cakra: sound and breath
Saturday 8th February 2025
9.00–13.00 GMT
via zoom
An immersion into the sounds and breath of the cakra. Inseparable from the five elements, the bīja mantraḥ of the cakra are ‘the ones that stand between’: the gateway between sounds, and a world away from the English articulation with which they are so often associated.
Exchange: £60
Workshop Content
• The resonance of the cakra is held within the single syllable sounds called bīja mantra.
• Represented by the English letters, ’laṁ’,’ vaṁ‘, ‘raṁ‘,’ yaṁ’, ‘haṁ‘, these mantra are in fact pronounced nothing like these English letters suggest.
• They are sounds that arise naturally as we make the movement from one sound to another, and are represented in Sanskrit by the symbols ल व र य ह.
• The gateway between worlds, these sounds are called ‘antaḥsthā’ which means ‘the ones that stand between’.
• Inseparable from the five great elements, earth, water, fire, wind and space, the bīja mantra connect us also with the fundamental substance within each of these elements.
• The essence of these elements is reflected in the movements of the breath called ‘svara‘, the reflection of light that pervades both breath and sound.
• We will investigate directly how this light is reflected through subtle observations of the breath in relation to sound.
• And reflect upon the entire context and depth within the Sanskrit soundscape as a whole.
About the Sanskrit language
• Sanskrit literally means ‘the perfected sounds of of unity’ – every micro step of creation has been observed and reflected through it sound, and the entirety of its expression can be felt or known in a single moment.
• The ‘san’ of ‘Sanskrit’ is the etymological root of the English ‘same’, and it also carries the sense of being ‘refined’. Sanskrit therefore, is the refined vision of the imperfect mess we find ourselves in. Our passion, our wisdom, our love, our peace, our stability, all are refined, into one broken vision of wholeness through the Sanskrit sounds.
• Embodying the chaos of life living entirely through us, the sounds allow us to realise ourselves as life, perfectly done, flowing through this human form. And finally, we are free.
Workshop includes:
• handouts + sound maps.
• mp3s of mantra recitation.
• access to the recording for one month after the live event.
