This mantra-based meditation includes small hand movements with spoken word and silence.
Use or download this mp3 of the timed intervals as you perform this meditation.
You will hear a bell sound at the beginning and then at each interval. You will hear the bell sound 3 times to indicate the end of the meditation.
How to perform the meditation
from https://www.yogajournal.com/meditation/kirtan-kriya-meditation/
“Find a comfortable seat and bring your internal gaze to your third eye, between your eyebrows. Start… with your arms straight, the backs of your hands resting on your knees, and the tips of your thumbs and index fingers gently touching.
Chant saa (representing infinity, the cosmos, and the beginning of time);
Bring the tips of your thumbs to the tips of your middle fingers and say taa (life and existence);
Next, bring the tips of your thumbs to the tips of your ring fingers and say naa (death, change, and transformation);
Finally, bring the tips of your thumbs and pinky fingers together and say maa (rebirth).
1. For two minutes, sing out loud.
2. For the next two minutes, sing in a stage whisper.
3. For the next four minutes, say the sound silently to yourself.
4. Then whisper the sound for two minutes
5. Complete the sequence by singing out loud for the last two minutes.
https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad142766
from https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad142766
“KK uses the sounds, Saa, Taa, Naa, Maa. The tune to which these sounds are sung is the first four notes of the familiar children’s song, “Mary had a Little Lamb.” That is, the notes are “Mar-y had a.” The jaw should remain relaxed as you sing.
When outside thoughts intrude, simply return your focus to the sounds and visualization.
To come out of the exercise, inhale very deeply through the nose, stretch your hands above your head, and then bring them down slowly in a sweeping motion as you exhale through the nose. Take a couple of deep nasal breaths before opening your eyes and resuming activity.”
Stress, Meditation, and Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention: Where The Evidence Stands
https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad142766
Kirtan Kriya Meditation
“This review highlights Kirtan Kriya (KK), an easy, cost-effective meditation technique requiring only 12 minutes a day, which has been successfully employed to improve memory in studies of people with subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, and highly stressed caregivers, all of whom are at increased risk for subsequent development of AD.
KK has also been shown to improve sleep, decrease depression, reduce anxiety, downregulate inflammatory genes, upregulate immune system genes, improve insulin and glucose regulatory genes, and increase telomerase by 43%; the largest ever recorded. “
KK is a multifaceted, multisensory exercise that engages and activates conscious awareness. It increases cerebral blood flow to important anatomical brain areas and, as discussed below, has numerous other benefits, both in caregivers and those with cognitive decline [69, 71–74].”
…Kirtan Kriya (KK), has been studied previously in older adults and caregivers (Black et al., 2013; Lavretsky et al., 2013; Khalsa, 2015; Innes et al., 2016a; 2016b).
KK was used as a homework exercise and includes chanting the mantra sounds, Saa Taa Naa Maa along with repetitive finger movements, or mudras, and visualizations (mudras)… The sounds come from the mantra “Sat Nam,” which means “my true essence.”
It has been shown to be effective in increasing cognitive and emotional functioning (e.g. less depression, anxiety and stress, and improved mood, sleep, cognition, attention, memory, and resiliency) in dementia caregivers and individuals with cognitive impairment (Black et al., 2013; Lavretsky et al., 2013).
https://www.yogajournal.com/meditation/kirtan-kriya-meditation/