As we move into the darker, colder months of the year, nature makes her transition into her resting season: quiet, withdrawn, moving deep into the earth, returning back to her roots.

We are nature too, and we can look to the Earth’s turning to guide us in the laying down of our tools, releasing the fruits of our labours, and returning to the ground of ourselves for deep nourishment and remembrance.

It is very easy to lose ourselves in the push and pull of the material world, so much so that we forget who we really are and what is most important to us as we bounce around from one thing to the next. The season of Winter offers us a precious invitation to pause from the activity and noise, and offer ourselves sacred space for quiet repose and reflection.

The trees around us have let go of their leaves without hesitation, knowing that this is a necessary part of the regenerative cycle of nourishment and growth - a cycle that is deeply inherent in us too.

So what are you holding onto that needs to be released this Winter?

What is within you that wants to be remembered?

Are you able to offer yourself sacred space each day to hold your heart and acknowledge the beautiful, courageous and wise soul that you are?

At my recent Winter yoga immersion, ‘Release + Remember’, we explored a beautiful mantra to help us receive clarity on these very questions.

Mantra, or the repetition of sacred sounds to free the mind, has been used by yoginis and yogis for eons to help disconnect us from ceaseless thought, to uplift our mood, connect us to higher inspiration and access a greater sense of assurance.

The mantra we explored was:

Om Jyotir Aham, which translates to:

Om: the sound of the Absolute (mantras often begin with this sound to boost potency)

Jyotir: brightness, radiance, brilliance

Aham: I am

This mantra holds a special frequency to help us remember the light that we hold within. It is particularly helpful when our mood is low, or our mind is locked in a cycle of rumination, judgement or fear, or when we need reassurance that there is light beyond the darkness – that the Spring will follow the Winter.

This is beautiful mantra to bring into your own daily sacred space. The mantra can repeated as many times as you like. Even reciting the mantra once in a very heart-felt way is a very potent practice. You could use mala or rosary beads to keep count of your mantras, or you could use a clock to practice for a set time. 

Would you like to practice the mantra with me?

Here is a recording of me singing the mantra 12 times with a tanpura drone.

I would love to hear about your experiences with the mantra and how you have incorporated the mantra into your daily sacred space or home practice.  Please leave your thoughts in the comments box below.

May the Winter season bring you the rest and replenishment you need, and may this mantra help you remember the light within and without.

Simple. Sacred. Everyday.

Take care my quiet revolutionary, and with love

Sharon xx