Shakti is defined as the power, ability, strength, might, effort, energy, of the primordial cosmic energy, representing the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe. Shakti is the concept or personification of the Divine Feminine creative power, referred to as the Great Divine Mother.
On the Earth, Shakti most actively manifests herself through female embodiment, creativity and fertility. Shakti is believed to be responsible for creation and also the agent of all change. The Kundalini Shakti is a mysterious psycho-spiritual force that activates, stimulates and initiates all things.
Tantra teaches:
Shakti is the creator of the universe, the universe is her form; woman is the foundation of the world, she is the true form of the body. In woman is the form of all things, of all that lives and moves in the world. There is no jewel rarer than woman, no condition superior to that of a woman.
The Adi Shakti devotional mantra (a Bhakti mantra), invokes the primary Creative Power which is manifest as the feminine. It calls upon the Mother Power. It will help you to be free of the insecurities which block freedom of action. By meditating on it one can obtain a deeper understanding of the constant interplay between the manifest and the unmanifest qualities of the cosmos and consciousness. This powerful mantra belongs to all women to call upon any time. She can chant it freely and powerfully, any time.
Kriya:
POSTURE: Sit in Easy Pose with a straight spine.
MUDRA: Bend the elbows down by the sides. Bring the hands into Ravi Mudra, Sun (ring) finger held down with the thumb, the palms face forward and the fingers point straight up. Keep the other fingers straight.
Important: The wrists are at the level of the shoulders, with the hands in line with the ears. Make sure the spine is kept very straight, and Neck Lock engaged.
EYES: Eyes are closed.
Kundalini-Shakti-Bhakti Mantra (for Vitality):
Adi Shakti, Adi Shakti, Adi Shakti, Namo Namo!
Sarab Shakti, Sarab Shakti, Sarab Shakti, Namo Namo!
Prithum Bhagvati, Prithum Bhagvati, Prithum Bhagvati, Namo Namo!
Kundalini Mata Shakti, Mata Shakti, Namo Namo!
Translation:
Primal Shakti, I bow to Thee!
All-Encompassing Shakti, I bow to Thee!
That through which Divine Creates, I bow to Thee!
Creative Power of the Kundalini, Mother of all Mother Power, To Thee I Bow.
"Merge in the Maha Shakti. This is enough to take away your misfortune. This will carve out of you a woman. Woman needs her own Shakti, not anybody else will do it... When a woman chants the Kundalini Bhakti mantra, God clears the way. This is not a religion, it is a reality. Woman is not born to suffer, and woman needs her own power." ~ Yogi Bhajan
So, Shakti, who is responsible for creation, can also be an agent of change, to destroy evil forces and restore balance.
Personal power is the courage, determination and capacity we gradually gain throughout the course of our personal evolution. When exercised in healthy and natural ways, it becomes a nexus for the love, well-being, happiness and meaning that we find within our interpersonal world. Without personal power, true empowerment will be hard to grasp. And, ultimately, empowerment is where we want to be.
Empowerment is the destination on our path. Personal power is like the bridge that take us across the flowing river – carrying us across, on our path and keeping the process moving forward. And just like the actual bridge that needs to be cared for over time, so that it doesn’t crumble into the river, personal power has to be consciously attended to by the individual. Otherwise, it begins to deplete and disintegrate.
To do so, we can utilize several different techniques.
We can focus on movement, which will generate endorphins – those lovely feel-good neurotransmitters in the body. We can focus on nutrition. We can also focus on boosting our vitality.
Ultimate health and wellness of the mind, body and Soul are dependent on strong vitality. Strong vitality increases the capacity of our mind to process and deal with the challenges of everyday life, which becomes part of our ability to apply our resolve – our will – with unwavering determination.
As we establish a reservoir of vitality, we will be more able to tap into the conscious direction of our Soul and the life energy needed to fulfill our purpose on the planet. The positive feedback loop created between personal power, vitality and empowerment permeates our Soul with motivation, dedication, self-confidence, joy, and divine connection.
Adi Shakti means the 'first power'. It is the primitive power which resides in every human being. This power is feminine in aspect. Adi Shakti or the cosmic energy resides within all humans. This source of energy lies hidden inside each of us since birth. It needs to be activated to realise its immense power.
Self care shakti meditation:
If you notice a part of your body that feels tight, painful, or stuck, tune in to the pain. Notice how big the area of tight energy is, how it feels (sharp or hard, prickly or achy), what shape it is. Recognize it as being a bundle of energy.
Consciously welcome the energy sensations, even if they are uncomfortable. Welcoming invites letting go.
Speak to the energy gently. Try to use suggestive words like “ease” or “open.” You can even ask the stuck energy what it has to show you.
Imagine a light-filled circle of spacious energy around the stuck places. Breathe, allowing your attention to flow between the energy of your pain and the spacious circle of shakti.
Breathe with a thought like “ease” or “open” to detach difficult emotions or problems. Shakti is inherently healing!
There is no shortage of energy in the universe! By remembering to breathe slowly and deeply, we immediately begin drawing in more Shakti. The power of Shakti can be channeled through conscious breathing.
A conscious yogic breathing technique is called Nadi Shodhana. This is alternate nostril breath and, with consistent practice, it will regulate the Shakti and you will be able to breathe more fully and clearly.
Begin by curling your index and middle fingers into your palm. Close the right nostril with your thumb. Inhale through the left nostril. Then close the left nostril with your ring finger and exhale through the right nostril. Inhale again through the right. Close the right nostril with your thumb and exhale through the left. Inhale left, close, exhale right. Inhale right, close, exhale left. Keep up this pattern of changing the closure on the exhalation for several more minutes. (3 minute minimum.)
Shakti, the innate power in reality, has five faces. It manifests as the power to be conscious, the power to feel ecstasy, the power of will, or desire, the power to know, and the power to act. All these powers come into play in the act of cosmic creativity, when divine intelligence spins a universe out of itself, much the way a human mind creates a dream or a fantasy on its own screen.
Shakti takes form as the biological processes of our body. She acts through our thoughts and the play of our emotions. She becomes every atom and dust mite in the physical world. We are, in our essence, made of Shakti. Her powers of consciousness, ecstasy, will, knowing, and acting are constantly at play both in ourselves and the world.
Yogic practices combine sacred sounds—mantras--, images, and geometric figures called yantras. Together, these meditations constitute a sacred technology, with immense power to help us open to the hidden energies within ourselves.
We can begin to touch into Shakti when we tune into the energy inside our body. We go even deeper as we set ourselves to experience deeper forms of inner inspiration, and when we begin to listen to the guidance that can flow from the deepest core of ourselves.
Practicing with a mantra, a sacred sound form, is a particularly powerful way experience your own inner spiritual energy. The most important are the ‘seed’ syllable mantras, or bijas. Bija mantras are sounds that are said to contain the essence of a particular sacred energy.
Kirtan Kriya, often referred to as SA TA NA MA meditation.
Seated in a comfortable upright posture, bring your attention into the center of the head, in the midbrain, focussing on the pineal gland.
Feel that the breath is flowing in two streams through the nostrils, and coming to rest in the midbrain, the third eye, the region known as the Ajna Chakra.
Begin reciting Sa Ta Na Ma
While chanting alternately press the thumb with the four fingers. Press hard enough to keep yourself awake and aware of the pressure. Keep repeating in a stable rhythm and keep the hand motion going throughout the whole meditation.
The Jupiter finger (pointer) brings in knowledge, expands our field of possibilities and releases us from limitations.
The Saturn finger (middle) gives us patience, wisdom and purity.
The Sun finger (ring) gives us vitality and aliveness.
The Mercury finger (pinky) aids clear communication.
Each time you close a mudra by joining the thumb with a finger, your ego "seals" its effect in your consciousness.
SAT NAM seeds the truth in our consciousness by waking us up to our divine identity. SAT NAM is the seed or bij mantra.
SA TA NA MA incorporates the nuclear sounds of SAT NAM. SA TA NA MA uses the primal sounds to connect us to the evolutionary nature of existence itself. It is referred to as the panch shabd, which means a mantra with five sound currents. The fifth sound is "A."
When we chant SA TA NA MA we imprint the evolutionary code of the universe into our human psyche.
SA is the beginning, infinity, the totality of everything that ever was, is or will be.
TA is life, existence and creativity that manifests from infinity.
NA is death, change and the transformation of consciousness.
MA is rebirth, regeneration and resurrection which allows us to consciously experience the joy of the infinite.
SA TA NA MA is so primal that its impact on our psyche is like splitting an atom. The power of his mantra comes from the fact that it rearranges the subconscious mind at the most elementary level. It has the power to break habits and addictions because it accesses the level of the mind where habits are created.
This meditation is given for everything from breaking habits to achieving emotional balance. It helps you focus and center yourself. It is a catalyst for change because it is a very powerful spiritual cleanser.
Here is one of the best selling points of this mantra. Do you think about an old friend, exhusband or lover and want to be liberated from the grips of the past and release him or her from your aura? This is the meditation! There is nothing more powerful to release the auric pain we suffer when we break up or end a relationship. It will reestablish your aura as your own. This is a powerful sovereignty statement in and of itself!
Try it and see for yourself!