Besides being an accomplished English devotional songwriter, Tina Malia makes a wonderful contribution to the yoga music scene with her album Jaya Bhagavan. Malia began singing Sanskrit mantras with Jai Uttal, as part of the Pagan Love Orchestra about a decade ago. With encouragement from Jai, Tina eventually began to incorporate mantra practice into her daily life with positive results. Inspired by her love of Sanskrit mantra, Tina Malia was inspired to record Jaya Bhagavan, an album of wonderful Sanskrit tracks. She is joined by Shimshai, an accomplished instrumentalist and vocalist, who brings his own unique sound to the album. The result is a really cool yoga music album that would go well in anyone’s collection.
Jaya Bhagavan opens with “Gayatri.” Rather than having the fiery, peppy energy that many versions of the gayatri mantra often present, Tina and Shimshai allow the mantra to gently build. It reminds me of the rising sun, peeking out and gradually lightening the sky. It’s a nice way to start the album, easing the listener into the experience. “Gayatri” is followed by “ Hara Mahadeva,” another track with a fairly gentle vibe. I’ve heard this chant done really forcefully on other albums, but Tina and Shimshai chose to tone it down a bit. The result is cool and very relaxed. In the middle of Jaya Bhagavan is a three track set devoted to the feminine Goddess energy. There is some really fun vocal work happening on “ Sarva Mangala,” on top of a musical track that takes me on a jungle cruise. This chant is in praise of the divine feminine, seeking the blessing of the feminine energy. All of the vocal layers make this track really vibrant and exciting to listen to. “ Hey Amba” is another track with some really kicking vocals. Take note of the interplay between Shimshai and Tina’s voices; the harmonizing they do is awesome. The music has a very Spanish feel, which made me feel as though I should start dancing, especially during the drum interlude. The third track in the Devi sequence is “ Om Mata.” You can really feel the reggae influence Shimshai brings, there’s great movement in this track which works its way into the listener, making it nearly impossible not to dance along. “Jaya Bhagavan” is the longest track on the album. It has a substantial, meditative instrumental intro, which really helps to create a wonderful mood for the rest of the track. Tina Malia’s wonderful voice soars, and as an added treat she is joined by Jai Uttal. Together they pierce the heart and make you forget everything else but this beautiful track. The album closes with “Shine,” a sweet English duet between Shimshai and Tina. The simple lyrics and acoustic accompaniment gently take you out of the album and back into the world, hopefully feeling a little more relaxed and peaceful. The tracks Shimshai leads are really groovy and funky. Tina’s lean a little more towards the sweet side of things. Put together you have a funky, sweet album. The instrumentals and vocals are fresh and exciting, giving Jaya Bhagavan a wonderful energy. It’s a great album for yoga, for chanting along, or just listening in the background. Find out more about Tina Malia’s music and her tour with GuruGanesha Singh on www.spiritvoyage.com . 
If you’ve ever been in the car with a Kundalini yogi, you might have been startled to hear them chant a mantra before turning the car on. What is it that they chant and why?
Kundalini yogis often chant " Aad guray nameh, jugaad guray nameh, sat guray nameh, siri guru devay nameh” before they put the keys in the ignition for protection. It’s a yogic “secret” said to provide a buffer around the car for protection from an accident. It creates a safety perimeter of about nine feet around the car, which in a critical moment of an accident can be very meaningful. You can use this mantra when you start your car, invoking with it your own powerful consciousness, directing your mind and intention towards thoughts of safety. You can also use it any other time you need a little boost of protection, such as when walking down a street at night or using it with your kids who might be afraid of the dark. Playing it while you drive adds extra protection and playing it in your home creates a beautiful environment of safety. Safe travels! 
We've all felt it. That searing feeling in your chest when your heart breaks. The air rushes out of you. Your stomach tightens. Your mind and heart stop for a moment, suspended, until at last they start again, but now with a heaviness and pain.
We can't avoid heartbreak in this life. Many masters suggest we shouldn't try to avoid it, but instead should sit with the pain within us and truly feel it. Then from that place of honoring the now, we should begin to usher in a sense of peace and well-being as we consciously connect with our timeless Divine Truth. But sometimes we aren't masters. Sometimes it's all we can do to just get out of bed, and when that's too much, opening our eyes can sometimes be a victory. There is a beauty in heartbreak. For one thing, it proves your heart still feels, still moves and lives and has its being. It proves that you are searching for more and that your heart hasn't crusted over beyond repair. But we cannot let scar tissue develop during times of heartbreak by closing ourselves off to the pain. That is where real danger lies. We must feel our heartbreak, leaving our heart wide open, sometimes drowning with hurt, and offer our wounds to the Divine and ask for healing. There's a beautiful line in Harnam Singh's song I Don't Mind" that says "Your heart will break from time to time and hurt will creep inside, but a heart that breaks is open wide, whatever happens I don't mind." May your broken heart be filled with healing. May you resist the urge to close yourself off forever by using asana like Camel Pose to keep your heart open. May you use the mantra calling upon the divine energy of Guru Ram Das, Lord of Miracles and healer of hearts, to lift you up in your times of trouble. Try the mantra: "Guru Guru Waheguru Guru Ram Das Guru." Cry your heart out while you are singing if you need to, start in a little whisper if you cannot even speak, but eventually sing your heart out. Let the bold and bright sound of your voice be the funnel that removes the hurt from inside you. Hear a strength in your voice even if you don't feel it in your heart. Sing for 31 minutes a day...while you shower, while you cook, while you drive, while you lay in bed hiding under the covers. Sing. Bring the healing presence of Guru Ram Das to you, like an angel of light. There will be a day when the pain lessens and your heart begins to heal. And then one day, out on horizon, you will see the rising sun again and feel it rise in your heart, too. This too shall pass. Guru Guru Waheguru Guru Ram Das Guru.
Everybody is feeling it nowadays. You are either going through it or can see it on the horizon. You know what I'm talking about. The "C" word. Change.
Humankind is undergoing a period of incredible change. Many traditions believe we are shifting from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius, and that change is bringing a whole new set of challenges and opportunities for us as a planet and a species. Right now we're in the cusp between the two ages...and the cusp can be a period of tremendous change, anxiety, and discomfort. Change can be uncomfortable for the best of us. Think of the snake, as it is molting and undergoing a period of tremendous transformation, its eyes become clouded over and the snake can no longer see. It is blind. It lashes out in anger and rage, snapping at anything that comes close. Then as its skin sheds, it emerges from its old self with calm and poise, slithering out of its uncomfortable transition period into a more comfortable, expanded self. Humans are like snakes in that during periods of transition and change, we become irritable, snappish and edgy. We lash out at our loved ones, behave in irrational ways, and worry. But we don't have to be this way. Change can be a beautiful and exciting time. We can look to an uncertain future with courage and a spirit of adventure. There is a mantra to help us move from fear of change to boldness and courage. It removes feeling of anxiety, depression and phobias, leaving in its place courage and victory. Just like the snake leaves behind its old skin. Try this mantra for fear of change: Chattr chakkr vartee, chattr chakkr bhugatay Suyumbhav subhang sarab daa sarab jugtay Dukaalang pranaasee dayaalang saroopay Sadaa ung sungay abhangang bibhootay These words were written by the warrior saint Guru Gobind Singh and bring victory during changing times! Chant along with a recording or keep it playing in your house!
Spending the holidays with your family? Take a long look at your relatives. Are there family patterns or karmas that are playing themselves out? 
Look at a cycle of abuse. Often it repeats for many generations, until one individual is strong enough to break the pattern. Or perhaps you can see this when you think of the bad relationships you've been in, and whether other people in your family have made similar choices.
This is family karma. Some cultures have a more strongly developed sense of family karma than other. In India, although its grip over modern society is loosening, the caste system determines everything from whom you can marry to what jobs you can hold. Monarchies all over the globe are seen to have a family karma of power and wealth. In many South American tribes, shamans perform ceremony to remove the karma of seven generations in order to break cycles of misfortune. Codes within our cells are written by our family's history and determine more than what we look like and to what diseases we are prone. These codes of happiness or distress become programmed and patterns of thought (whether positive or negative) are both taught as a child and encoded within the genes of our ancestors. Even when we are vastly different that the rest of our family, certain tendencies toward discontent or misfortune can be present in our unconscious and subconscious from childhood. This holiday season, if you are surrounded by family, there is a mantra that you can keep playing in your Ipod, or singing to yourself in sadhana. This mantra breaks family karma. It is said to shatter misfortune with the power of a thunderbolt and affect generations. It is the 24th Pauri of Japji, written by Guru Nanak, the first guru of the Sikhs. "Ant Na Siftee" or "Ant Na Siphatee" is a powerful mantra of change and transformation for you and your whole family. Ant Na Siftee Kehn na ant Ant na karnai dayn na ant Ant na vaykhan sunan na ant Ant na jaapai kiaa man mant Ant na jaapai keetaa aakaar Ant na jaapai paaraaavaar Ant kaaran kaytay bilalaa-he Taa kay ant na paa-ay jaa-ay Ayho ant na jaanai ko-i Bahutaa keheeai Bahutaa ho-i Vadaa saahib oochaa thaao Oochay oopar oochaa naao Ayvad oochaa hovai ko-i Tis Oochay kau jaanai so-i Jayvad aap jaanai aap aap Naanak nadaree karamee daat Chant or recite these words 11 times (optimally for 40 days), or just leave playing in the environment to shift the energy of a space. Bring this amazing mantra into your family's holiday season and pave the way for future generations to flourish and grow beyond any limitations!
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