New Year chanting with Veda Studies

Shantala is such a fabulous Sanskrit teacher that I am very happy to share this opportunity with you to take a complimentary New Year’s chanting class, or 2, with her this week.

New year’s eve chanting:

Join Shantala & myself to learn and chant the Medhā Dakṣiṇāmūrti mūla mantra 108 times to end this year 2021! 

An incarnation of Lord Śiva, Dakṣiṇāmūrti is considered the divine and ultimate Guru. We seek “medhā” – power of retention & “prajñā” – insight, through this powerful mantra.

New year’s day chanting:

Gāyatrī mantra japa – learn and chanting the Gāyatrī mantra 108 times to start the new year with clarity! One sign up for both classes possible here.

Open Door Day at Sampoorna Yoga studio: free classes

It’s time again for our traditional and much-loved start of the summer season: Open Doors (26 June) 11:00-18:00

Enjoy free yoga, special offers, nice yogic company, healthy veggie snacks and tea!

FREE 60-minute yoga classes

• 12:00
• 13:30
• 15:00
• 16:30 

FREE Mantra Chanting/Kirtan

• 15:00

 Special offers on yoga passes and products

• Start of sales of the Summer Pass:
  Unlimited yoga in July-August for 130 euro.
  We will freeze your regular yoga card for the duration of the Summer Pass. And if you purchase a Summer Pass at the Open Doors you can start to use it immediately from 27 June (= 4 days extra!) 
• During Open Doors, on all other passes student rate for everyone. 
• 10% off everything in our Yoga Shop

FREE of charge. No registration required, just come along!

Address: Rue du Houblon/ Hopstraat 40, 1000 Brussels

Om shanti -ॐ शान्ति

10 January: free yoga classes at the Open Door Day at Sampoorna Yoga Studio

Coming Sunday, 10 January, there’ll be the traditional Open Doors event to start the New Yogi Year!

• FREE 60′ All Level yoga classes for adults at 12:00, 13:30, 15:00 and 16:30 (I will teach the class).
• FREE KIDS YOGA at 13:30 (4-10 year olds).
• FREE Mantra Chanting/Kirtan at 15:00.
• Special offers on yoga passes and products:
  • Buy 10 lessons, get 5 free
  • All products in our shop -10%

And, yes as usual, nice yogic company, sattvic snacks and tea!

FREE of charge. No pre-registration required, just come along!

Address: 40, rue du Houblon/ Hopstraat, 1000 Brussels (directions here).

Practice yoga using this blog

Maybe you browsed this blog already and know that the entire Sivananda yoga class is described for your use and benefit.

In order to share the teachings of Gurudev Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnudevananda even more, I’m posting a daily reference to a full 90′ class on the Facebook page to encourage practitioners to come to the blog and discover the entire sequence with its benefits and step-by-step guidance per exercise or pose.

Start your class with Savasana, followed by 3 “Om’s,  Pranayama (Kabalabathi & Anuloma Viloma), then warming up the body with Surya Namaskara and leg lifts, on to the asana sequence:

1. Sirshasana
2. Sarvangasana
3. Halasana
4. Matsyasana
5. Paschimotanasana
   1. Purvotanasana
6. Bhujangasana
7. Salabhasana
8. Dhanurasana
9. Ardha Matsyendrasana
10. Kakasana
11. Pada Hastasana
12. Trikonasana

You end your class with a nice long Savasana and then 3 “Om”s.

Om shanti -ॐ शान्ति

13/09/2015: Free yoga classes at Sampoorna Yoga Studio

On Sunday, Sampoorna Yoga Studio will again open its doors for free yoga, kids yoga, yogic treats, chanting and meeting the wonderful team of teachers. Join in, bring friends/ family members/ neighbours/ … and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere in the haven of tranquility in the centre of Brussels.

The doors will be open 11:00-18:00 

FREE yoga classes for adults (60 minutes) : 12:00, 13:30, 15:00, 16:30

FREE Children’s yoga (60 minutes) : 13:30

FREE Mantra Chanting (45 minutes) : 15:00

Special offers on yoga passes and products

• Buy 10 lessons, get 5 free
• All products in our shop -10%

Enjoy delicious sattvic snacks and tea, as well as like-minded yogic company. 

No pre-registration required, just come along!

• More info & address

Join the workshop ‘An introduction to Nada Yoga, the Yoga of Divine Vibration’

Sampoorna Yoga Studio in Brussels is organizing a course where we delve into the practice of Nada Yoga to help purify body, mind and emotions. The course will take place on 4 Tuesday afternoons in October, in Brussels.

In India, sound has been used as a healing medium for over 5000 years. In the full practice of Sampoorna Yoga, the path of Nada Yoga – the science of divine vibration – plays an important role. It is a very effective path to liberation. It can be practiced by anyone, anywhere and brings about peace and happiness. It is not an intellectual pursuit but an experiential one.

This course is intended for yoga teachers and sincere yoga practitioners, and gives them a clear foundation of the practice of Nada Yoga. No prior musical knowledge necessary.

After a brief theoretical introduction, we will work on voice control, sound production, breath control through pranayama, chakra purification exercises. We’ll practice simple vocal and rhythmic exercises based on the teachings of Shri Yogi Hari and Swami Nadabrahmananda. Furthermore we will learn some simple chants.

Each of the 4 sessions will have a specific theme: introduction and theory, melody (raga), rhythm (taal), chanting (moksha mantras, bhajans, kirtan).

The course will be given by Eknath (aka Erwin Vann) professional musician, former professor at the Royal Conservatories of Brussels and Antwerp, Certified Sampoorna Yoga Teacher (ERYT500) and direct disciple of Shri Yogi Hari.

I’ll be there, will you?

Dates: 7, 14, 21 & 28 October from 2-4PM
Price: 80€ for the full course (25€ for a single session)
Place: Sampoorna Yoga Studio, Rue du Houblon/ Hopstraat 40, 1000 Brussels

• More info & registrations.

Free yoga classes ! Open door day at Sampoorna Yoga Studio on 14 September 2014

Come and join us next Sunday 14 September to kick off the new healthy, happy Yoga season: Open Door Day !

The doors will be open 11:00-18:00 and there will be:

FREE yoga classes for adults (60 minutes) at 12:00, 13:30, 15:00 & 16:00.

FREE Children’s yoga (60 minutes) at 13:30.

FREE Mantra Chanting (45 minutes) at 15:00

There will be special offers on yoga passes and products: buy 10 lessons, get 5 free & on all products in our shop you get a 10% discount. It’s the perfect time to buy a (new) yogamat.

We will prepare delicious sattvic (vegetarian & vegan) snacks and herbal tea.

No pre-registration required, just come along and meet the teachers and other yogins !

Location: Sampoorna Yoga Studio,  Hopstraat 40 Rue du Houblon, 1000 Brussels.

More info on the website.

Mantra of the day: Ganesha Mantra

My mantra of yesterday was the very powerful Ganesha mantra: “Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha”, which can be loosely translated (according to MindBodyGreen) to “Yo! Wake up Root Chakra energy of transformation so I can move through any obstacles in my life.”

Ganapati is another name for Ganesha, who is symbolized as an elephant-headed god, representing power and fortitude. He is the remover of obstacles and bestower of success.

Chant this mantra for as long as you need whenever you feel the need to take away obstacles from your life, from your mind. Sit somewhere quiet in your favorite meditation pose, close your eyes start chanting. You’ll feel the effect immediately. It’s calming, reassuring and brings about a sense of relief and strength.

Chant this mantra 108 times.

The number 108 has many meanings, including the following:

• It is the hyperfactorial of 3 since it is of the form 1^1 * 2^2 * 3^3.
• The interior angles of a regular pentagon measure 108 degrees each.
• Hindu deities have 108 names. Recital of these names, often accompanied by counting of 108-beaded Mala, is considered sacred and often done during religious ceremonies. The recital is called namajapa.
• Shiva’s Nataraja dances his cosmic dance in 108 poses.
• In the Bhagavata Purana, Krishna dances with 108 Gopis.
• In Hindu Astrology there are 12 Rashis or Zodiacs and 9 Planets or Navagrahas. 12 X 9 = 108. This symbolism is illustrated well by the counting method, where the finger segments of the right hand represent the Rashis and those on the left hand the Navagrahas.
• Also in Hindu Astrology there are 27 Lunar mansions or Nakshatras which are divided in 4 Padas or quarters each. 27 X 4 = 108.
• 108 signifies the wholeness of the divinity, perfect totality.
• The chakras are the intersections of energy lines, and there are said to be a total of 108 energy lines converging to form the heart chakra. One of them, sushumna leads to the crown chakra, and is said to be the path to Self-realization.

Sources: Meditation & Mantras, MindBodyGreen, Western-Hindu.

Om Trayambakam mantra

At the end of each Sivananda yoga class, we chant the mantra ‘Om Trayambakam‘, the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra (Sanskrit: महामृत्युंजय मंत्र ).

It’s a mantra for peace and life-giving. The mantra blesses the students and the teacher and protects them to return home safely as it wards off deaths and accidents. It’s a Siva mantra and should be repeated 3, 9, 27 or 108 times, especially on your birthday. This will bestow health, long life, liberation and prosperity on you.

Significance (source: Wikipedia)

Mahamrityunjaya Mantra is the great mantra for conquering death for it protects against all threats and at the time of death eases the process of release. It is one of the more potent of the ancient mantras, a call for enlightenment and a practice of purifying the karmas of the soul at a deep level. It is beneficial for mental, emotional and physical health. It is also a moksha mantra which bestows longevity and immortality.

Gajananam Dhyana Slokas beginning prayer

At the beginning of each Sivananda yoga class, we sing the Gajananam Dhyana Slokas, it’s the beginning prayer to start the class in peace & harmony, to ask the gods to protect the students and teachers on their yoga journey. It helps to bring the attention of both the teacher and the students entirely to the class and to leave any stress, worries or negativity outside of the classroom.