Meditation exercises for listening to the four levels of sound, to still the body, quiet the mind, open the heart, and connect with the Divine

• Details the teachings on nada yoga from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika with clear, step-by-step instructions to find and hear the inner sacred sound of nada

• Explains the 4 levels of sound through a series of practical meditation exercises

• Includes instructions for a daily nada yoga meditation practice as well as ways to strengthen your advanced practice

The ancient practice of nada yoga is not complex. It is the yoga of listening. It is a journey from the noise of the external world inward to a place of peace and bliss, to the source of the transformational power of sound--the nada. By meditating on the inner sacred sound of the nada, we can release ourselves from mind chatter and obsessive thinking. We can still the body, quiet the mind, and open the heart to create a state of mind where joy naturally arises.

Sharing his experiential understanding of the classic Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Baird Hersey offers precise, step-by-step instructions on how to find the inner sound of the nada. He explains the first three levels of sound--first, how to truly hear the ordinary sounds of the world around us (vaikhari); second, how to quiet the sounds of the mind (madhyama), such as sound memories and internal dialogue; and third, how to access visual sounds (pashyanti), tapping in to our ability to see sounds and hear colors. Mastering the first three levels prepares one for the fourth level of sound (para), the heart of the practice that connects one to the inner sound of the nada. The author provides detailed exercises to guide you through each level of sound and instructions for a daily nada yoga meditation practice.

Hersey explains that by focusing our minds on this internal sound we reunite our essential self with the eternal and infinite. In this re-union we find bliss in both body and mind, an uplifted spirit, and heightened states of consciousness.

Autorentext

Baird Hersey is a musician and National Endowment for the Arts Composition Fellow. He has composed extensively for television and for organizations such as Harvard University and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. A student of yoga and overtone singing since 1988, he studied ashtanga yoga with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois for 9 years, vedanta for 12 years with Swami Chinmayananda's student Shubhraji, and chant with the Gyuto Monks of Tibet. In 2000 Hersey formed the 9-voice overtone choir PRANA, which regularly collaborates with renowned kirtankar Krishna Das. Baird Hersey lives in Woodstock, New York.

Inhalt

Foreword by Krishna Das

Introduction

Part one
Overview

1 Listen!
2 What Is Nada Yoga?
3 Practice Makes Perfect
4 The Four Levels of Sound
5 Before We Begin

Part Two
Vaikhari, the First Level of Sound External

6 How We Hear
7 Filtering
8 Focusing
9 Hearing the Room
10 Echolocation
11 Every Room Has Its Note
12 I Hear What You're Saying
13 Body Music
14 OM

Part Three
Madhyama, the Second Level of Sound Mind

15 Outside In
16 It's All in Your Mind
17 Train of Thought
18 The Inner Voice
19 Picture This

Part Four
Pashyanti, the Third Level of Sound Visual

20 The Colors of Your Mind
21 A Soundtrack for Your Life
22 The Lightness of Being

Part Five
Para, the Fourth Level of Sound Beyond

23 Infinity and Beyond
24 The Six Pieces
25 The Posture
26 All You Need Is Love
27 The Light
28 Absorption
29 The Sound
30 Absorption into Light and Sound

Part Six
The Practice

31 The Four Components
32 The Basic Meditation with Full Instructions
33 The Basic Meditation with Simple Instructions

Part Seven
Additive Practices

34 Six Additions
35 Meditation with Additions, Full Instructions
36 Meditation with Additions, Simple Instructions
37 Meditation in Its Simplest Form

Part Eight
Supportive and Ancillary Practices

38 Asana
39 Pranayama
40 The Eight Limbs
41 The Chakras
42 Neti
43 Sleep
44 Invocation
45 Lifestyle

Part Nine
A Final Piece

46 Innervision
47 The Eight Steps into Clear Light
48 Practice, Practice, Practice!

Gratitude

Acknowledgments

Appendix: The Source Texts

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Audio List