Why we Chant Om

I've wanted to do this post/video for a while now ever since I caught my 2.5 year old daughter sitting on my meditation pillow chanting. (Yes I got it on video and is it at the bottom of this post) I was first introduced to chanting OM in my yoga teacher training a couple years ago. one of our first assignments was to teach a basic yoga class and end the class with a simple OM chant.  I was scared, and didn't feel confident in doing that. I didn't like to sing in front of people. However chanting is not singing. I committed to follow through, now a couple years later I end all of my yoga classes with chanting OM 3 times.  I have come to love this practice. I invite those of my class to join me if they would like, however even if they choose not to join one of the great things about chanting is that it not only benefits the chanter but those around the person chanting. 

OM is the basic sound of the universe. The frequency is 432 Hz which is the same vibration frequency found in all things nature.

Some of the other amazing benefits of chanting are 

• OM are your concentration increases 
• OM purifies the environment around you
• OM improves your voice by strengthening your vocal cords
• when OM is chanted in a group the effects are amplified
• through chanting you can have better control over your emotions allowing yourself to see situations with the clear mind
• OM chanting gives you a better immunity and self healing power
• chanting OM can lower blood pressure and can help your overall heart health

 I admit I was skeptical about chanting when I first was introduced to and had to get over some mind blocks in order to chant in front of others at the end of my classes

I would invite you to join me in chanting right now 

I challenge you to chant daily for a week. You can chant in the morning, or evening or whenever it works into your schedule.

See if you notice a change in your life. 

After you feel comfortable with the OM chant, There are so many more that you can find and use. I hope you learned something about chanting.

Namaste. 

My beautiful Daughter Chanting Om. She does this often. I see her stopping and taking breaths when she is upset.. I love that she is starting her Yoga Practice Young!

Bodhi Yoga - My Studio

Why I chose

Just over a year ago I started doing yoga on a semi-regular Basis, by watching You-Tube videos and in my living room. While talking to my friend Stephanie, I don't even remember what we were talking about but it led me to look up Bodhi Yoga, the studio that she studied at and looked in the yoga teacher training course and got an knowing excitement when I read about it the certification knowing that this training was a yes for me. But When?

I was only 2 months postpartum at this time and knew that it wasn't the right time for me to be away for a whole weekend and so put it on my vision board to start in January. At that point it still didn't feel right due to Sakera still nursing. 

In the meantime I chose into a 7 Chakra Mind and Body Online Training course with Syl Carson at Bodhi that could be done online while waiting for the right timing for the yoga teacher training. I haven't been super diligent at doing that training but have managed to watch the first set of videos, I hope that by January if not sooner I will be able to offer Chakra therapy sessions while I work on my certification for that.

This last week I was talking to my mom and best friends about the yoga teacher training and realized that the next one was starting soon and hadn't looked into it recently so I decided to inquire if there was openings. There was in fact an opening due to someone else postponing her training until a later date. I wanted to be there but had a lot of inner turmoil in choosing it and actually told Syl I wasn't coming this time and that I would have to wait for a future training. I kept going back to it that I was supposed to be there and that I needed to choose in to help my heal some of the pain I was having from the car accident I was in back in May. The training started Friday afternoon and I finally said yes on Friday morning and managed to get everything worked out for having my kids watched. 

I was tired of waiting and postponing things because I was still in pain, both physical and emotional. I wanted to move on with my life and keep seeking wisdom to enlighten myself.

So Friday afternoon I showed up a Bodhi Yoga with several other amazing women and started this yoga journey and know without a doubt I was supposed to be there. I was a little overwhelmed and intimidated with all that is required in this certification but I am excited for the challenge and plan on rocking it.

While introducing myself in class I was asked "Why I want to teach yoga?" and before I knew it I said,

"I don't know that I want to but feel called to do this for my own healing" 

I had never really thought of that before.. I truly thought my calling was to teach.. and it might be at some point but that isn't my main focus as I go through this journey. My end goal will not be to find a job teaching yoga, but to look inside myself to see how this will help me and my family become better. 

Part of my certification requirements are to teach others so I will be offering classes and private sessions over the next year at a super discounted rate or by donation so if you'd like to be a guinea pig for my learning please stay tuned for my class schedule or reach out if you'd like a private session. I would love to help you find out how yoga can fit in your life. As a busy mom of 5 and a neck injury it is sometimes hard to figure out how it fits in my life but I am determined to figure it out for myself.

I now have the knowledge to teach a very basic beginners yoga class and would love to practice by teaching you. 

Namaste

Ariane