When I came back to Devon after studying Yoga in India I thought I would teach the first classes in the way I had been trained to teach. Yoga being mantras, pranayama, meditation and asanas. That was 2 years ago and now I keep it down to maybe an om to open and close and a namaste at the end. It’s a funny thing being asked to chant or sing in public. For me I’ve always been a little awkward as although I love singing especially the musicals from stage school days and this will come as no surprise to those who know me, I literally cannot sing to save my life!
I trained with Patricia Bardi one spring in Amsterdam. We lay on the floor rocking and humming around our liver, we knelt on all fours and made mad sounds from our hollow CSF filled singing tube spine. Experiential anatomy, voice supported by the whole body, rooted in movement, the body as a source as a presence. Singing with just the vocal chords is like trying to pick up a ton with a feather she said and I suddenly felt so free, it made sense.
In Spain they call it ‘duende’ or having soul, in Gestalt therapy it’s self-actualisation, Jung might have said it’s that moment of becoming whole. In Vedic science the sound ‘om’ symbolizes wholeness, a sound that says Yes! Sounding the word om sitting in a posture that keeps our spine aligned and our organs comfortable as if they are our clothes hanging tidily in a wardrobe, yes, even just for that moment everything is good. Just for that moment our body our mind our spirit are singing off the same hymn sheet!
So, if you are in yoga class and the instructor suggests an opening om, I say just go for it even if you are cringing with embarrassment, it’s worth a try and let’s face it, if you are in my class you will definitely sound a little lot more tuneful that me!
Nimblelimbs 