My vivid imagination plagued me as a child - I recall seeing Wild Things dance in my room against the soft glow of my night-light. I also have memories of flying (yes) from couch to couch, undaunted by the reality of gravity. Although I no longer imagine myself performing superhuman tricks, my imagination can sometimes serve as a boon in my spiritual walk.
Living in Harrisburg, PA, I'm not surrounded by a group of Holy Yoga instructors; it's just me - Elijah in the cave style. I have a home practice, but for me, nothing beats taking a nice Vinyasa Flow class at a local studio. My lovely teacher knows how to put together an awesome sequence, but she is also know for her goddess worship and chants for chakra opening.
Initially, I just snuggled the chanting (no thank you on the Shiva devotion) into my own paradigm. My imagination opened up to the idea on based on potentiality. Who am I to limit the ways in which the Lord expresses Himself. I thoughtfully imagined the ways in which Ohm could seamlessly be integrated into my own spiritual walk.
When we began teacher training we talked about vibrational energy. I immediately associated this energy with the groaning of the universe. Romans tells us how the universe waits expectantly for the revelation, subjected by the Father to be patient in hope so that it may one day be delivered from its bondage into the liberty of God, and "we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together" (Romans 8:19-22). Paul goes on in verse 23, "Not only that, but we also who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body."
When a yoga class began with a low, tonal Ohm, I joined in - happily. I considered myself lifting up a song of praise with all of creation, vibrating in expectant hope and worship for Him who is to come. The word groan, or stenaz? in the Greek, means to sigh or to groan within our souls, an inwardly groan. Each place the word is used in the New Testament, it's an expression of a deep longing for home - a nostalgia, if you will. The utterance of Ohm, for me, became an outward expression of an inward emotion.
Ohming also reminded me of the creation story - God breathing the entire world into existence. I imagined God hovering over the void Ohming the waters and the skies and the plants and the animals into being. The sound rippled over the vast darkness like an ocean tide, springing forth vibrant, green life as the vibration overwhelmed the void. I especially enjoyed this particular Ohm when a student expressed the invocation in the lowest vocal tone of bass. I sat contentedly listening, and sometimes joining in.
Then, it happened... I Googled it. Yes, to my demise, the search engine turned up all sorts of crazy non-sense that certainly did not edify the Creator God. I felt comfortable with a few of the definitions. Did you know that a crater in the moon is called an ohm? An ohm is also an electrical unit of resistance named after scientist George Ohm? And my favorite, OHM: One Hot Minute, the Red Hot Chili Peppers sixth album. I read over the completely unrelated and platonic classifications, but I had to stop at the religious connotations.
Ohm, or Aum, or OM, is a sacred syllable used in several ancient religions including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The symbol is of utmost importance to the Hindu belief system, and it is made up of three different Sanskrit letters: aa, au, and ma - which when said together form what we know as OM.
In the Katha Upanishad, one of the many sacred Hindu texts, OM is described this way: "The goal which all the Vedas declare, which all austerities aim at, and which men desire when they lead the life of continence ... is Om. This syllable Om is indeed Brahman. Whosoever knows this syllable obtains all that he desires. This is the best support; this is the highest support. Whosoever knows this support is adored in the world of Brahma."
Translation: because Brahman, the Absolute, is omnipotent, omnipresent, and incomprehensible, Hindus use the OM symbol as a representation to help followers know the unknowable. In the Christian faith we do something similar by attributing human characteristics to a Holy God whom we can only comprehend on our own terms.
As mentioned above, I have an imagination, but when I read the Hindu definition, I just couldn't swing this one. "Om is indeed Brahman." When I stumbled upon this ancient text, my original understanding of Ohm came under immediate attack. All along had I been engaging in idol worship of a counterfeit God? This question led me to begin thinking about words and whether or not words have inherent meaning. Is Ohm significant because of the meaning we infuse into it? I believe it is. I hope you don't lose me here, but I'm going to get a little theoretical for just a moment. Structuralism (a theory espoused by scholars in the early 1900s allowing for ambiguity and the multiplicity of meaning) breaks things like words into units. Outside of grammar or language, words are meaningless, therefore I choose whether or not I Ohm in worship of God or in worship of a knockoff. Ohm is meaningless until I insert it into a general framework - in my case, worship of God. Ok, we're done with intellectual theories.
Linguistics aside, I have a responsibility as a Christian in the yoga community to make the Invisible God visible and speak the Truth boldly. By joining my classmates in chanting to Brahman, or with the intention to reach a higher level of consciousness, I could hurt my witness to non-believers. I have been clear about my convictions (I teach a Holy Yoga class at this studio); my fellow yogis and yoginis know that I am a Christian. They see it. After reassuring myself that those around me understand that I know The Truth and that I am on the yoga mat to worship Christ and Christ alone, I had to decide for myself whether or not I would continue to chant with the class.
What it comes down to for me: Does chanting Ohm stir my affections for Christ? Yes. It brings warmth to my heart because one, I don't really have it all figured out, and I am not supposed to know! We see through a glass dimly, and it isn't until He returns (that time for which my spirit joins in all of creation, moaning for His redemption) that all will be made clear. If imagining myself lifting up a hopeful utterance, or envisioning the Creator vibrating over the deep, it is ultimately about my heart and my intention. But to me, there is one God, "the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live" (1 Corinthians 8:6).
I'm sure many of you have grappled with similar issues. We are to be in the world, but not of it, right? I think the yoga studio is one of the most difficult places to negotiate life as a Christian living in a non-Christian world. I think that this entire discussion boils down to two points. 1. Are you living out your faith? Do those in your studio know what makes you different than the others? If they don't know, then you need to tell them. Proclaim His light; be a beacon. 2. If chanting Ohm or closing the class does not sit right in your spirit, then don't do it. This is something you have to prayerfully consider - there is no sweeping generalization about the way we should conduct ourselves in our yoga classes. You need to go to God, spend time in the word, and ask yourself hard questions.
Finding my place in the yoga world is a daily battle, but I know that if my heart is right and I'm seeking the Lord, He will guide my path!