NadaYoga & How Mantra Works

In addition to the term 'mantra,' you will also hear the word Nada in connection with Kundalini
Yoga mantras. Nada means “the essence of all sound.” It is a particular vibration, a fundamental
frequency that comes from one common source or sound current. It is the universal code behind
language and therefore behind human communication.

Nada is the glue or medium that connects the little me, the individual, to the Big Me, the
Universal Self. It is the vibrational harmony through which the Infinite can be experienced.
NadaYoga is based on the experience of how sound vibrations affect the body, mind, and spirit
through the movement of the tongue, the mouth, and changes in
the chemicals in the brain.

We can alter consciousness by changing the chemical composition of the fluids in the brain.
There are eighty-four meridian points on the upper palate of a human’s mouth. One can feel the
upper palate with the tongue and experience its different surfaces. There are two rows of
meridian points on the upper palate and on the gum behind the upper teeth. The tongue
stimulates those meridian points, and they in turn stimulate the hypothalamus which makes the
pineal gland radiate. When the pineal radiates, it creates a pulse in the pituitary gland. When
this happens to the pituitary, the entire glandular system secretes. Then the chemical
composition of the brain becomes balanced, automatically changing one’s outlook on life.

The state of mind, personality, and power to project from our authentic self is tied in with the use
of our word.

"If your words have the strength of the Infinite in them and are virtuous, and you value them,
you are the greatest of the great. If you do not value your words, you have no value. Your own
word is your value as a human being."

~Yogi Bhajan, The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan

Bhajan Kundalini Invocation - Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo (Adi Mantra)

Inhale deeply through the nose before you repeat the mantra. Repeat 3 or more times. The
purpose of this mantra is "to tune in." So chant it as many times as you feel you need to get
connected. This chant protects and connects us with our higher selves. It also links us with the
"Golden Chain" of teachers who brought Kundalini yoga to the world. In other words, our
teachers are with us in subtle body guiding and helping us.

Ong means Creator, Namo means to call upon, or to greet, Guru is the Teacher or the energy
that brings light and dispells the darkness. Dev means transparent or nonphysical.

Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo

I bow to the Creative Wisdom, I bow to the Divine Teacher within.

Ashtanga Invocation
This is the invocation that is sung before an Ashtanga class as taught by Pattabhi Jois and his
followers, today one of the most popular schools in the world.

ॐ
वन्दे गुरुनम् चरनरिवन्दे
सन्दिशर् त स्वात्म सुखव बोधे
िनःश्रेयसे जाङ्गलीकायमान
संसार हलहल मोहशान्त्ये ॥

अबहु पुरुषकरम्
शङ्ख चक्रिस धािरनम्
सहस्र िशरसम् श्वेतम्
प्रणामिम पतञ्जिलम् ॥

Om
Vande gurunam charanaravinde
Sandarshita svatma suhkava bodhe
Nishreyase jangalikayamane
Samsara halahala mohashantyai.
Abahu purushakaram
Shankha chakrasi dharinam
Sahasra shirasam shvetam
Pranamami patanjalim.
I bow to the two lotus feet of the Gurus which awaken insight, which are the refuge, the
jungle physician, which eliminate the delusion caused by the poisonous herb of
Samsara.

I prostrate before the sage Patanjali who has thousands of radiant, white heads and
who has assumed the form of a man holding a conch shell, a wheel and a sword.
Hatha/Kundalini Invocation- Sahana Vavatu

In many schools, the Sahana Vavatu is recited before the asana practice. These schools include
the Sivananda and the Satyananda schools, as well as most of the traditional ashrams such as
the Kaivalya Dhama of Lonavla and the Shantiniketan of Rishikesh.

ॐ सहना ववतु। सहनौ भुनक्तु

सह वीयर्ं करवावहै
तेजिस्व नावधीतमस्तु
मा िविद्वषावहै॥
ॐ शािन्तः शािन्तः शािन्तः॥

Om sahana vavatu
sahano bhunaktu
Saha viryam karavavahai
Tejasvi navaditamastu
Ma vidvishavahai
Om shantih shantih shantih.

Om. May we be protected. May we work together vigorously. May our studies be
illuminated. May we not quarrel with each other. Om peace, peace, peace.

This invocation is found in several Upanishads among which the Taittiriya Upanishad. It is
probably the most famous after the Gayatri. As a shanti mantra, it advocates peace between
student and teacher, encouraging both of them to study and to practice yoga, without
mentioning any particular god or any particular book. In other words, this prayer is very well
suited at the beginning of a yoga class and can be the first to commit to memory.