So Hum Meditation

When sound, breath, and awareness come together, it becomes light So Hum meditation properly practiced
leads to the union of the individual with the universal Cosmic Consciousness. You will go beyond thought, beyond
time and space, beyond cause and effect. Limitations will vanish.
Dr. Vasant Lad1

So Hum Meditation has existed in India throughout the ages. It synchronizes the movement of the breath with the
mantra that fits naturally into the inhalation (So) and exhalation (Hum). So is felt and said mentally during the
whole phase of inhalation and Hum during the exhalation. The literal translation of So Hum is I am that, while
the deeper meaning is I am that pure awareness. This mantra calms the mind, yet simultaneously focuses and
sharpens it2

How to Practice
Begin by taking several slow, deep breaths, establishing yourself in the practice of Full Yogic Breath. When you
are ready to practice So Hum, shift your awareness as follows.*

Instructions
(As described in Dr. Vasant Lad & Anisha Durves book: Marma Points of Ayurveda) 2
Reprinted with permission from The Ayurvedic Press. All Rights Reserved.

As you breathe in, feel that you are beginning the inhalation at the base of the spine. With the inhale, draw your
awareness up the front of the body, along the midline, to the center of the brain. Mentally chant So during this
inhalation. When you reach the top of the inhale, hold the breath in a short retention.
As you breathe out, mentally chant Hum. Visualize the breath leaving the center of the brain, moving down the
throat and returning to the base of the spine along the midline of the back of the body. When you reach the bottom
of the exhale, pause before beginning [again].

Drawing by Dr. Vasant Lad

About Dr. Lad

Dr. Lad is the founder and medical director of the Ayurvedic Institute. For more information on Dr. Lad and his
school, visit the Ayurvedic Institute.

References
1. Lad, Vasant. The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1998. Print. 79.
2. Lad, Vasant D. and Anisha Durve. Marma Points of Ayurveda: The Energy Pathways for Healing Body, Mind and
Consciousness with a Comparison to Traditional Chinese Medicine. Albuquerque: The Ayurvedic Press, 2008.
Print. 85-86.

* This section was added by Banyan Botanicals. Except for this brief introduction to the practice itself, these
instructions to So Hum are entirely in the words of Dr. Vasant Lad.