Working With Sound
Opening the throat can set our voice free
You know by now that one of my favourite things to do in the world is to breathe. But something I don’t speak about as often is how much I love to sound or chant.
Sound is, with the help of air moving across our voice box in a specific way, the breath finding its voice. So, to make a sound we must breathe out. For reasons still unknown to me, it's easier to make a sound longer than it is to breathe out normally. This helps to extend our exhales and create a calm inner state.
It should be no surprise then that many religions and spiritual practices have some form of chanting that accompanies their rituals and prayers.
Christians sing hymns
Hindus and Sikhs chant mantras
Buddhists and Jews recite prayers
What they all have in common is that before a hymn, mantra, or prayer, there is a short inhale followed by a long exhale and many syllables or tones last 10-20 seconds or more. They are then repeated for minutes at a time. This encourages people to breathe 3-4 breaths a minute which generates feelings of peace, harmony, and joy. This, along with a sense of devotion, is the foundation for a spiritual experience.
Below is one of my favourite daily practices that does just that.
Breathing Exercise
The Sacred Sound of Aum (Om)
1 breath = 16 seconds
Breathe in for 4 seconds
Breathe out for 12 seconds
Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds
Then begin to exhale with the sound of Aaaah for 4 seconds
Continue exhaling for another 4 seconds but with the sound Ooooh
Continue exhaling for another 4 seconds but with the sound of Ummmm
(Total exhalation time = 12 seconds)Then inhale for 4 seconds and repeat
Continue for 5 minutes or 20 breaths
If you want to deepen the experience, extend each exhalation to 6-8 seconds. So, the total exhalation time will be 24 or 32 seconds instead (4 second inhale + 6-8 seconds for each sound)
Don’t worry. It’s not about sounding good. It’s about sounding from your heart.
Let me know how you get on :)
Have a beautiful week!