Satyananda Yoga and Meditation

Satyananda Yoga and Meditation is Classical Tantric Yoga in the Tradition of Swami Satyanada Siraswati, who was the inheritor of the vast tantric tradition from his teacher Sivananda. However Satyanada was also a breaker of tradition, he was an influential figure in bringing yoga to the west, and he was the first to teach Tantric Kriya Yoga to the ordinary public, that which had previously been only for Swamis. In the beginning he insisted upon ashram conditions, but later in life, he broke his own stipulations, and published the methods in books. It is a tradition, rich in methods, both the physical yoga asanas, breathing exercise or pranayama, as well as mudras and bandas, and techniques which activate one’s energy centres, methods which move energy around the body, as well as meditations to observe the activity of the mind. To create a tradition one must occasionally break a tradition seems to be the lesson. His impact on the world is profound, and daughter schools of the tradition, are scattered all over the world, in India it is known as Bihar School of Yoga, and in the West it is more commonly called Satyananda Yoga.

Thomas has been practising the classical tantric methods of the Satyananda tradition with discipline and devotion, every day, for ten years. Methods like Ajapa Japa, or Inner Silence, which have had a profound, and utterly transformative impact upon his life. At a certain point he decided that he also wanted to transmit the methods to others, and claimed the honour of doing so.

Ajapa Japa

Ajap Japa is a Breath-Energy Meditation, and uses the Psychic Breath, Ujjayi Pranayama, and the tongue lock Khechari Mudra, visualizing the breath-energy, up and down the spinal passage, through the so called Chakras, energy centres located in different junctions of the spinal cord.

How does it work? It is better to experience it directly, rather than to read about it. But in short, the Mooladhar, is the seat of the Kundalini energy in humans, the root chakra, located at the perineum, that is between the anus and the sexual organs, for men, and at the posterior end of the cervix for women. In this tradition, we move the energy up from Mooladhar, through the spinal chakras, and down again. Moving the energy up and down. As you pierce the other chakras with the breath-energy, you activate them.

The Mooladhar is often represented as a golden serpent, coiled around a golden egg. The serpent rises up and down the spinal chord, with the breath. There is a certain degree of repetition, as with many things in life, however, this practice will train your awareness to be absolutely one pointed, so that you can go through the repetitions of life, with absolute awareness, and presence, and when you can handle the repetitions of life, with that level of awareness, then you will find that life, never actually repeats itself, you never step foot in the same river twice. Because the river has changed. The breath is the key. The breath is never the same. It is always changing. And life is never the same. A cure for Nihlism. Ajapa Japa.

‘For me personally the impact of this meditation, is an increase in my energy, I become more spontaneous, make clearer decisions faster, I act without over-thinking my action, if there is a list of things to do, rather than procrastinating, after energy meditations Ajapa Japa, (or Kriya Yoga, its most advanced form), I just sit down, and do everything on the list. The meditation has a great impact on my creativity as a writer, and now I would never dream of sitting down to write, without having done it, as the quality of what I create is infinitely better, the inspiration is clearer, and the experience of creating, is of greater presence and bliss.’

Antar Mauna, Inner Silence

Antar Mauna, Inner Silence, is a Meditation watching with the Mind. Satyananda once said, Tantra gives you the power to witness the activity of the mind. That is a mighty power. There are various stages and variations of the meditation, however usually it begins with all around awareness of the sound and/ or sense landscape, followed by awareness of the spontaneous activity of the mind, the third stage a question, or a theme can be given to the mind, while you, as the witnessing consciousness, observe the mind at work, solving the problem you have presented it on its own, this practice trains you to be exceptionally creative, and is remarkably useful for creative work or any kind of problem solving. There are other stages, involving for example the Chidakash Dharana, but you’ll have to come by on Monday, to find out what they are.

‘In my work as a writer, this meditation is an indispensable tool, allowing me to connect with my intuition, to get out of my own way, (what does that mean?) and to create from that higher self. When I have a decision to make in my life, I do Antar Mauna, and in this third stage, I get the intuitive answer and direction on the path I should take. No other method has allowed to accept myself as I am, or accept the mind, as it is, without evaluation or judgement, than Antar Mauna. The potential of the method is vast, and I am inspired to share it with others.’

Yoga Nidra

Yoga Nidra is a deep practise, involving rotation of awareness (Nyasa), around the body, and energy centres, as well as visualization and guided journeys. It has a profound relaxation effect on the body, as well training one’s awareness of the chakras, and thus activating one’s energy, and raising one’s vibration. Satyananda was the first one to bring Yoga Nidra to the west, putting it into English for the first time, what had previously been only in sanskrit. The crafting of yoga nidras is as much an artistic process, and requires a literary craftsmen, as much as it does, someone familiar with the ancient methods, one must be a poet to speak the words with the devotion they deserve. Developing one’s visualization is one of the keys to the deeper yoga, and to manifesting one’s destiny. San Kalpas, that is resolutions, which are planted in the unconscious, at the start and at the end of yoga nidra, when practised regularly, with assiduous discipline, bear fruit in the that individual’s life.