A Different Take

Today was a pretty busy day for me. I had my friend over, and I taught her Yoga and Meditation. She is at a stressful point in her life and I know that it will do her well. It's funny to see how Yoga and Meditation can affect people. When we were finished with both, my friend looked so much more calm then when she had first stepped into the house. Today when I was teaching her to meditate I decided to try a different meditation than I normally do. Usually I do a So-Hum meditation which consists of silently repeating So Hum in one's mind. So on the inhale and Hum on the exhale. Well, today my friend and I decided we would use Om as the mantra. When using the syllable Om as a mantra, it is best to repeat it out loud. We inhaled to the count of four and on the exhale elongated the mantra OM. It was actually really nice, it almost felt like a trance. I enjoyed it. Saying a mantra out loud makes it a bit easier to concentrate. The goal of meditation is to still the mind. Mantras and concentration on the breath help with stilling the mind. Right now I am reading Patanjali's Yoga Sutras which talks a lot about meditation and stilling the mind. After my friend left I took a nap. And then went to a yoga class. This was my first time going to this particular yoga class. I get a bit nervous when I try new things but once I set my mat down on the floor and sat down I was fine. This class was a bit different from the other Yoga classes I have taken. It was my first time in a class where the instructor put music on. It was very relaxing instrumental music, it was nice. The instructor is a very enthusiastic woman with wild brown hair. She was very nice. The room was a little small, but the class managed to fit in. One thing I like about her class was that when we did the sun salutations she let us all go at our own pace instead of having to follow her pace. It was nice. The class was an hour and a half, which is long but I felt good afterwards. I am glad I decided to take this class. It is always good to see how different instructors teach the class. Ok, I am going to stop here. Thanks for reading!
Namaste!