NADA YOGA
The Upanishads and the Vedas say that in the beginning there was absolutely nothing besides sound. The universe evolved from that sound. Therefore, the structure of the universe is based on sound vibrations or Nada. And Nada Yoga means ‘Union through sound’. It is an ancient Indian system of inner transformation and realigning the inner balance through sound and vibrations.
Nada is a Sanskrit word. Na is ‘prana vayu- the sea of consciousness’. Da in Sanskrit signifies force, pushing of energy. Nada thus means ripples, waves, movements, manifestation of energy. Hence Nada is the being of consciousness or shakti or force. Yoga means union. Nada Yoga is thus based on the premise that the entire cosmos is made up of sound vibrations or nadas (science also believes that the world began with sound) and the process of the channelizing the flow of energy to unite with the consciousness is known as Nada Yoga. The related word is Nadi or river and it also means rushing or stream. Nadis are the channels through which consciousness flows.
AHATA AND ANAHATA
Nada Yoga divides sounds into 2 types. External sounds or Ahata and internal sounds or Anahata. External sounds are those that we hear through our ears. It can range from non-vocal music to the sound of falling rain, birds singing the wind through the trees. Or it can include chants like the Aum chant, or Ahum chant, focusing on a individual letter with the aim of eventually trying to move inwards.
The purpose of Nada Yoga is to reach the deep internal sound or the sound of ‘anahata yoga’, one’s own inner sound that is unheard by others. These anahata sounds are specific to that individual and are meant to be heard in the heart chakra and range from buzzing bees to loud drums, to soft flutes to the sound of gongs and even the sound of clouds. Some of these sounds are actual sounds of the body like the blood flowing or the energy of the nerves.
NADA YOGA AND BREATH
The basis of everything is breath or prana. The basis of sound is also breath. The moment you bring yourself to ordered sound you are also bringing yourself to ordered breath because you cannot emit ordered sound unless your breathing becomes regulated and conversely, an ordered sound like Aum or an elongated beeja mantra, will immediately order your breath. The moment your breath becomes long, your body becomes peaceful. Everything is controlled by breath (prana) and the easiest access to prana and to its electrical flow in our sensory being is through sound. Prana helps you correct your 72,000 nadis through sound instantly.
Nada Yoga is perhaps the least documented of all the ancient streams of sound. According to Yoga, a person is in the best state of health when the flow of energy (pranas) through all energy circuits within the mind and body are balanced. If the flow of energy is interrupted the body suffers from imbalance in the form of disease and discomfort.
VOICE AS A TOOL OF NADA YOGA
Voice is a tool of Nada Yoga. Nadi is your subtle nervous system which criss- crosses and wherever these nadis intersect, that point is called a chakra or beej (seed). And that subtle nervous system, receives and emits energy all the time. If these chakras get disturbed by wrong energy, wrong food, wrong thought, complex living systems then you move out of ease and become diseased. The easiest way of coming back to ease is beautiful, harmonius sound
Ragas and Nada Yoga.
One very beautiful part of Nada Yoga which is not recognized as Nada Yoga is the creation and use of Indian Ragas. Every raag has a law of nature. It is a being with a particular ascent and descent. When you sing a raag with a particular ascent and descent, you are creating a particular atmosphere. So, you create that atmosphere in your consciousness and in the consciousness of your listeners and environment. A particular raag can make you feel a sense of day or night or a sense of being alone in the dark. That is curative. A person sitting in a closed cell can feel morning, evening and change his consciousness just by listening to a raga. Therefore one way of working at the sound level is through ragas, their svaras(musical notes) and shrutis(micro tones).
Here it is worth mentioning Miya Tansen or Ramtanu Pandey, (c. 1493/1500 – 1589) was very well known as a Hindustani Classical composer, musician and vocalist. Many compositions in the Northern sub-continent have been attributed to Miya Tansen. It is believed that when Tansen used to perform ragas all birds and animals used to collect. In the court of King Akbar in about 1560 Tansen was asked to perform the Deepak Raag. He performed it so beautifully that all present in the room were sweating, plants and leaves started drooping and so much heat was created that the unlit lamps in King Akbar’s court were all lit up. Such is the power of certain ragas and the vibrations of sound.
Chants(Japa) and Nada Yoga
The most used process of Nada Yoga is by repeating chants or japa. When one repeats chants, the mind goes from a beta state (very fast state) to a meditative alpha state (slower brain wave state) and as one keeps chanting the brain goes into a theta state or a state of trance. It is very clear that the speed of the brain wave changes with chanting and here, the nervous fluids withdraw from nerve endings and your heat substance goes inwards rather than outwards and that is what facilitates healing.
As mentioned earlier, ancient chants are recited only in 3 notes or svaras. Thus your energies are focused through the medium of sound within a narrow band of frequency. Before one resonance is over, it is intercepted by another resonance of a very close frequency and those interceptions create what is called a frequency pulse or frequency beat. These frequency pulses which interfere in very close proximity then force the brain wave to slow down from a beta to an alpha state and when one goes into repetition of chants (jap), after a while you will find that you are not even aware that you are chanting. You will be chanting in a state of trance, in a theta state. And theta state of body is state where all healing takes place. You are then out of your sensory mode and then all energy within is focused on restoration, healing, harmonization. That is the power of a chant.
Beeja Mantra – most powerful form of Nada Yoga
One of the most powerful form of Nada Yoga is chanting the beeja mantra. What is a Beeja ? Beeja is the seed. A seed is a knot or hub of creative potential. And every beeja has its own nature. The right inputs or ‘will force’ on a beeja will make it manifest into a being, an energy, which creates transformations within us and outside us. There are 7 chakras or beejas. The mantras for the chakras are the beeja mantras. These mantras give energy or invigorate the chakras of the body. And then when repeated these mantras invigorate the respective chakras.
Aum is the most important beeja mantra. Aum is the chant for the ‘Ajna’ or ‘Bindu’ chakra which is between the eyebrows. Aum reverses the energy in your body. Aum moves energy inward and upward. Nada Yoga is about this reversal of energy with the help of sound first and then without sound with the recognition of sound in silence. Audible NADA is the first step, then follows intermediary steps and then you move into ‘anahata’ (inaudible) nada.
The 7 beej mantras are -
1st: root (‘grounding’): “LAM”
2nd: sacral (‘creativity): “VAM”
3rd: solar plexus (‘willpower’): “RAM”
4th: heart chakra (‘love’): “YAM”
5th: throat (‘communication: “HAM”
6th: third eye (‘intuition): “AUM”
7th: crown (‘connection’): “AHUM”
Chronic lung disorders are treated with chanting. Huge improvements in spirometry tests are seen after chanting. It can cure blood sugar, blood pressure problems. It helps psychological problems and many other health issues. Certain sounds effect certain parts of the human body. For a viral a sound of ‘Hum’ is immediately curative. It will cure colds and coughs. The minute you begin to feel the heat, you will eliminate the negative forces. The idea is to create heat, kill impurity and heal all conditions related to that chakra. Sound therefore creates the right amount of heat which removes disease and makes the body come back to ease. Even If you don’t need healing, then the mantras help you centre yourself and empower yourself to a completely different level.
References –
https://chopra.com/articles/how-to-use-sound-to-heal-yourself
https://www.yogameditation.com/reading-room/nada-yoga/