Glossary
Om
OṃPronunciation: AUMโอม
Om is a single syllable chanted as a sustained tone, used in Indian traditions to open or close a practice and to give the voice and breath one simple shared task.
Written in Sanskrit as three sounds — a, u, m — the syllable is pronounced closer to AUM than to a flat om, moving from an open throat to closed lips so the sound ends as a hum in the face and chest. In Indian philosophical texts it is given large meanings; in a practical class it does a smaller, verifiable job.
What it is for is a group settling on one thing at the same time. A sustained vowel forces a long, even exhale, which is itself a calming mechanism, and chanting it together removes the self-consciousness of making sound alone. The vibration is felt in the sternum and behind the nose, which gives attention a physical anchor at the moment a class begins or ends.
In a KEO session, chanting is occasional and never required. A sound session sometimes opens with one sustained tone sung by whoever wants to, as a way of putting everyone in the same room at the same time before the bowls take over. Nobody is counted, nobody is corrected, and sitting it out in silence is equally fine — and a decorative Om symbol will not appear anywhere, because the sound is the point and the graphic is not.