Yoga with Melissa 42 is on Isvara Pranidhana, surrender to the divine. This yoga class features the final of the niyamas (personal practices) as outlined by Patanjali in his compilation of the yoga sutras. Isvara Pranidhana means surrender to the divine. To cultivate Isvara Pranidhana we will practice bhakti yoga, the yoga of love and devotion. To that end we will be chanting the Gayatri Mantra.
Om Bhur Bhuvah Swaha
Tat savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dhimahi
Dhiyo yonah prachodayat
(Embracing Earth, Heavean, and Beyond The sacred source is revealed Evoking the resplendent flame The all-pervading light venerates us all)
I have chosen to follow the version that I learned from “Spring” on the album Gratitude. You can download it on i-tunes just like I did. This practice also includes a cleansing meditation for the chakras, a meditation on the inner self and a meditation on the lotus flower. The class finishes with metta meditation to cultivate loving kindness and compassion for the Divine in ourselves and all living beings.
What a beautiful class, I enjoyed the meta meditation and have to accept..that it was hard to do the last part…sending love and kindness to people who are difficult. It was hard to let go. I also learnt for the first time that Bhakti Yoga is more popular as compared to Hatha Yoga…really good to know information. I enjoyed the Gayatri Mantra Chant ……..and so many good things to learn in this class. This is the first time I did Chakra meditation and found it very calming and reassuring….there was some considerable amount of effort I had to put in order to see the colors…and I liked how the brain started sending colors also…off course there was a huge color palate in front of me to choose the right one from. It was a very creative process. I choose you for my dedication ..when thinking about that teacher who had influenced me in a great way…I am so lucky that I got to meet you too. Thank you for these teachings….Finally I got the hang of what Yamas and Niyamas are….and I thank you for this wonderful experience. Many blessings to you 🙂 xoxo Namaste my fabulous teacher 🙂
rashmisharma12 Dear Rashmi, you are sweet like maple syrup. 😉 We must have finished this class with metta meditation based on your first part of your message. Isn’t that cool that Bhakti Yoga is the most popular form of yoga? I hope I didn’t butcher the Gyatri Mantra! lol! That exercise of visualizing the colours is fun. 🙂 Thank you for your kind dedication. I feel equally blessed to be learning so much from you. I just love the yamas and niyamas. They are such beautiful principles to live by. Many blessings back to you. xoxoxoo Namaste my fabulous teacher too, Melissa
DrMelissaWest rashmisharma12 ha ha ha me and maple syrup..I can’t stop laughing. When I do your class…I just follow it by heart…I did not listen to Gayatri Mantra from any other perspective but from learning and singing along with you 🙂 Just try to keep it simple during my learning mode. I don’t want to miss my learning lol for anything else. ( Selfish me ) :):) your kindness is contagious 🙂
rashmisharma12 I love that you can be an unbiased student! xo Melissa