The Tipping Point – featured in Elle India, May issue 2012

An Epiphany could come in any form and it changes the way you live …

When I signed up  for a two week intensive  vedic chanting  workshop at Chennai’s Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram three and a half years ago , little did I know what I was getting into. Not only did the mantras fill me with positive vibes, but I found a huge difference in my breathing patterns.

After all chanting is an exhalation that requires supreme control over the breath. Also  there’s an immense amount of concentration  to get it. The correct pronunciation, which is called varna in sanskri , and the correct  use of tones, or swaras are essential to ensure that the meaning of the mantra doesn’t change.

Even if you don’t understand Sanskrit , I feel that recognising the different qualities of the mantras is instinctive – they can be meditative  , energising , heating , cooling or balancing.

The classical way of learning Vedic chanting  is through the process of adhyayanam , which involves listening to  the teacher and then repeating the mantras , promoting memory and focus.

For me, the everyday became a sadhana , a discipline that I maintain along with my yoga practice. Vedic chanting is a dying art and I am committed now to protecting it and spreading the message of the Vedas . So I followed  up the workshop with a two year teacher training course , during which I also did a recording for the opening ceremony of the Common wealth games  held in Delhi in 2010.

I now continue to  teach and amalgamate the practice  of yoga ,chanting  and body work  in  different parts of India and overseas.