Just yesterday a student mentioned her love for chanting and how it’s changed her life for the better. Along with the excess pounds, this person lost her impatience while driving in her car thanks to chanting. If you ever pull up alongside her at a traffic light, she’s sure to have a chanting CD blasting from her car stereo. Who knew, right?
Actually, folks in India knew. And they knew a long time ago. So many yoga afficionados are so stuck on asana that the other tools of yoga are often forgotten. Chanting is one of tthose tools and a powerful one at that. When we look the Indian Pancamaya model, which moves from gross to subtle, we see that chanting works on the most subtle levels — vijnanamaya and anandamaya. These mayas relate to personality and emotions — the most difficult areas in which to make changes. The next time you’re wanting to change a habit or pattern, why not try chanting? Outside of pranayama and meditation, chanting is your yogic tool of choice.
Yet why don’t more people chant? Kirtan, which is different than chanting, has become quite popular and it’s not unusual to find a regular schedule of kirtan events. Try to find a chanting class and it’s quite a different story.
I went to my first chanting class with years of kirtan under my belt. I mistakenly thought that kirtan and chanting were the same thing and had quite a surprise when I realized that they weren’t. Rather than being musical, chanting isn’t done to sing or perform. Chanting is a way of reflecting, or svadhyaya. Through chanting you can get information about yourself that you can use.
Chanting can be either stimulating, calming or balancing depending on how you chant and the chant itself. One of my favorite simple chants is namaha, which is balancing. I include it in my daily yoga practice and I always feel quite balanced when I’m done. When I’m in need of a lift, I turn to Gayatri. And when I need to calm down, it’s shanti, shanti, shantih all the way.
The benefits of chanting are numerous. In addition to helping develop patience, focus and attention, chanting improves our memory (it’s been proven that those with memory degeneration can halt the memory loss through regular chanting) and helps us to listen. I don’t know about you, but my listening skills could use some work, so I appreciate this benefit (come to think of it, my memory could use a little help too!).
If you can’t find a chanting teacher in your area, I highly recommend CDs by Sonia Nelson (Sonia will be at the Colorado Yoga Journal Conference in September) I recently bought her Yoga Sutra chanting CDs and I love them. I know that CDs aren’t a substitute for having a teacher from which to learn but it can be the next best thing in a pinch. I’m lucky in that I have both — the real thing (a fabulous teacher) and a collection of excellent CDs.
If your meditation practice is getting stale or pranayama isn’t your thing, give chanting a try. You just might find the same surprising benefits that the student I mentioned above did.
Namaste!
