22/05/2026
Our chant this week in one of my classes - chanting is one of the most amazing things we can do. I remember being both too embarrassed and thinking it was too weird, ie too woo woo for me. But now I understand the science more from actually doing it and feeling the effects in my body.
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If you listen closely, your breath is already repeating a mantra.
In yoga, mantra is traditionally understood as a “tool for the mind”—a way of placing and steadying attention. Or, as Rolf Sovik described it: “a thought that protects, guides, and leads.”
So’ham (pronounced “so-hum”) is a mantra that moves with the breath. Rather than creating the sound, you listen for it.
Inhale: a subtle so
Exhale: a quiet hum
In traditional yoga teachings, these syllables are associated with a deeper meaning.
So (“That”) refers to pure, undivided consciousness.
Aham (“I”) refers to the whole of who you take yourself to be.
Together, so’ham: “I am That.”
As your attention settles into the mantra within the breath, its meaning becomes less conceptual and more direct—
less identification with each passing thought,
more familiarity with the awareness in which those thoughts arise.
Because the breath is continuous, this yoga technique can be threaded through ordinary moments—walking to your next meeting, looking out the window, even waiting for the toast to pop.
A quiet thread of recognition, always available.
📖 To explore the roots and method of this practice, read “A Mantra Meditation for Everyone” by Rolf Sovik: https://yogainternational.com/article/view/a-mantra-meditation-for-everyone/
