resonance as embodiment practice

If the universe is a body, resonance is fascia: a great web that holds, supports, and connects all things. We often talk about breath as the great connecter, the practice shared by all, but resonance moves within the breath, through our bodies, and in the spaces between. Sound is breath made bigger, more tangible, more obvious. 

In tense, frenetic, or otherwise trying times (ahem, *gestures broadly*), we need practices that remind us of our interconnection and common humanity. But when we’ve been in this state of dis-ease for awhile (and we have been here awhile, fam), we may need to start with remembering our own humanity, re-connecting mind, body, and spirit. And the physical experience of sound is one of the quickest ways to bring awareness into your body. In the yogic traditions, chanting is both an external practice and an internal one, an offering and a healing balm. There’s a simple notion I always come back to in my practice, from Sheela Bringi : the sound should resonate within your body the same amount that it is projected outward. It feels to me like my voice is simply joining up with or amplifying resonance that’s already present.

Resonance Practices for Embodiment and Connection

If you find yourself lately over-analyzing, feeling disconnected, untethered, or numb, resonance practice can help reconnect you to yourself (and everything else). The two offerings below can be practiced alone or together, depending on what you need on a given day. Whichever you choose, Start With Breathing, as outlined below. As always, I encourage you to be gentle with yourself, and don’t hesitate to reach out for support if you have questions.

Start With Breathing:

  • sit or lie down in a way that feels supported and spacious - try sitting on the edge of a bolster or folded blanket so that the bowl of your pelvis tilts forward slightly and you can sit tall with your belly relaxed.

  • start with breathing. place both hands gently on the sides of your ribs to feel your lungs expand with each inhale and return to center with each exhale. start by observing your breath as it is, then take a few deeper, intentional breaths. imagine your torso (or even your whole body) as an open channel for breath to move through.

  • bring one hand to your heart space and the other hand to your belly and again, feel yourself expand and return to center with each breath.

Resonance Practice for Connecting to Your Body:

  • inhaling with your lips closed, feel the inside of your mouth make the shape of Om (stay with this step for a few breaths if you like). when you exhale, open your mouth and let the sound come through, closing your lips around the “mm” near the end of your breath. repeat 2-3 times, focusing on the feeling of the sound in your mouth. 

  • lay your hands across your heart space and chant the sound of Om 2-3 times, expanding your awareness to feel the sound in your mouth and the vibration of your voice in your chest. 

  • keep one hand on your heart space and lay the other hand on your belly. repeat the sound of Om 2-3 times, expanding your awareness further; feel the sound in your mouth, in your chest, and in your belly. 

  • continue a few more times, feeling the sound vibrate through your bones, through your body, even into the floor. 

  • when you are done chanting, stay for a moment in the resonant silence. notice the residual vibrations in your body and the space around you. allow yourself to be in this moment of acknowledgement before moving on with your practice or your day.

for awareness of connection

  • inhaling, imagine a silent Om in your breath. exhaling, feel the shape of the sound inside your mouth. repeat as desired until you feel ready for the sound to move through.

  • inhaling, continue the silent Om in your mind. exhaling, join your voice to the Om already in progress. feel the sound vibrate through your bones, through your body, into the floor, into the space around you. 

  • continue this way, allowing the Om to remain in your awareness as you breathe and chant the sound at least three times.

  • when you are done chanting, stay for a moment in the resonant silence. notice the residual vibrations in your body and the space around you. settle this awareness into your body and mind to carry it with you. 

  • allow yourself to be in this moment of acknowledgement before moving on with your practice or your day.

Why Om

Sometimes translated as ‘all’ (like the latin omne; think ‘omnipresent’, ‘omniscient’, ‘omnipotent’), it’s considered a universal sound, without reference to any specific religion or deity. In the traditions of Yoga, Om is universal in another way: as the sound at the beginning of the universe. It is an echo of the first and everlasting sound. When we chant Om we are yoking our voices to all those who held this resonance before us and all who will come after; it’s a physical manifestation of our interconnection, a great cosmic Yes.

I offer this sound with gratitude to my ancestors in practice - those who carried the practices of Yoga from India and Africa across generations and continents - as acknowledgement of the resonance that moves within and connects us all, and as a prayer for collective liberation.

what’s your go-to when things get swirly? how do you re-connect to your body, to center, to the big wide everything? when you try the practices above, what shifts for you (or doesn’t)? let us know in the comments. 💓

Michelle ChambersComment