Veda recitation helps us tap into our spirit, analyse our ego and realise our true self, says Judes.
By Sophia Ann French
Judes Yang knew she wanted to practise and teach yoga since she started practising in 2003. She was born in Taiwan, but her family immigrated to Australia when she was very young, and she first experienced yoga while working at a corporate job in Sydney. “I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing yoga, so I quit my job in 2005 and moved to Los Angeles to train as a yoga teacher. I spent the next decade travelling the world teaching and training yoga teachers,” says Judes. In 2012, Judes was initiated into Vedic Meditation by Thom Knoles, and she got her first experience of japa and chanting when she discovered Himalayan Kundalini Yoga. “Chanting out loud and japa gave me solace, and I read studies on how japa is an amazing tool for dealing with stress and trauma, and chanting has definitely helped me immensely. In October 2022, I was in Kerala and visited an ashram where they chanted the Lalitā Sahasranāma every morning. I remember thinking how much I would love to learn that chant,” recalls Judes. When the student is ready, she finds her teacher, and in Judes’ case, a Google search for Lalitā Sahasranāma led her to Veda Studies and Shantala. She joined the free community event for the Lalitā Sahasranāma that October while in Kerala. She then tried the Free Veda Essentials Course, signed up for more courses, and recently graduated from the Indica Veda Studies Teacher Training Programme.
Sophia: How did reciting the Veda affect or add value to your existing spiritual practices like yoga and meditation?
Judes: Reciting Veda mantras has helped to integrate all my practices together. They’re all interconnected. Yoga is a great entry into these practices because it is movement-based, so it is easier to get people to start their spiritual journey with physical movements as opposed to asking them to sit quietly in meditation to begin with. Eventually, we will realise all the practices are integrated. For example, I learned Jyotiṣa, and the mantras we have learned in teacher training can also be applied to Jyotisa, so each practice is connected.
Sophia: Did you find Vedic phonetics challenging, or were you able to achieve the precise pronunciation with ease?
Judes: Pronunciation wasn’t a big challenge, and I understood the svaras conceptually because I speak Mandarin. Mandarin has five different intonations, whereas Veda recitation has three. The problem is, I think I’m tone deaf (laughs). But it helps that we have support from our classmates in the TTC. So when I recite with my study buddies like David or Sarah, they repeat what I am doing wrong, and that helps me get the svaras right, eventually (laughs).
Sophia: What was it like attending the Indica Veda Studies Teacher Training Programme?
Judes: It has just enhanced and added value to my life. I love that I can use Veda recitation in all my modalities. For example, every morning I now recite Veda before I do silent meditation. I appreciate that we did so much theory as well, because I feel we need both together. Having said that, I am aware that different people have different learning styles — I am an experiential learner, but I feel both practise and theory are important because you can conceptually understand something in theory, but practise turns it into experience.
Sophia: When did you decide to follow the spiritual path?
Judes: I can’t answer that precisely because it was a case of knowing without knowing (laughs). I’m just blessed that I am living my dharma. I just knew this was for me when I took my first yoga class, but I started living the practice in 2008 when I made the lifestyle changes required for spiritual practices.
Sophia French: What does spirituality mean to you?
Judes: It is my connection to the source of creation and harmony. Our body, mind and spirit are connected — they work together in harmony. Even nature has this harmony — the flowers, sun, moon, stars — all work in harmony. There isn’t any ego there where one element of nature thinks it is better or worse than the other. There is just a united consciousness, and that is what spirituality means to me — where there is oneness without judgement.
Sophia: Tell us about your relationship with India…
Judes: India is home! It’s home-heart-home! I always joke that I was born in the wrong country (laughs). I first went to India in 2008 or 2009. I landed in Mumbai, and I found it peaceful (laughs). I know how odd that sounds, but I find Mumbai peaceful. I find all of India so welcoming and warm. All my teachers are Indian!
Sophia: Which mantras resonate with you most?
Judes: All of them. I love all of them. But the one that I’ve been chanting more is Durgā Sūktam. I also love using the mantras that we can do japa with.
Sophia: What would your advice be to people who want to practice and study Veda?
Judes: What are you waiting for? Do it! We all want to be happy, have healthy relationships, a good life… These practices are the tools that can give us the clarity and ability to accomplish all this on our own. These practices help us tap into our spirit, analyse our ego and realise our true self. You start to become the observer, but you have to put in the work to be able to do that.
Get in touch with Judes through her website www.judesyang.com
Great interview Judes. I loved studying with you 😍