lately I have goten some questions about the mantras I do sometimes to start & end my hathayoga classes.
some wonder what it means, some also seams a bit worried it might be a worship thing that they dont agree with

but Sweden is and this I have heard more then once; one of the most un-religious contries in the world, so for many here it dosnt feel natural to chant mantras about dieties.
..what is importnet to know is that a mantra is alot about the vibration, so to just enjoy the sound vibration is spiritual so that can be your focus instead when chanting.
I use only peace mantras in my classes so there is no hindu gods names ther like "hare rama" or "AUM gam ganapate namaha" etc.

the famous AUM "ॐ" is the universal mantra, AUM is the infininte, the sound of creation.. and it is a mantra on its own.
AUM is also the bija mantra for ajna chakra/the third eye [bija mantras are also called seed mantras, and are the mantras that harmonizes with the chakras].
so AUM is an easy and great mantra to chant, it also makes you tune into the vibration of the universe, cosmos

..so, the sound vibrations from chanting mantras has a healing effect of your physical, mental body, and it is said to open up our hearts. sound is used in many spiritual traditions of the world

a mantra can be done out loud, it can be done wispering but you can also use it quietly in your mind. it still has its vibrating effect.
that is also why mantra during meditation is common.
some say the most powerful mantras are done in silence and stimulating our inner seeds, the main thing is to repeat it over & over again, so a mantra should not be to long.. [108 times is a sacred number to use in your mantra repitiion, you can use a mala to help you keep count, they should have 108 beeds if they are quality ones]

the mantra I use at the end my yoga classes is this one:

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते
ॐ शान्तिः, शान्तिः, शान्तिः

AUM poornamadah poornamidam poornaat
poornamudachyate,  poornasya poornamaadaaya
poornamevaa-vasishyate
AUM shanti shanti shantíi

one of the translations/ interpretations is:

Aum, That is infinite, This is infinite.
The infinite evolves from the infinite.
Even if you take the infinite away from the infinite,
the infinite still remains!
AUM peace peace peace [universal peace]

oooh my god! just looked at the outdoor thermometer..
minus 17 celcsius... for me who doesnt consider myself being a winter person this is to much ha ha. although to be honest it has it charm, it is really beautiful and it feels so fresh in the air.
but then you are quikly reminded by feeling almost pain in your hands a fingers, this of course since I dont have any gloves and was carying some small packages with products from my yoga web shop, I was on my way to the post office and to buy some breakfast.
another thing wich also gives a weird feeling, it is like I have moist somehow in my beard & mustach, maybe it is from the breath or so, because rather quick you get like ice-crystals in the moustach etc, and you can really feel the difference, it feels like your beard is growing wider and bigger.
I mean for most of the time I dont reflect on having a beard it is just there, but now over & over again I have to put my hand or arm to my face and get rid of the ice crystals feeling.

my poor little angels [my dogs] they also have problems now, it is to cold for them and the crytaly snow is not feeling nice. so quit quickly they start to step on the snow and lift one paw up for a while then another one, and they look like they are limping or making "funny walks", so for them this weather is not a hit.

on my way to the store & post office I saw a 2-3person wide line of maybe 60-70meters!?!?!? of people by the buss stop, so it became clear to me that the public transport is not workng today either, today even worse since it is a working day and much more people uses the public transport.
on the internet later when I checked the company running the public transport in stockholm actually themselves asked people to either walk, take a taxi or stay at home ha ha.
sounds promissing...
I have a yoga class today, so probably I am gonna spend 2,5-3 hours travelling to & from the studio [instead of the usual 40minutes] to teach a 90min yogaclass.

really sometimes I wonder if I have ended up in the wrong part of the world? I am made to be in this climate?
not sure actually, and allways in my daydreams and so I see my self in a asian warm country in a few years he he.

I think today will be a final home fixing day and tomorrow will slowly getting back into my practice, my shouder is feeling better but a bit stiff, so the coldness is not making that part better of course.
I am really looking forward to this week teaching classes, not it is all starting to settle down and yo start to see a tendency of wich participants are gonna continue to come to my classes and then easier to guide them along this term.
just hoping this public transport problem is gonna make my mood get lower, sadly it makes you feel completely helpless since from where I live there is realy no alternative, so you just have to stay there in the -17 and hope for a bus to finally come, and when it comes hope that you are one of the lucky ones that will get a space in the bus before it gets full and has to leave.

anyway, positive thinking will be my challenge this week I guess for this issue, and try not to give it to much of my focus.

winterly peace from me..