The meaning of the mantra Om

Om (or Aum) is a small word with big significance. Often called the primary sound of the universe, it symbolises creation, existence, and transformation, connecting everything around us.

Chanting Om aligns you with the universe, making it a powerful tool for meditation and spiritual practice. The sound helps promote unity and inner peace, harmonising mind, body, and spirit, and fostering a deeper connection with the divine.

Om represents everything – the beginning, middle, and end; past, present, and future. It's like the eternal sound, existing beyond time. It includes all sounds – from human voices to nature and even machinery and is said to be the hum of the earth, the underlying vibration in all existence.

Om is composed of the three sounds ‘A’, ‘U’ and ‘M’ – AUM.

• ‘A’ (like “awe”) represents the beginning, the creation of the universe and the waking state.

• ‘U’ (like “oooh”) symbolizes preservation, the energy that sustains us and the world.

• ‘M’ (like “mmmm”) signifies the closing, the end, and completion.

The completeness of AUM includes a fourth level: silence, the energy left after the sound fades away.

So next time you are in a class and chant (or listen to others chant this mantra), remember that Om is like a bridge between you and the infinite, reminding us of the eternal nature of everything.