Share
On and Off Your Mat Yoga Podcast
Yoga and Sanskrit, with Nicolai Bachman
For our 44th episode, I sat down with Nicolai Bachman. Nicolai holds an M.A. in Eastern Philosophy, an M.S. in Nutrition. He has studied extensively at the American Sanskrit Institute, the Ayurvedic Institute, the American Institute of Vedic Studies and the Vedic Chant Center. Nicolai has been teaching Sanskrit, chanting, yoga philosophy and Ayurveda since 1994. He has authored several books on Sanskrit and Yoga Philosophy. Today, we sat down to talk about the importance of Sanskrit within the yoga tradition.
5 BIGGEST TAKE-AWAY FROM THIS EPISODE
1- To go deep in yoga you have to start learning Sanskrit. You have to include something more than posture. Not only does it shows you respect the practice and the tradition, but the name of the pose carry information about the intended experience.
2- The pronunciation of the language is of the highest priority. The vibrating energy of the words expresses prana and carries the meaning of the word.
3- When doing mantras, If you pronounce the words wrong it changes the intention, so make sure you pronounce it correctly and find a teacher that can help you.
4- Rhythm is build in the language. Words are broken down in syllables. have long and short sounds. and are done at different tones (low to high) It breaks out the monotony and helps retrain and learn information.
5- When studying the Yoga Sutras, learn the sound of the verses first. As you chant the sutras, all the information it carries will come forward. The sound is associated with the meaning.
QUESTIONS HE ANSWERED DURING THIS EPISODE :
- What is Sanskrit, where/when it originated… what should we know about it?
- Is it a dead language?
- How does knowing Sanskrit add to our practice?
- Do you think teachers in the west should use it more than they are?
- If people want to learn Sanskrit, where should they start?
- Why is Sanskrit pronunciation important?
- Does the placement of the tongue helps activate the energy channel?
- What are the most mispronounced words?
- What are the symbols that can help us know how to pronounce?
- Why is the musicality important?
- Do you believe it’s essential to do mantras in Sanskrit?
- In traditions like Kundalini Yoga, the chant and mantras are in Gurmukhi instead of Sanskrit. Does it matter?
SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW!
GIVEAWAY WINNER. DO YOU WANT $75 OF SHOPPING?
DONATE OR BECOME AN EXCLUSIVE MEMBER TODAY.
Thank you so much for listening and being part of our 44th episode! If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe, rate and review anywhere you listen. I really appreciate your financial support with this podcast. If you can, know that you can make a big difference even with a small donation to help me cover the production cost and allow me to create more episodes. Visit www.patreon.com/onandoffyourmat and become a vip member. As a thank you, get access to new exclusive content every month. Feeling stressed and tired after the holidays? This month, get a yoga nidra; a guided meditation to induce total physical, mental, and emotional relaxation.
ABOUT OUR GUEST
Nicolai has been teaching Sanskrit, chanting, yoga philosophy, Ayurveda, and other related topics since 1994. He has a knack for synthesizing and organizing complex topics into simple and understandable presentations. His education combines informal, traditional study with the academic rigor of university classes. Nicolai studied extensively at the American Sanskrit Institute, the Ayurvedic Institute, the American Institute of Vedic Studies and the Vedic Chant Center. He holds an M.A. in Eastern Philosophy, an M.S. in Nutrition, and is eRYT500 certified. His ongoing studies continue to broaden his repertoire and inform all future classes.
Nicolai has authored several Sanskrit book/CD learning tools including 108 Sanskrit Flash Cards, The Language of Yoga (Sounds True 2005), The Language of Ayurveda, and The Yoga Sutras: An Essential Guide to the Heart of Yoga Philosophy (Sounds True 2010). He also wrote an easy-to-read paperback on yoga philosophy called Path of the Yoga Sutras (Sounds True 2011).
Learn more about him :
REFERENCES
More episodes
View all episodes
232. Anxiety: Feel It to Heal It (Part 2), with Erika Belanger
47:29When coaching my clients, I use a practical and succinct process that helps them process their emotions and traumas so they can heal the past, leverage their sensitivity, and transform their whole lives. You might be scared of the feeling of anxiety right now, but trying to avoid the intensity of your anxiety is limiting your entire emotional experience.Discover how to give space to your anxiety so you can learn to manage it effectively. I share why managing anxiety isn't about trying to calm down, and you'll learn how to truly feel your anxiety to stop the cycle of emotional shutdown and reactivity, transforming your relationship with anxiety.Get full show notes and more information here: https://erikabelanger.com/232
231. Becoming a Leader That People Love and Respect, with Pavini Moray
37:32If you want to make a real impact in the world, you need to step into your leader self. To discuss how to do this, I'm joined by Pavini Moray, an author with over 30 years of experience as an educator, activist, somatic coach, and serial entrepreneur holding a Ph.D. in somatic psychology. Pavini supports humans and organizations in developing thriving relationships, and their perspective on leadership will truly change your life. Tune in this week to discover what it takes to become a leader that people love and respect and what it means to be a leader who holds their power ethically.Get full show notes and more information here: https://erikabelanger.com/231
230. Expanding Your Clairabilities to Deepen Your Relationship to Consciousness, with Heather Ivany
45:06If you're spiritually curious, you've probably heard of the four intuitive indicators called the Clairs: being Clairvoyant, Claircognizant, Clairsentient, or Clairaudient. To explore these indicators, I sat down with Heather Ivany, a holistic practitioner and teacher of yoga, meditation, prayer and akashic reading. Heather helps others lean into their spiritual energy and connect to their intuition, which involves understanding their unique way of connecting to the Clairs.We discuss what the Clairabilities are, how we can recognize them, and how they connect to consciousness, the physical, and ethereal worlds. You'll also learn the skill set required to connect with and improve your Clairabilities in pursuit of your deeper purpose.Get full show notes and more information here: https://erikabelanger.com/230
229. PREMIUM | A Somatic Practice to Feel Anger
03:15If you hate when you do get angry and try your best to avoid this uncomfortable emotion, today’s practice is for you.Learn how to feel anger and process it in a way that feels safe and doesn’t hurt yourself or anyone else. When you stop avoiding this emotion, you won’t have to be sarcastic in disagreement, if uncomfortable with conflict, to control everything (including of your emotions), to shutdown when you’re upset, to feel resentful when people don’t do what you expect… or to numb difficult emotions.Today somatic practice goes with my free workbook on how to feel your emotions and our episode 227 : Feel it to heal it and is an example of how to move the energy of anger out of your body, so next time you feel angry, you’ll know exactly what to do instead of repressing, numbing or overreacting, and I promise, you’ll be left wide-eyed wondering how you are just learning this now.This somatic practice is part of our premium subscription, to get access to it, become a premium podcast member.When you leave a review for the podcast on iTunes you can have access to the membership for free, including today’s class as a thank you for helping others to find the podcast and on their healing journey. DM @onandoffyourmatpodcast or email (erika.belanger@gmail.com) me a screenshot of your review and we'll get you set up.On the membership platform, you'll find: 1. Your premium podcast episodes ($5/month). 2. You can now also have access to almost 600 recorded full-length yoga classes in a Netflix-Style Membership ($25/month). 3. You can sign up for any live-stream class I offer!With our podcast premium membership, your contribution ripples to thousands of people every week, allowing me to offer accessible quality free content to a wide community of yogis. This podcast is a way I contribute to the community, and this membership is a way you can too. It allows you to share everything yoga offers with the world by supporting me in the creation and production of this podcast while I choose to keep it ad-free.
228. The Feminine Way of Doing Business, with Layla El Khadri
41:13Layla El Khadri knows how to get you to access your awe-inspiring magnetism. She has over a decade of experience guiding women to express their absolute highest potential and embody their magic. Through her business, Layla helps her clients tap into their feminine power, find their unique gifts, and turn them into mission-driven businesses that make a positive impact in the world.Discover how to embody the feminine way of doing business. Layla is sharing how to start finding your voice, inner power, pleasure, inspiration, and creativity so you can build a mission-driven business and live a life of passion and purpose.Get full show notes and more information here: https://erikabelanger.com/228
227. Feel It to Heal It, with Erika Belanger
50:16I'm sure you've been told to feel your feelings before, but have you ever been told how? There's a process I use with my coaching clients to help them feel and process their emotions and trauma, so they can heal the past, leverage their sensitivity, and transform their lives, and I'm sharing it right here on today's show.Discover how to feel more fearlessly, be yourself more fully, and access more joy in your life. Learn why healing means truly feeling your emotions, and I show you a step-by-step process to stop getting lost in escapism when uncomfortable emotions are present, and instead show up for yourself with care, nurturance, and love.Get full show notes and more information here: https://erikabelanger.com/227 or go directly to Get on the waitlist for my mini-course: Feel It to Heal It!
226. Using Your Dreams to Process Your Emotions with Meli, The Dreaming Yogi
35:11Meli is a dream interpreter who helps sleep-deprived and stressed individuals uncover the root cause of their anxiety through dream work. She helps people address suppressed emotions while providing them with the tools to release these emotions with a process she calls cosmic dream alchemy. Gain a foundation in what your dreams mean, and what you can do with the messages you receive afterward. Meli shares her three steps to alchemize and process your emotions through the subconscious mind with dream work, and she even walks us through a whole process, as an example, using one of my own dreams so you can see it in real time.Get full show notes and more information here: https://erikabelanger.com/226
225. PREMIUM | Body Yantra
02:57If you experience chronic stress, regularly feel tension in your body or discomfort in your joints, this episode if for you.Today we are learning a body yanta. Body yantras are powerful proprioceptive practices, where your nervous system gets to map out where you are in space to move away from chronic holding patterns. This practice allows the NS to realign the bone structure of the body to induce more relaxation.This micro-movement meditation is a harmonizing practice that organically helps you reprogram the way your skeletal system as been responding to your perceptions, internal stories and traumas.This 30-minute yoga class is part of our premium subscription, to get access to it, become a premium podcast member.When you leave a review for the podcast on iTunes you can have access to the membership for free, including today’s class as a thank you for helping others to find the podcast and on their healing journey. DM @onandoffyourmatpodcast or email (erika.belanger@gmail.com) me a screenshot of your review and we'll get you set up.On the membership platform, you'll find: 1. Your premium podcast episodes ($5/month). Just like before, as a member, you can get a ton of exclusive audio and video content like this yoga class of overwhelm.2. You can now also have access to almost 400 recorded full-length yoga classes in a Netflix-Style Membership ($25/month). 3. You can sign up for any live-stream class I offer!With our podcast premium membership, your contribution ripples to thousands of people every week, allowing me to offer accessible quality free content to a wide community of yogis. This podcast is a way I contribute to the community, and this membership is a way you can too. It allows you to share everything yoga offers with the world by supporting me in the creation and production of this podcast while I choose to keep it ad-free.
224. The Breath: Eastern Philosophy and Nervous System Science, with Dylan Werner
44:25Dylan Werner is a renowned yoga instructor and author known for his expertise in breathwork meditation, hand balancing, and movement. He founded Myofascial Integrated Alignment and Myofascial Integrated Stretching, which are asana-based systems that combine scientific principles with movement to improve overall health and posture.Discover why we breathe, how to breathe, and the way the breath is capable of influencing us emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Dylan shares pranayama exercises, and you’ll learn how to sequence your pranayama, just as you would sequence an asana practice.Get full show notes and more information here: https://erikabelanger.com/224