My dear friend,

This week, I had one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve had in a long time. I joined an OM chanting circle, here in Goa. It was a very spontaneous decision, feeling on that day a bit “down”. We sat together in a circle, placed in the center the names of the people we wanted to send healing to, including us and then chanted OM for thirty minutes.

At first, it seemed simple: just one syllable, one vibration. But after a few minutes, something shifted. The sound filled the room, our voices blended, and I felt it vibrating in my chest, my bones, my whole being. I wasn’t just making sound anymore, I was being carried by it. By the end, I felt lighter, deeply calm, and profoundly connected to everyone in that space. I couldn´t stop smiling.

It made me reflect: sound has always been medicine for humanity. Long before science, long before modern wellness, people have been singing to heal, to pray, to soothe, to connect. From ancient tribal songs around a fire to sacred chants in temples, the human voice has always been a bridge between body, mind, and spirit.

When we sing or chant, especially together, we are doing much more than creating sound. We are activating one of the most important regulators of our health: the vagus nerve.

The vagus nerve is like a superhighway that connects the brain to the heart, lungs, and digestive system. When it’s stimulated, it activates the parasympathetic nervous system, our rest-and-digest mode. This is why chanting OM or even humming can lower heart rate, deepen breath, reduce stress hormones, and create a sense of safety.

Neuroscience now confirms what yogis and healers have known forever: the vibration of OM literally resets the nervous system. A study in the International Journal of Yoga showed that chanting OM calms the limbic system (the emotional brain) and creates brain patterns similar to those in deep meditation.

But there is something even more profound than the science. Chanting, whether OM, mantras, or devotional songs is also an act of bhakti. Bhakti means devotion, surrender, the sweetness of letting go of control and opening the heart.

When we chant, especially in a group, we stop thinking “me” and “my voice.” We dissolve into the sound. The ego softens, the heart opens, and we experience connection with others, with spirit, with the universe itself. That’s why many people leave kirtan or chanting circles with tears in their eyes, not from sadness, but from release, from feeling carried and held by something greater.

In my OM circle, I realized that the healing didn’t just come from sound waves, it came from this surrender, this letting go into the vibration.

Since forever, humans have known that sound heals. Shamans used drums to shift states of consciousness, monks chanted Gregorian chants in cathedrals, yogis recited mantras in caves. Today, music therapy is used in hospitals to reduce pain, regulate blood pressure, and even help Alzheimer’s patients reconnect with lost memories. Fascinating right ?

Think of how you feel when you listen to electronic beats, your body speeds up, your heart races, you feel restless. Now compare that with listening to a soft piano or a soulful voice, the breath slows, tension melts away, and emotions surface. Music literally changes our physiology.

So why OM specifically? In yogic philosophy, OM is considered the primordial sound, the vibration from which the universe itself was created. Chanting OM is said to align us with that universal rhythm.

When we chant OM, three parts of the sound unfold:

Together, they create a whole-body vibration that nourishes and harmonizes us on every level physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

You don’t need a group to experience this. You can try at home:

If you try this before bed, you might notice your thoughts calm down, your breath deepen, and your body feel ready for rest. It’s like a gentle massage for the nervous system.

That evening in the OM circle reminded me that sound is not just entertainment, it is a spiritual and biological necessity. It heals, it connects, and it teaches us surrender.

So next time you feel anxious, restless, or disconnected, try chanting OM. Not with the idea of “doing it right,” but with the spirit of bhakti, devotion, love, and letting go. Surrender into the vibration. Let it carry you, heal you, and remind you that you are never separate from the greater song of life.

With love,
Audrey