Om Shanti and the Yoga of Peace
Peace Within, Peace Around, Peace Beyond
In our previous blog we explored Shanti as both a mantra and a quality - the vibration of peace that settles the heart and quiets the mind.This week, we go a little deeper.
Read Shanti: Cultivating Peace Within, Around, Beyond blog
The threefold repetition of Om Shanti Shanti Shanti invites us to make peace a lived experience - within ourselves, in our relationships and in harmony with the greater whole. When peace becomes embodied, it moves from something we seek to something we naturally radiate outwards.
In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, peace isn’t something we find, it’s something we cultivate through active practice.
Patanjali teaches that the mind becomes calm when we live with kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity (Sutra 1.33), when we act with integrity and care in our relationships (Sutra 2.30–2.32), and when we surrender to the greater flow of life (Sutra 2.45).
These teachings mirror the threefold repetition of Om Shanti Shanti Shanti... peace within (Adhyātmika), peace around (Adhibhautika) and peace beyond (Adhidaivika).
✌🏼The Three Dimensions of Peace
In Sanskrit, the prefix “adhi–” means upon, toward, or pertaining to. It carries a sense of relationship; how one realm of experience rests upon or connects with another. In the Shanti Mantra, this linking word reminds us that peace moves through every layer of existence...
🕊️ Adhyātmika ~ peace within the self
🕊️ Adhibhautika ~ peace around us, in our relationships and surroundings
🕊️ Adhidaivika ~ peace beyond, in harmony with the unseen, divine and natural forces of life and universal energies.
Together, these three dimensions invite us to experience peace not as an idea or concept external to ourselves, but as a living thread that weaves through the self, the world and the entire cosmos.
☮️ Bringing Shanti into Everyday Life
Here are three simple ways to weave this threefold peace into your daily rhythm:
Adhyātmika ~ Peace Within
Begin your morning with three conscious breaths and a reflect on three things you're grateful for before reaching for your phone. Silently repeat Om Shanti Shanti Shanti, centering yourself in inner peace before the busyness of the day starts.
Adhibhautika ~ Peace Around
Gandhi reminds us “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Offer a small or random act of kindness, speak with gentleness or listen deeply, even in tension or maybe get involved in a charity or project that brings greater peace and harmony to your local community.
Adhidaivika ~ Peace Beyond:
At the end of the day, release what’s beyond your control. Pause to appreciate the vastness of the night sky and the unseen forces that guide us, sending blessings into the darkness, and trust the ripple effect of your seemingly small act of peace… think Butterfly Effect 🦋
🕊️ Peace is a practice, a choice and a gift and this October we have the opportunity to embody it together...
🧘🏼♀️ Shanti: Practice With Peace with our Studio Manager Amanda @soul_star_spirit
This full-spectrum practice including asana (poses), pranayama (breathwork), mudra (symbolic and energetic hand gestures), mantra and meditation invites you to embody the threefold wisdom of Shanti, cultivating peace within, radiating peace around, and sending peace out into the world and beyond. Suitable for all abilities.
📆 Saturday 18th October
⏰ 14:00–15:30
💰 £19 drop-in, 1 class credit, included in monthly and annual memberships
Next week's Saturday session invites you to embody peace through stillness
🧘🏼♀️YIN FOR PEACE with Michelle Neary | @shellene
📆 Saturday 25th October
⏰ 14:00-15:30
💰£19 drop-in, 1 class credit, included in memberships
Rest deeply into peace through longer held postures, stillness and quiet presence. The intention for this Saturday Session is to soften into inner peace, cultivate harmony in our outer relationships and open to the wider flow of universal peace.
Om Shanti!
Suitable for all abilities.