Viviane Gutlerner

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Why So'ham?

The Sanskrit term "So Ham" means "I Am", "I Am That".

Judith Lasater, physiotherapist & Iyengar Yoga teacher, explains : it's also known as the "breathing mantra".
The So Ham mantra is usually recited silently as follows: So on inhalation, Ham on exhalation.
So'ham brings our individual (I) consciousness into communion with the universal consciousness (it).

This mantra also reminds me of Louis Fouché's sentence: "The present is the door, practice is the key".

As well as of Patanjali, II.45 समाधि सिद्धिः ईश्वरप्रणिधानात् samādhi siddhiḥ-īśvarapraṇidhānāt.  Union (samadhi) is achieved by offering oneself to the divine (ishvara).

My first "connected" or unified experience took place on the Arunachala Mountain, in the cave where Ramana Maharshi's mother lived, in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India, in 2008. Iyengar was celebrating his 90th birthday , that same month.
There was a before and an after to "Tiru".
The conscious search for non-duality (Advaita Vedanta) and "Who am I" began that year.

To find out more:

• www.swamij.com/soham-mantra.htm