chant your heart out.

the conscious brain can only hold one thought at a time. choose a positive thought.

this has always been my favorite quote on the lululemon manifesto. every time i read the poster, it's the one that resonates with me the most.

do you ever think about how much power our minds hold?

we hold the power. the power to choose. to pick how we want to approach this life. we each carry the keys to our own happiness.

there's a traditional chant in yoga that goes like this...

guru brahma, guru vishnu, guru devo maheshvara
guru sakshat, param brahma, tasmai shri guruvey namaha

it's a dedication to the teachers or gurus in our lives, and i think it holds an important message on each of our own journeys toward enlightenment as we learn that every experience is a teacher in and of itself.



first we must recognize our creator and our birth. we appreciate and acknowledge the gift of life, guru brahma.

next, we notice the preserver, guru vishnu. the duration of our lives and all of the experiences we accumulate while we live. honor those. when we chant guru vishnu with sincerity, the way we view our everyday lives will start to change. we learn that all beings and things in our present lives can be our teachers, our gifts.

as we observe the good, we also have to look at the other side of the scale, the destroyer, guru devo maheshvara. we must search for appreciation in all of life's difficulties. face them head on, and with an open heart.

futhermore, let's search for the guru that is nearby, guru sakshat, and find that quality in another person that we wish to locate within ourselves. having someone act as a mirror so that we can let our inner light shine through is crucial.

param brahma is the guru that is indescribable and beyond all form.

tasmai shri guruvey namaha. i offer all of my efforts away. i surrender to this process and my teachers.



this chant asks us to notice the people and situations in our own lives and appreciate them for giving us the opportunities for self-realization. there is no need to go anywhere, it's all right here inside of us, in our own lives.

...ah, the power of our minds!

sometimes when i chant this, and believe in it, and i really get it, my heart gets lighter. it's all going to be okay. the answers are revealed to us post-chant. let them come to you, and move you.

*all concepts and descriptions read in this book here, juvamukti yoga. it's currently on loan.