Starting and Ending the Day Right

"Everything starts happening when you close your eyes." - Swami Satyananda Saraswati


India has changed my life in the most dramatic way. I have found love, light, happiness, peace, patience. I now see the most amazing joy and beauty in every thing around me. Life is now dedicated to others and trying to spread this light. I thought I would post some links, book recommendations, meditations, chants, quotes, etc. for anyone interested. I've been exposed to a lot of different types of spirituality and religion, in India mainly Hinduism, Yoga Philosophy, and Buddhism. I will be on the search to learn as much as I can about every type of religion and spiritual path for the rest of my life. My ears are always open to listening to your questions and thoughts. Love and Oms.

I think I'll start with a few small things that people could easily do without altering their life or schedule, but that I find make a huge difference in my life and outlook on it.


Starting the Day Off Right

The ashram where I went to yoga school (Bihar School of Yoga) teaches yoga not just as a one hour class, but as an entire lifestyle. Part of this lifestyle is starting and ending the day on a positive note. We do this by chanting three beautiful mantras before even getting out of bed.


The Gayatri Manta 12 times for wisdom and the ability to discern what is right:

The Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra 12 times for health and healing:

The 32 names of Durga 3 times to remove obstacles:

These chants are in Sanskrit which is one of the oldest and most sacred languages in the world. The vibrations from speaking Sanskrit are said in and of themselves to have a healing and changing effect on the body.  I think, especially for Westerners, it is important to keep an open mind when starting something like chanting. It can seem very foreign and like were maybe praying to or worshiping gods we don't even believe in, or something like that. I promise you that you can chant these mantras without believing in the existence of any god at all, and I encourage you to give them a try and see for yourself if you can feel a change in your own energy throughout the day.

Here also is a link to a dedication prayer from Buddhism that I say every morning after my yoga and meditation session. No matter what things you believe or don't believe in it's beautiful to wish others well and dedicate your life to them:

Dedication Prayer


Ending the Day Positively 

My ashram also suggests ending the day similar to how it was started: on a positive note. This way our days both start and end in a good way. I usually do this in 3 steps:

1. Writing in a Journal

I write in a journal every night. I usually try to reflect on what my goals were for the day or month, and positive things that happened throughout the day. I also usually write where I saw God (for me) that day. For example, " June 6 2013- Today I saw God in so many ways. In water on my head, in finding a cute cafe, in reading Anne Frank's words, in not being afraid of but welcoming the rain, in the long tip of burning incense, in how quickly the pages of this diary fill up.."
I also have three journals. One is for the above mentioned reasons, focusing more on spiritual life, goals, and the positive, one is for writing a poem that describes each day, and one is for less often use when I need to write more about a subject, or need to get out more negative things, or things that I just don't feel belong in my spiritual diary.
You'll figure out what works best for you, but journaling is definitely a great way to keep your goals in sight, and to remember all the small beautiful things each day has to offer.

2. Meditating 

I usually do my long meditation at the beginning of the day, after my yoga session. But, when it was recommended to me to meditate for a short amount of time every night to let your mind bring up whatever it wanted to, I started trying it and loved it.
When I'm ready to go to bed I sit up in bed and meditate for around ten minutes. You can have your eyes closed or open, and focus on your breathe either by feeling it come in and out of your nostrils, or by doing something called Ujjayi breathe. In Ujjayi breathe you focus your awareness on the throat while breathing, and slightly contract your throat to make a soft snoring sound that should barely be audible. It should sound like a baby snoring. Remember to always breathe through your nostrils only when meditating or doing yoga.
The function of this ten minute meditation session before bed is to allow your mind to have whatever thoughts it wants about the day, the past, the future, stressors, etc. so that it won't bring them up in your dreams or cause you to not be able to sleep. So, don't suppress! For ten minutes (or however long works for you) focus on your breathe and let your mind think and bring up whatever it wants, allowing the thoughts to exist, and then pass. Hopefully, you'll find like I did, that this assists in a more peaceful sleep, with less, or less dramatic, dreams.

3. Reflection

Finally, after my meditation I lie straight down into Shavasana which is a relaxation pose in yoga:

Have your hands slightly away from your body and facing toward the ceiling. Make sure your body is comfortable, warm, and symmetrical. Then, once again focus on your breathing, either in your nostrils, or in the rise and fall of your abdomen. With each exhalation let your body relax deeper and deeper. And then, play your day back in your head. It's exactly like pressing rewind on a movie. Try to picture the meditation you just did, and what you did before you got into bed, and continue from there. Replay every interaction, and every action and see how you spent your precious day. Note what you did well, and what you could improve on if you run into that situation again. Try not to be to hard on yourself if you realize you acted or reacted in way that you really don't like, just note it and remember to work on it, and make sure you also note positive parts of the day as well.
Once again, hopefully you'll find that this practice puts you in a deeper state of relaxation for more peaceful sleep, and helps you to see the beautiful small things through out the day, while also helping you work on being the person you want to be.




I'll try to post more often now about things I learned when I was in India and things I continue to learn. Don't hesitate to e-mail me to discuss anything and everything life related. I wish you all love and light.