I remember when I was about 8 years old my mother used to sit with her eyes closed, cross-legged in her bedroom with her hands, palms up on her knees chanting Ommmmmm. If I tried to talk to her she would shush me away until she was finished. I remember Dad would just shake his head, mumble a couple of swears and walk away. Mom told me later that it was Yoga meditation. My early memories of Yoga…
Almost 40 years later I actually take some Yoga classes that include chanting. I’m still not really comfortable with it and I don’t really know why. Maybe it’s the childhood scars, maybe because it’s in some language that I don’t understand or maybe it’s because I am not yet enlightened? What I don’t understand is when the teacher translates it into English for us we still have to chant it in Hindi or some language that is strange go me. Why can’t we chant in English? I think it would be much easier to memorize, everyone would understand it and benefit from it.
Sometimes I take a class on the weekend called Jivamukti (liberating while living). Apparently Sting, Gwyneth Paltrow and I all really enjoy it. Now this group really likes to chant so much that the teacher actually brings and plays a weird looking ancient accordion that sits on the floor while we chant from song sheets. In another language…
I must admit I am warming up to the Ommmmms. Especially when one teacher told us to make a ‘chewing’ motion during the last phase of Ommmmm and another teacher told us that smiling while Ommmming can relax over 50 muscles in the body. Personally, I like the way my brain vibrates when the sound comes out of my mouth.
