SAT NAM – THE TWO WORDS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
HEATHER FERRI
In Kundalini Yoga the first two words you learn to vibrate with are “sat,” which means “truth,” and “nam,” which means “identity.” These two words will eventually resonate within each breath you take during class. On the inhale you will think “sat” and on the exhale “nam.” Kundalini Yoga is de-signed to work on balancing your chakras.
We have seven chakras that start at the rectum and work up the spine to the crown of the head. Many yoga techniques speak of an 8th chakra which is a person’s aura or energy field that surrounds their body.
Speaking your truth requires an open and balanced fifth chakra. This particular chakra is located at the throat and represents our ability to communicate and speak the truth to others, as well as, ourselves. If a person has a difficult time with voicing their feelings or opinions this usually that means their fifth chakra is blocked. A person can have problems in their thyroid gland or lose their voice when the fifth chakra is not addressed.
In Kundalini Yoga, finding a kriya to heal the fifth chakra usually requires the student to sing/chant many different mantras. The sound vibration effects and shifts a person’s being. A person who speaks with a loud and dominating voice illustrates having too much energy in their fifth chakra. A person who speaks softly or loses their voice can be a trapped soul who is undefined in personal truth.
Words manifest as energy and effect a person’s being. Speaking to a loved one with a soft voice creates a warmth to it, but when we feel angry the voice changes tone, and becomes sharper and more direct. For example, a mother who yells at her child every day and voices “Shut up” creates harm to the child’s fifth chakra. That child grows up feeling and believing that it is acceptable to raise your voice and may even feel it is the only way to be heard.
Finally, by balancing the fifth chakra, a person’s soul is being developed not only to speak the truth but to live their truth. Learning to speak with grace and follow one’s own personal path requires honouring your life. When we value our voice, we value our life!
After many years of training in Kundalini Yoga and working with many masters I became a writer and a healer. This was not planned but the magic of life is allowing healing to unfold and naturally stepping into your authentic self.
Here is one of the first poems I wrote while still residing in New York City.
Sat Nam
Sitting in a crowd feeling empty inside
Rituals of conversation about nothing divine
Told what to say from my traditions of the past
Throat locked on family dialogue my tongue tied fast
Playing a role that clearly is not me
My soul cries out to simply be free
Discovering myself in meditation class
Rewriting the computer chip that developed from the past
Rituals of chants that vibrate to my feet
Walking forward with a purpose to fulfill my Creator’s needs
I am being my authentic identity.
Heather Ferri is the author of Victim to Victory, healing generational abuse from my bloodline.
