Blog Post

There's no place like OM

Marsya Ancker, BA, E-RYT • Jan 29, 2020

Om-ing ... 5 Minutes per Day That Really CAN Change Your Life

Have you tried meditating & found it boring or frustrating? 

You're not alone.
Don't give up! Give Om-ing a try. 
Om-ing works AND everyone can do it!

5 minutes a day will, quite literally , shift your vibration & change your world...

ॐ... Om ... Aum.... A....U....M........................
Those are all ways to represent the Om sound
When you Om, you actually PHYSICALLY "change your vibration". You reset, retune & retrain your body & your brain.
This has the effects of decreasing anxiety & depression, improving immune function, and reducing your body's stress response during a resting state.  

Why is Om-ing so effective for BOTH children & adults? 

Om-ing stimulates your vagus nerve. Your vagus nerve controls your heart, your lungs, AND your digestion. It is the LONGEST nerve in your body and it controls almost all of the functions of your your parasympathetic nervous system (breathing, heart rate, digestion, sweating & more).

How do we do it?

When Om-ing, you'll want to break the sound into all three parts: A.... U.... M... 
As you do it, notice what you're feeling.

The sensations are subtle but, if you pay attention, you'll begin to feel the vibration move from the base of your spine or the back of your skull, up to the crown of your head, and then down the front of your face to tickle your mouth & lips. 

Traditionally, you hold the M.... sound 3 times longer than the A.... & U.... sounds.
This is because the A.... sound represents "creation"... The U.... sound represents "preservation"... the M.... sound represents "destruction"... and y ou have to clear away the old to make way for the new.

Let the OM-ing Begin!

  • Take a nice long deep breath in 
  • A - feel this sound at the back of your mouth, near the back of your throat of your skull. You can almost swallow the sound. Feel the tone resonate in the back of your skull down to your chest & belly... See if you can feel it all the way down at the base of your spine... 
  • U - feel this sound in the center of your mouth. Try to send the sound upward through the roof of your mouth to the crown of your head. You might feel vibration around your cheekbones or in your sinuses. Feel your heart expand with sound & love... 
  • M - gently close your lips. Make a humming sound so you can feel ‘m’ buzz or tingle the front of your face, your lips and maybe even your teeth. Feel the vibration move through your throat and resonate the space between your eyebrows... Allow a sense of peace and serenity to wash over you as you release that final mmmmm 
  • Pause... take a nice long deep breath in... and begin again.
Do this for 5 minutes a day, for a week... and see what shifts you notice.

Remember Everyone can OM!

It's impossible to do it wrong.
You can do it anywhere.
You can do it walking or sitting, lying down or standing
You can do it one Om at a time or you can do it all day.

Why OM-ing? The Science is Clear

1) Relieve Anxiety and Depression
The International Journal of Yoga published a study that found chanting om to cause limbic deactivation , offering mental clarity while lowering the intensity of fear and worry. As a whole, the limbic system is associated with emotions, learning,stress, and motivation.      
2) Improve Pulmonary Function
International Journal of Yoga studied 82 people as they practiced pranayama (breath work) and chanting for five minutes a day, six days a week, for two weeks. All 82 participants showed significant improvement with various pulmonary functions. 
3) Improve Focus and Intuition
Just like other forms of meditation, chanting Om improves your focus and intuition. Since Om is the seed sound of the Third Eye Chakra , as you chant om, you attune yourself to see clearly and with greater focus. 
4) Increase Pleasure
Chanting Om creates a vibration that moves throughout your skull and brain tissue, stimulating the pituitary gland and promoting the experience of pleasure in everything --- like driving to work, walking, or even taking out the trash. Functionally, the pituitary gland is responsible for hormone regulation and the secretion of certain hormones like endorphins and oxytocin.      
5) Balance Your Chakras
When you chant Om, you practice moving the vibration from the base of your body to the top of your body (keep reading to learn more). As you move the vibration up, you clear & balance your chakra system.   

ॐ Bring the OM home with this downloadable OM coloring page ॐ

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