Haṃsa

In Sanskrit the word Haṃsa means Swan. In yoga philosophy Haṃsa is a mantra the represents the sound of the breath. The sound on the inhalation is represented as "Haṃ" and the sound of the exhalation by "sa". This mantra is usually used to meditate by repeating the first syllable with the inhalation and the second one with the exhalation. It is also said that the real sound of these two syllables is the actual sound that we make when we inhale and when we exhale.

There is also another meaning to these two syllables. Haṃ by itself is a version of the word ahaṃ in Sanskrit which is translated as "I am". The syllable Sa means "That". "That" refers to the most primordial sense of Being, Supreme Consciousness within ourself. So it is said that throughout our life the sound of each breath is reminder to ourself "I am That", " I am Supreme Consciousness". By connecting to our breath in this way we connect or align ourselves with this pure state of Being, Consciousness in its most pristine form. 

We will continue to explore the breath in class during this week.

I look forward to seeing you in class.

Blessings

Jorge Nihal