us up to deeper versions of ourselves and a lightness comes in. Be so proud of what you've done so far. The best is yet to come.

Touching back in on agitation and irritation as it relates to other tasks that we struggle to push through, and how it relates to my experience of ADHD. Agitation is natural when we're learning something new. Be gentle with yourself, and again, allow what needs to come up to come through.

Today we're tuning into what changes you're noticing. Is there a shift energetically, emotionally, physically, spiritually? This can have a profound impact, but even more so if you notice the shift yourself. That's what will keep you coming back.

We finally dive into the quantum field and bring in some mind-blowing statistics to amplify your practice and keep you going. You are 99.9999999999999% energy, and only .00000000000001% matter, so nearly everything about you happens in the unseen realm.

Now that you are aware of the quantum field, focusing on it with intention can bring powerful manifestation into play. Of course, we are where we are at any given moment, so it's ok to have all the emotions we've discussed, but as those clear out and become less intense, we can also turn to love, joy and gratitude to amplify our practice.

Now that we are nearly done, why 108? What is the purpose? There is evidence of this number across multiple traditions, disciplines and practices. 108 in numerology is also 1+8=9 and 9 is the number of completion, so we are chanting in the vibration of "it is already done."

Today we're talking about seed syllables as vowels, that without, language would fall apart. Sanskrit leans heavily on vowels and each vowel hits differently in the body. Today we explore a different mantra to give you direct experience of how this shows up in your own mouth and body.

Today we're looking at the connection between vowels and chakras, and the associated body parts or organs. Play around with this connection and see what you notice. If you have something going on in a specific organ or body part, it may be fun to play with what chakra that might be associated with and choose a chant based on that.

As we near the end of our practice, we discuss ease and flow, that hopefully have started to show up for you. With consecutive practice, more and more will open up. If it's not there yet, hang in! I find the last 10 days of a 40-day cycle to be the juiciest spots of the practice where energy really opens up and starts to flow.

Final days are here! We touch in today with the byproducts of practice that may be showing up for you as we round the corner to completion. Be so proud of yourself. Would love to hear your experience in the classroom section.

You made it! It's time to honor your journey and congratulate yourself. This is a major accomplishment of time, of motivation, of commitment, of dedication, of witness and holding space for yourself. Be so proud of yourself. I hope this activates a desire to continue and shed more and more layers of whatever is ready to go. Much love.