Mantra: So Ham

Welcome back. Hope you have been enjoying the sound of ham sah and have discovered some more of that quiet and the connection with your own breath. Today we are going to look at another sound which is like a sister sound of ham sah. It's the sound so ham which is also another mantra closely related to our breath. With ham sah the relationship was with ha as the breath of exhalation, the breath of going out and sah the breath of inhalation and of going inwards.

In so ham the order is a little reversed so with so is an inhalation and ham is the exhalation. But again it depends whether you are doing it aloud or whether you are doing it silently because when we are doing sounds aloud we always produce a sound on an exhalation. It's very hard to actually produce any sound on an inhalation almost impossible actually. So when we do an exhalation with a sound it would be so ham. Try that.

So ham. Now so ham in Sanskrit is not just a sound that relates to a certain experience because we saw that in the physical world every sound corresponds to a unique experience at different levels of the being. When we put the sound so ham together it has a certain meaning in Sanskrit and it comes from the words sah aham, sah meaning that and aham means I, I am that. That what? In the yoga tradition we consider that the human being is made of multiple layers of the self.

The deepest one corresponds to the highest truth of the individual which is in consonance or in resonance with the larger reality, the larger laws of the universe. So when we say I am that we are identifying ourselves with that truth in us which is not disturbed by the various changes we undergo in life through all the different circumstances. The word so ham in Sanskrit therefore means that I am is a reminder of this deeper connection that we have and reinforces that connection through sound. So let's just say that three times together and open yourselves to see how you feel. What does this vibration of being myself correspond to?

And observe your breath of course. So let's start that, sit comfortably, close your eyes and say so ham, so ham, so ham. And for your own experiment we'll next do it silently. So this time as you close your eyes and repeat the sound, do the sound silently and connect it to your breath, the in breath with so and the out breath with ham. Alright let's go for it.

So close your eyes and start, lovely. So this particular mantra can also be accompanied with a visualization exercise. Place the center of your identity in your naval center or in your lower belly, whatever you're comfortable and tell yourself that I am. Close your eyes and do the sound so ham, initially you can do it aloud but as the practice progresses you can do it more silently. Next shift your hand to your heart center and repeat the same exercise.

Just move your hand to your head and tell yourself I am that, that truth of the mind and repeat the mantra. And then closing your eyes, imagine that you're outside of this composite of mind, body and emotions and see yourself as enveloping the whole being because you're something much bigger than just this form. And then tell yourself the mantra so ham, ready? So I'll guide you through this now, sit comfortably, close your eyes, place the attention of yourself, the awareness of your being in your body consciousness. You can place your hand on your naval or on the lower belly, take a deep breath and once say it aloud, so ham.

Three times, so ham. Next time, so ham. And then if you want to stay with it for another three times, you can just do it silently. So on an in breath do the so and an out breath to the ham. Once more, in breath, so out breath, ham.

Next move your attention to your heart center, you can lightly place your hand on your heart. Take a deep breath and aloud say so ham, so ham, so ham. Then take a deep breath and on the inhalation do the so and exhalation to the ham. Once more inhalation, so exhalation, ham. Next move your hand to your head, to your mind center, you can even place your hand on your third eye which is in between your eyebrows and connect to the essence of your mental energy and tell yourself so ham, so ham, so ham.

Finally on the in breath, so out breath, ham. A last time, so and the out breath, ham. And finally identify yourself with the being of your truth which is outside of all of this which transcends your form. Connect yourself to that larger reality of your nature, that larger energy sheath of your being. Visualize it concretely and say so ham, so ham, so ham.

Keeping your eyes closed still, silently repeat the mantra on the in breath, so and ham on the out breath, inhale with so and exhale with ham. Try and feel the complete alignment of your body, your heart, your mind and something beyond all three. Rest in that alignment, stay centered, enjoy the practice of the mantra, so ham. Thank you.