There are dozens of yoga practices these days, and even more yogis expelling their minds and yoga traditions onto the ever growing yoga population and yogic program.
I’d be lying if I told you that OM yoga is really the ONLY form of yoga meditation for you.
Om Yoga – Life is the Journey.
The yoga journey is vast, with thousands of yoga poses, rituals, philosophies, routines and principles out there. Every yoga session is different even, with the mind, body and higher consciousness intricately woven into each and every experience.
That being said, OM yoga, as composed by the great sage Patanjali, has become especially pertinent across yogic cultures and methods throughout the world, and for good reason!
So what is OM yoga exactly? And why should one practice it?
Well, the first thing to know is that it’s really quite simple:
The practitioner chants the OM sound, over and over again, focusing deeply on the sound. This can be done as its own solo practice or, equally, in tandem with other asanas.
‘OM’ is said to be the cosmic sound that began the universe’s whole creation, and is therefore the ‘universal’ sound inherent in all other words, with no specific or biased reference to any single religion or God.
Mind the OM.
Actually, the ‘OM’ sound is not just one sound but three; symbolising the birth (1), existence (2) and eventual ending (3) of the universe as we know it.
Furthermore, ‘OM’ (or Aum) is a remarkably consistent symbol across all Indian religions, always signifying the true ‘ultimate reality’ beneath all other matters in yoga or life in general. Hence, it is chanted before (or by itself) at various spiritual ceremonies in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
Clearly the benefits of yoga, transcend what the average yoga studio can ever hope to offer.
Typical yoga experiences give a wonderful and important taster of just how unlimited yoga really is. Yet meditation practices such as OM yoga remind us of its deeper layers, and what seasoned yogis might expect to uncover slowly but surely over time.
Strip away the body, enter deeply into a more cosmic experience of life through the practice of yoga, and OM yoga starts to mean much more than just a sound; more than three sounds even!
So look deeper into your yoga asanas, search for the true heart of yoga and find the OM in all things; morning, evening and night.
OM is the wisdom behind yoga; entwined and yet eternally beneath it.
