Ek Ong Kar
Sat Nam Siri
Wahe Guru
"The Creator and the Creation are One.
This is our True Identity.
The ecstacy of the experience of this wisdom is beyond all words and brings indescribable bliss."
The Long Ek Ong Kar's, also known as Morning Call, Long Chant, and the Adi Shakti Mantra, is said to open all the chakras, charge the solar centers, connect the soul to the Universal Soul, and liberate us from the cycle of karma. Yes please!
I chanted this mantra every morning before sunrise for two and a half hours a day for 40 days a few years ago and had some of the most profound insights and experiences that I've ever been blessed with through meditation. I can strongly recommend it as a practice - daily at dawn, for anything from just 7 minutes, up to the full two and a half hours.
I included it in the Energy Beyond Breath course because it is such a great way to get in touch with the Kundalini energy, wake it up, and also open up the subtle energy channels in our bodies to allow that life force to flow and expand within us. If you truly want to feel alive, this is one of the best practices to start your day with.
Here are some instructions on how to practice this amazing meditation. Or you can simply go straight to Energy Beyond Breath to get your own copy of this amazing meditation, along with a further five hours of online training with me!
How to practice Long Ek Ong Kar
There are some particular instructions to follow to ensure you practice this mantra correctly in order for it to have the full energetic benefits.
Sit in Easy Pose with a straight spine, or, you may sit in a chair with a straight spine and both feet flat on the floor (watch this video if you need some help with this). Place the hands in Gyan Mudra or rest them in the lap in Venus Lock. It is best to use a light blanket or shawl to keep the spine free from drafts. Apply Neck Lock, jalandharabhanda (watch this video if you're unclear). Close your eyes. Optionally, as you chant each syllable, you can concentrate on each chakra, from the first to the eighth.
This mantra is chanted on two and a half breaths - one complete breath for each of the first two lines, and the final line being done on half a breath as your diaphragm will be locked after chanting Sat Nam Siri on the second breath.
1) Inhale deeply and chant Ek Ong Kar
Ek is vibrated briefly and powerfully at the Navel Point (not shouted). Ong is chanted in the back of the throat, vibrates the upper palate, and comes out through the nose. Keep the sound continuous as you move without a pause from Ong to Kar. Give equal time to Ong and Kar. You should engage mulabhanda here and hold it contracted for the rest of the mantra (watch this video for information on mulabhanda).
2) Inhale deeply again and chant Sat Nam until you're almost out of breath, then reach for the Siri, which is brief. Sat is briefly and powerfully chanted at the Navel Point. Nam vibrates at the heart center. Siri is pronounced as if spelled S’ree; it is a short syllable. For this second breath, you contract and hold contracted uddiyanabhanda (again watch this video for more information on this bhanda - although note that this video is teaching how to stretch and hold the diaphragm up, which is slight different from just holding and controlling it, as is required here. But it will help you find it :-)
3) Inhale a short half breath and chant Wahe Guru. Wahe is broken into two syllables, Wha and Hay. Wha is somewhat aspirated. Hay is extremely short. It becomes part of Guru which is pronounced as G'roo. Remember this is an “ashtang” mantra, in other words, it has eight, count ’em, eight keys, eight syllables, so the “hayg’roo” should be all run together, almost like one syllable.
4) Inhale deeply again to repeat the cycle. Continue for 7, 11, 31, or 62 minutes or 2 ½ hours.
5) To finish, inhale deeply, hold the breath, and focus at the Brow Point for several seconds, then exhale and relax.
Make sure you don't let the tone drop, and if it does, bring it back up. And keep neck lock applies throughout, keeping the head steady and straight.