What does Om mean? You have likely chanted OM/AUM, or at the very least seen the symbol – but, what it is about OM, that makes people - even non-yogis - chant? OM is a sacred Hindu sound that is used during prayer or the repetition of mantras. The syllable OM is composed of the three sounds A-U-M (the vowels a and u combine to become o) and the symbol's threefold nature is central to its meaning – this is also why OM can be spelled AUM. In Sanskrit, the sound “O” and “AU” ar

We often hear the word mantra associated with a number of spiritual practices including yoga and meditation. The word mantra can be broken down into two parts: “man” which means mind, and “tra” which means transport or vehicle. As a more common definition – a mantra is something that can be used to assist your mind in entering a deep state of meditation. In more traditional Vedic practices, a mantra is used to access a spiritual state of consciousness. When either chanted or

Mindfulness is being aware of out thoughts, physical sensations and our environment at any given moment. By that, I mean really “tuning in” and listening to what is going on with us and around us! In being mindful, we are allowing out thoughts on these things to simply exist – and not attach any judgement to what we are thinking. We are focused on the here and now – not thinking ahead, or looking behind ourselves. Why Practice It? As with meditation, being mindful has proven

Last week I posted a couple of articles about meditation - clearly these were also about mindfulness, so let’s stop for a moment and consider the similarities and differences! Both mindfulness and meditation come from ancient Buddhism, but really the idea is that meditation encompasses mindfulness. Generally both mindfulness and meditation help us by calming the mind, so in some sense these terms overlap - yet they are also different and refer to unique purposes and definitio