A warm welcome to you,
So nice that you are here.
My name is Monika and I would like to start today's practice with three OM and an invocation.
If you want you can sing along with me or just listen.
Inhale for OM Soham,
Soham,
Soham,
Shivoham,
Soham,
Soham,
Soham,
Shivoham The meaning of that mantra is I am that,
I am Shiva and Shiva stands for eternal awareness and our own true nature.
So today's practice is an invitation to connect to our own true nature,
To connect with yourself.
We will start with some listening to the sound of the Tanpura drone and some vocal toning with mmm and ah and also a few rounds of alternate nostril breathings and then we go over to chanting the Shiva mantra Om Namah Shivaya for about 10 minutes but we go slowly and we will end the practice with a moment in silence and Sri Om.
If you have your own Tanpura drone you can set it in A sharp.
If you don't have one you can just listen to mine.
So the idea of the Tanpura sound is that you have something to dive into,
To dive into this sound and to listen into this sound of the Tanpura drone and when you're ready I invite you to take a comfortable seat.
Maybe you want to move your body a little bit,
Your shoulders,
Your spine and when you feel ready I invite you to turn your attention to the sound of the Tanpura drone and just listen to it for a moment and if it feels good for you you can close your eyes or lower your gaze and if it feels good for you I invite you to put a hand on your chest and feel the touch and just arrive in that very moment.
Also turn your attention inside and listen to what's alive in your heart.
Beautiful.
And if it feels good for you,
You can join me in a humming sound.
You can let your humming sound melt with the sound of the drone or you can also hum a little melody.
Do whatever feels good for you.
Beautiful.
And if your body wants to move because there is still some stiffness from the night,
Let your body move.
Circle your head or your shoulders.
Do whatever feels good for you right now and also throughout the whole practice.
Allow yourself to do what feels good for you in the moment.
This practice is for you and only for you.
And if you want you can join me in an ah sound or you can also stay with um.
Allow your body to relax a little bit more with every sound.
You can continue with humming um sounds or ah sounds or you can also join me in a few rounds of alternate nostril breathing.
We do it with our imagination.
So we just imagine breathing in through our left nostril and then breathing out through the right nostril either silently or with the humming um sound.
And then breathing in through the right nostril again and breathing out left.
That's one round.
We will do a few rounds together.
I will guide you for the first round and then you can just do it on your own.
If you can make the inhale and the exhale the same length.
Inhaling left,
Exhaling right.
Inhaling right,
Exhaling left.
On your own,
In your own rhythm.
Then just finish your round so that you exhale through the left nostril.
And then you can bring your attention to both nostrils and just let your breath flow through both nostrils evenly.
You can also do ah sounds.
We stay here for about another minute.
Ah,
Beautiful.
One more.
Ah,
So beautiful.
We slowly move over to the mantra.
The words are Om Namah Shivaya.
Let's say it a few times together.
Om Namah Shivaya.
Very good.
One more time.
Om Namah Shivaya.
Let's do one more.
Om Namah Shivaya.
So I invite you with every ah sound to allow your body just to relax a little bit more into the sound.
If you forget about it,
Don't worry.
Just enjoy the mantra.
We will chant it in call and response.
That means you can listen first and then you repeat.
And for the first few rounds I will chant the repeat with you.
And then after a while I will be silent but I will still play the melody with the harmonium.
I will also change melodies and you can either sing along the different melodies with me or just sing the one that you like most.
Okay?
So listen first.
Om Shivaya.
Listen.
Shivaya.
Shivaya.
Shivaya.
Shivaya.
Shivaya.
Beautiful.
Om Shivaya.
Shivaya.
Om Shivaya.
Om Shivaya.
Om Shivaya.
Om Shivaya.
Shivaya.
Shivaya.
Beautiful.
Om Namah Shivaya.
Om Shivaya.
Shivaya.
Shivaya.
Om Shivaya.
Shivaya.
Om Shivaya.
Om Shivaya.
Shivaya.
Shivaya.
Om Shivaya.
Last round.
Om Namah Shivaya.
Allow yourself a moment in silence to absorb the vibrations and the sounds.
If you want you can do a few rounds of alternate nostril breathing again.
You can just do it on your own or you can just sit in silence without doing anything a little longer.
If you do alternate nostril breathing I invite you to finish your round and I invite you to just take a moment to remember why you have joined the practice today.
Be grateful that you have taken time for yourself.
We end today's practice with three Om.
You can chant with me or just listen.
Inhale.
Thank you so much for joining.
I hope you come again.
