A few weeks ago a student of mine approached me and expressed an interest in chanting at the end of the lesson - a smile came across my face, and my heart was jumping for joy. This began an interesting debate in my mind, 'to OM or not to OM'!!
Over two weeks I asked my students about their feedback, and have slowly introduced the chanting of one OM at the end of the lesson (I am hoping to slowly increase this to 3 :) )
Since the introduction of OM into my class I have had many students come to me questioning what it means, how to correctly chant it (some people chant "ooommmmm" some "aaauuuummmm" so I thought I would address these questions here for those of you who are curious.
What does OM / AUM mean?
This is a pretty interesting question, with many answers. To keep things simple... Om does not have a meaning, it is not a language, it is a sound, music - it is the music of the universe. As you chant, and the incredible vibrations flow through your body it calms the mind and body, and brings you closer to the whole universe.
When cats are in pain, or giving birth they purr and the vibration helps calm them, helps alleviate the pain - the vibration of chanting OM can have a similar affect on humans, it is very calming, and healing.
The OM symbol
There is a symbol for OM with many meanings, personally I think of the symbol as symbolizing life. The top section symbolizes the beginning of life (A). The bottom (big section) symbolizes the body of life (U). The section going off to the left symbolizes the end of life (M). The top detached section symbolizing the after life (stillness).
Because of how I view the meaning of the symbol of OM, I usually chant AUM instead of just OM.
A - the beginning of life
U - the middle of life
M - end of life
Most of the time it sounds like OM anyway so feel free to chant whichever way best suits you if you ever chant with me.
If you have any questions comment below :)
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