A mantra is a word or sound repeated to help in concentration and meditation.
The yogic mantra Soham (Pronounced as So’ Hum) translates to I am that”
(so = “I am” and hum = “that”).
To practice this begin by bringing your attention to the rhythm of your breath, feeling the rise and fall of your inhale and exhale.
As you settle focusing on your breath, begin to apply the simple mantra “so hum.” As you inhale, silently say “so” to yourself and as you exhale, say “hum.”
Then begin to contemplate the meaning of “so hum.” As you inhale with the mantra “so,” say to yourself ” I am,” connecting to your essential self. Envisage the source of your breath, where your breath is coming from? Through visualization, imagine the 5 billion human beings and countless creatures on Earth being fed by the same breath.
As you exhale with “hum,” internally say “that” or “all that is.” Feel how your exhalation releases you into the expanse around you. Visualize your exhalation leaving your body through your nostrils and merging back into the air around you into the atmosphere, back into infinity, back into “all that is.”
Stay with this contemplation until you naturally begin to settle into a state of unified consciousness. If you find yourself distracted or a thought arises, come back to the simple mantra, “so hum.