“Om” symbolises All that was… All that is… and all that shall be… even into eternity.
“Om” is a sacred word, syllable, sound, mantra, it belongs to no know language and is used in many religions. It stands for Supreme Faith. It is infinite consciousness and bliss. To the yogi no symbol is more powerful than “Om”.
“Om” symbolises the waking, dreaming and sleeping state. It enables us to maintain mental and emotional calmness, overcome obstacles and facilitates understanding.
Repetition of the sound “Om” and meditation on “Om” is valued in Yoga as a potent means of awakening the spiritual centres in a person’s personality. I love the interpretation of OM, so much so that I got it tattooed on my foot and it holds great symbolic meaning to me personally.
Chanting OM
“Om” is made up of three sounds which are combined together: A, U and M. These sounds create a vibration which connects to different parts of your body. I recommend chanting each syllable individually before joining them altogether. Find a quiet warm place where you will not be disturbed. I like to light a candle as I find this adds to the ambience for me personally. Then sit in a comfortable position, Accomplished Pose, Hero’s Pose, Easy Pose or Half Lotus, which ever pose you chose just ensure that you can stay in this position comfortably for a couple of minutes. Keep your spine in an upright position, relax your shoulders and allow your shoulder blades to move down your spine. Allow you head to be in alignment with your spine by allowing your two ears to be positioned just above your shoulders. Allow your chin to be parallel with the floor, crown of your head elevating upwards towards the heavens, and then gently draw your chin a slight fraction towards your chest just to lengthen into the back of your neck, and relax. Just be aware of the fact that you are breathing. Breathe in and out through your nostrils and feel your breath, become aware of it and notice what moves in your body as you breathe in and what moves as you breathe out. Then take a long slow deep breath in relax as you breathe out… then
A. Take a long slow deep breath in and then simply make the sound “aaaaahhhh” as you breathe out completely. Feel this vibration in the area around your abdomen. Bring your focus / awareness to the vibration for the full breath out. Repeat twice more.
U. Take a long slow deep breath in and then make the sound “oooouuuu” as you breathe out completely. Bring your focus / awareness to your upper chest area where you should sense the vibration. Again focus on the vibration for the full breath out. Repeat twice more.
M. Finally, take another long slow deep breath in and then make the sound “mmmmmmm” as you breathe out completely. You should sense the vibration of this sound in your throat area. Some people also feel the vibration in the head area. Bring your focus / awareness to your throat / head area and feel the vibration for the full exhalation out. Repeat twice more.
To combine all three together for the full chant, gently take a couple of natural breaths in and out through your nose, then take a long slow deep breath in and opening your mouth allow the sound of “A” and “U” to blend together into the sound “O”, allow your lips to come together and without stopping sound the vibration of “M”. Allow “M” to vibrate until the end of your out breath. Keep your focus and awareness on the sound and the vibration of what you are chanting, also try to keep lengthening your out breath and try to keep it smooth and flowing. This is YOUR chant and YOUR awareness, so there is no right or wrong way to do this. Just relax! Breathe, feel your vibration, experience the sensation within your body and then simply observe, noting any subtle changes within yourself and enjoy!!