Unleashing Your Power
What is Shakti?
Shakti means “power” or “energy.” It is a concept central to Hinduism: Shakti is seen as the Divine Feminine, seen as the reason behind the universes’ creation, maintenance and also the destruction that happens within it. Shakti is recognised as a female energy, similar to a mother, and is often personified as Hindu goddesses such as Parvati, Kali, and Durga, who each represent different aspects of this powerful energy.
Ardhanarishvara, a deity depicted as half male and half female, is also a significant symbol of Shakti. This representation illustrates that Shiva (consciousness) and Shakti (energy) are intertwined and cannot exist independently. Shakti can be found everywhere: in nature, in our daily lives, in ourselves.
It’s this energy that makes the stars twinkle, the flowers bloom, and the winds blow. In a spiritual context, it’s the divine force that fuels our spiritual growth and transformation. Without it, there would be no movement, change, or even life.
The Adi Shakti Mantra
One of my fav mantras to help activate your Shakti is the Adi Shakti Mantra:
Adi Shakti, Adi Shakti, Adi Shakti, Namo Namo
Sarab Shakti, Sarab Shakti, Sarab Shakti, Namo Namo
Pritham Bhagvati, Pritham Bhagvati, Pritham Bhagvati, Namo Namo
Kundalini Mata Shakti, Mata Shakti, Namo Namo.
It’s an extremely powerful mantra that helps us tune into the infinite, divine, creative force in all of us. It’s a mantra to help strengthen our connection to this energy within and to aid us in conscious creation from this place of feminine awareness.
I created a version of this mantra, together with English lyrics, on my first Mantra album, Mantra Medicine Volume I. You can listen to it, or chant along with me here:
Why Work With Shakti?
Increasing your awareness of manifested Shakti energy in yourself and the world around you, can help you achieve balance and harmony. Focusing on this energy as a part of who you are can increase your inner power.
Shakti is seen as the source of personal strength and creativity. So, aligning with this idea can help you realize your potential and overcome challenges. By invoking it, you can gain insights and wisdom, moving forward on your spiritual journey and achieving greater spiritual growth.
Shakti practices are particularly powerful because they tap into the raw, primal energy of the universe. This energy can help you break through personal barriers, heal old wounds, and access deeper levels of consciousness.
How to Activate Your Shakti?
There are several ways to engage with this powerful Energy:
Mantra Chanting: Repeating mantras dedicated to it, like “Om Shakti,” helps invoke this presence and power. Deepen your connection through chanting with devotion and focused attention. Mantra chanting can be done alone or in a group, and it can be a powerful way to synchronize your energy with the universal force of creation.
Meditation: Visualize her form or qualities during meditation, allowing her energy to fill your consciousness. This practice fosters spiritual attunement. You can meditate on the image of a goddess, a symbol of Shakti, or simply the concept of divine feminine energy.
Yoga: Specific yoga poses and styles of yoga are said to help activate and balance this energy within you. Kundalini yoga is particularly effective in awakening Shakti energy.
Rituals, Offerings and Celebrations: Create rituals for yourself to celebrate female ideals or deities, to strengthen your bond with the divine feminine. These rituals can include lighting candles, offering flowers, chanting, singing, dancing, celebrating, or anything you do mindfully, with intention, to honour Shakti energy. These activities are said to invite her transformative power into your life. Devotional practices help you express your reverence and love for the quality you are celebrating, deepening your connection to this energy within yourself.
Try This Exercise!
An exercise I encourage you to do to activate your Shakti:
- Take 5 minutes each day in stillness
- Perhaps drink your fav coffee or tea… but use this time to listen within
- Have a paper and pen nearby in case inspiration flows… but have no expectation
- After 5 minutes put on your fav song and let your body move… stand, sit, roll about, dance, do yoga, throw your arms, anything you like… just listen to the impulses from within and let them guide you
- When the song is finished, sit once more and reflect on your experience. Ask yourself questions, like;
- “What do I need right now?”
- “How would I like to move?”
- “What creative thing would I like to do more of?”
- “How can I do 5 mins of that for myself each day this week?”
Tune into your Shakti energy, your creative force, and let her guide you! Activate your Shakti!
Shakti Practices for Daily Life
Incorporate Shakti into your daily routine to transform ordinary experiences into spiritual growth opportunities:
Morning Rituals: Start each day with a mantra like the Adi Shakti mantra to set a positive tone and align your energy with the divine feminine. This simple practice can assist you in starting your day with clear intention and purpose.
Mindful Movement: Try yoga or tai chi, focusing on moves that awaken her energy in your body. These practices help you feel not only grounded and centred, but activated and uplifted.
Creative Expression: Embrace your creativity! Enjoy painting, writing, singing, dancing or making music to let the Shakti energy flow through your art.
Nature Connection: Spend time outdoors to feel nature’s rhythms and energies. Whether in a park, hiking, or by a river, nature can refresh and inspire you, helping you reconnect with Shakti.
Acts of Kindness: Perform acts of kindness and compassion, recognizing that these actions are expressions of Shakti’s nurturing essence. Helping others can be a powerful way to manifest joy and nourishment in your life, fostering a sense of connection and community.
Free Your Creativity with Shakti!
Shakti, the feminine force of manifestation, can be a powerful energy to align with to help us free our creativity. Rekindling our connection to our Shakti energy is activating, beautiful, and sometimes even a little wild. We can suddenly become inspired and act on our impulses! Or we can find ourselves stepping out of our comfort zone to pursue a creative endeavour we never thought possible.
Through it, we can embrace and energy that liberates us from our reservations. It gives us the courage to act, create and manifest. And we ALL have this energy inside us. We just need to set aside the time to consciously tap into it.
Podcast Episode #49 – Shakti Power!
Embrace your Shakti
This episode is full of juicy information about shakti insights, where Kirbanu invites you to walk away from the societal and daily expectations. She encourages you to embrace your Shakti, creating space for the unknown, creative possibility and to feel the feminine force energy within you.
To start off this episode, Kirbanu shares a powerful experience she had of entering into a pose that she never thought she’d be able to do in her yoga practice. She shares how this posture represented so much more than just a shape. That she felt both strong and soft through it, allowing her to connect to her strength, stability and femininity.
This experience allowed Kirbanu to see the true importance of shakti power as well as the continual need for embracing feminine softness in daily life, like slowing down. She shares that by practising both softness and flexibility in our daily lives, and by saying no to society’s need to push ourselves and complete more things, we can actually achieve more. And do this with spaciousness as well as with joy. There is power in softness. So if you are interested in shakti energy and embracing your softness, this is the episode for you!
