Neutrality, Equanimity, and Lightness

There are words we say that we sometimes end up regretting. On some occasions, it takes us a while to realize we could have chosen our words more carefully to mean the same thing, or even that we should not have said anything altogether. On other occasions, the moment the words come out, we immediately regret it. Such is the weight of the words we carry. They mean so much. They are loaded with emotions and implications, both explicit and subtle. On the opposite end of the spectrum-- where words are neutral and weightless-- is the sound of yoga, or the sound of Om.

When we chant Om, we practice neutrality, equanimity. We prefer neither this nor that. We stop separation. In those moments that we chant Om, it does not matter that we come from different backgrounds and have different beliefs, that we were raised with different religions or no religion, that we hold different roles in society, that imaginary borders divide us. When we chant the word Om, we meet in the place of equality, no one better than the other. And it is this lightness that shows us that much of our struggles are self-inflicted and unnecessary. It is this lightness that we can take with us in our practice, whether it is lifting up in our inversions, dealing with our personal relationships, or finding our way in the world. In the sound of yoga, in the sound of Om, we find neutrality, equanimity, and lightness.