Why Sanskrit? Asana of the tongue!

In my while studying with Jacqui Bonwell to get my 500 hours in she mentioned that part of the reason we chant and speak in sanskrit is not only for breath regulation, but because sanskrit is a workout for your mouth! When speaking or chanting sanskrit, the way you have to move your tongue, mouth, throat, lips brings vibration, attention and energy into one of the primary communication mechanisms of your body. In addition, chanting in repetition also hits the palate of your mouth in which there are over 84 meridian points: 64 in the hard palate, 20 in the soft. (Source. DoYouYoga).

Other cool things about Sanskrit:

• Sanskrit language has highest number of vocabularies than any other language.

• Sanskrit Language has proved to help in speech therapy, also it increases concentration and helps to learn maths and science better. (Source. Language Comparison.com)

• We tend to think of "Om / Aum / Ohm" as the major chant of yoga. But did you know there is a chant/ vibration associated with all 7 of your chakras? In order from root to crown the chants are: Lam, Vam, Ram, Yam, Ham, Om and then silence is the 7th (this is how I have been taught, in some circles you will se "Ang" as the 7th chant). (Source. Cool pic on wordpress that also gives mudra shapes for your hands.)

So next time you have the opportunity to chant (even if it's just an Om) - think of it like exercise for your mouth and a great mechanism to help you center and prime concentration.