The magic of mantras

Have you ever chanted during a yoga or meditation class, or randomly on your own, and experienced a profound sense of calm? Here’s why it works and why you might want to try it…

Your Brain on Mantra

For thousand of years, yogis have known mantra (or japa), whether chanted, whispered, or silently recited, to be a powerful tool for meditation and therapy. Western science is catching up.

Neuroscientists, equipped with advanced brain-imaging tools, are confirming some of the health benefits of this ancient practice, such as its ability to help clear your mind and calm your nervous system. In a recent study, researchers measured activity in the default mode network region of the brain — the area that’s active during self-reflection and when the mind is wandering — to determine how practicing mantra meditation affects the brain. From a mental health perspective, an overactive default mode network can mean that the brain is distracted.

Researchers behind this study asked a group of subjects to recite Sat Nam (roughly translated as “true identity”) while their hands are placed over their hearts. The subjects’ default mode networks were suppressed during the mantra meditation — and suppression grew as mantra training increased.

Research suggests that it doesn’t matter whether you recite an ancient Sanskrit mantra such as Sat Nam, the Lord’s Prayer, or any sound, word, or phrase. As long as you repeat something with focused attention, you’ll get results.

Herbert Benson, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, is particularly interested in what brings on a meditative state, which he calls “the relaxation response.” He’s experimented with subjects repeating Sanskrit mantras as well as nonreligious words, such as “one.” He’s found that regardless of what the practitioner repeats, the word or phrase has nearly the same effects: relaxation and the ability to better cope with life’s unexpected stressors.

The Roots of Mantra

The word mantra is derived from two Sanskrit words — manas (mind) and tra (tool). Mantra literally means “a tool for the mind,” and was designed to help practitioners access their true natures and a higher power. There’s so much more on the magic of vibration and resonance in Sanskrit.

Eventually that vibration sinks deeper and deeper into your consciousness, helping you to feel its presence as shakti — a powerful, subtle force inside each of us that carries us into deeper states of awareness.

One of the most universally recited mantras is the sacred Hindu syllable Om or Aum — considered to be the sound of the creation of the universe. Aum is believed to contain every vibration that has ever existed, and ever will exist.

It is the energetic root of other, longer mantras, including Om namah shivaya (“I bow to Shiva” — Shiva being the inner Self, or true reality), and Om mani padme hum (which means “jewel of the lotus,” and is interpreted as, “By practicing a path that unites method and wisdom, you can transform into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha”).

These popular Hindu mantras are in Sanskrit, but mantra has deep roots in every major spiritual tradition and can be found in many languages, including Hindi, Hebrew, Latin, and English. A common mantra for Christians is simply the name Jesus, while Catholics commonly repeat the Hail Mary prayer or Ave Maria. Many Jews recite Barukh atah Adonai (“Blessed art thou, oh Lord”), and Muslims repeat the name Allah like a mantra.

How to Get Down with Mantra

In some practices, such as Transcendental Meditation, students hire a trained meditation leader to learn and receive mantras. But there are plenty of ways to practice mantra independently and free of charge.

Consistency is key, regardless of the mantra you choose.

“You enliven a mantra through regular practice over a period of time — months or even years” says Sally Kempton, meditation teacher and author. “It’s a bit like rubbing a flint against a stone to strike fire. The friction of the syllables inside your consciousness, the focus of bringing yourself back to the mantra again and again, and especially the attention you give to the felt sense of the mantra’s resonance inside your awareness will eventually open the energy in the mantra, and it will stop being just words and become a living energy that you’ll feel shifting your inner state.”

Most teachers recommend to begin sitting or lying down in a comfortable position and silently repeating the mantra, on the inhalation and the exhalation. When thoughts or feelings enter your mind, notice them, and then return to silently reciting the mantra. Advanced practitioners allegedly have their mantra on repeat, in their mind, at all times no matter what they’re doing.

Set aside a few minutes a day to practice — potentially building up to 20 minutes or even more. Several traditions suggest sticking with one mantra for at least a few months before switching to another, in order to deepen your practice and cultivate a sense of ease, presence, and peace.

Choose Your Mantra

Check out a guided mantra meditation for So Ham and Sat Nam. Or experiment with your own choices and creations!

Your mantra can be ancient, tried-and-true, Sanskrit or otherwise… Or it can be any word or phrase, in any language, which you find comforting, inspiring or grounding. An old friend found the word “cornfield” especially calming, and would repeat it during times of anxiety!

Here are a couple of examples I personally use:

1. Perfect peace and poise are mine today as I concentrate all of my power and ability upon expressing the divine will

This is my daily mantra. For many years, I have been reciting this mantra from Yogananda’s Scientific Healing Affirmations.

2. I’m right here

This mantra is channeled to my heart. A long time ago, whilst in a precarious mountain biking situation, the words, “I’m right here,” popped into my mind and comforted my heart. To this day, I use it when in need of grounding and stability.

3. Om

Inspiration from the ancient yogis…The Divine Energy
Often chanted three times, Om, or Aum, symbolically embodies the divine energy, or Shakti, and its three main characteristics: creation, preservation, and liberation. The mantra, or vibration, derives from Hinduism and is considered to have high spiritual and creative power.

4. Lokah Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu

A Chant for Wholeness. I end each practice and teaching with this beautiful mantra which means: May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life in some way contribute to that happiness and freedom for all.

5. Gayatri mantra

Being Illuminated by Sacred Sound

Om bhur bhuvas svaha
Thath savithur varaynyam
Bhargo dheyvasya dhimahih
Dhyoyonah pratchodhay-yath

Traditionally chanted a capella, this mantra has been set to beautiful music by many kirtan stars, and it means:

We worship the word (shabda) that is present in the earth, the heavens, and that which is beyond. By meditating on this glorious power that gives us life, we ask that our minds and hearts be illuminated.

Deepening your yoga practice

Yoga gently but firmly pushes me out of my self-constructed limitations and beliefs. Although part of me feels like I am a seasoned yogini, another part of me is aware of the wealth of information on the subject. It would take a thousand lifetimes to acquire such vast knowledge.

When you’ve been doing yoga for a while it’s common to get to this point when you feel you want to take your practice further. You sense that you are just scratching the surface of what yoga truly is and are eager to go deeper. Or perhaps you feel like you have hit a plateau and want to make changes.

When I am stuck, complacent and stagnant, yoga helps me notice and acknowledge. It usually starts somewhere in my life: at work, with my partner, or in my hobbies. Soon enough it shows up on my yoga mat. I start to get bored of whatever sadhana (personal daily spiritual practice) I am doing and create excuses to skip or shorten my practice. I develop a sense of I am “not good at it” and tell myself I am not making any progress. I may even feel like giving up.

Gratefully, I journal. In doing so I identify these patterns, recognize them, and take action to halt the downward spiral.

I have developed steps to emerge from this stagnation, rediscover myself, and evolve and deepen my yoga practice.

Below are my suggestions – in no particular order – for developing your practice. Consider that you may find one step serves you, while another does not and that the effects can be cumulative. 

1. Set clear intentions

The most powerful step I can take when I am ready to revamp and rediscover my yoga practice is to know the why. Knowing why-you-do-what-you-do will benefit you on those days when you wonder why the hell you embarked on such a journey in the first place. A reassessment of your intentions helps when you start slacking off, or worse, consider giving up.

So, know why you practice. Do you do it for your physical well-being? Is it about creating balance in your life through asana and meditation? Do you practice to connect to your own spirituality and to the God of your own understanding? Whatever your reasons may be, make them clear; write them down, read them often.

2. Explore different styles of yoga

When it comes to physical yoga (or yoga asana) in the Western World, Hatha yoga is probably the most mainstream of them all. However, Hatha yoga is just one of many styles of yoga asana. I believe it is worth exploring the variety of practices, as each discipline has its own benefits and limitations. You may find that one style fits your lifestyle or worldview, while another may feel completely disconnected. Nevertheless, trying different approaches will give you new perspectives and insights into your practice.

So, take time to explore different yoga styles. There’s Yin Yoga, Ashtanga, Iyengar, Jivamukti, Restorative, Vinyasa, and many more. 

3. Learn about all 8 limbs of yoga

In my first yoga teacher training, it was eye-opening to learn that yoga is not simply about the physical postures. According to Patanjali, yoga Asana is only one of the eight limbs of yoga. The others being:

1. Yamas (external disciplines)

2. Niyamas (internal disciplines)

3. Asana (physical postures)

4. Pranayama (breath control or techniques)

5. Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses)

6. Dharana (focus, concentration)

7. Dhyana (meditation)

8. Samadhi (union, integration, bliss)

Although playing with advanced yoga poses can be fun, studying the limbs helped me realize that practicing asana is simply a gateway to a deeper, more fulfilling practice that encompasses body, mind and soul. 

On the days I may be physically unable to move my body (lack of time, illness, etc.), I can continue to practice and engage in yoga without ever getting in a yoga pose. It doesn’t make you less of a yogi or yogini.

The eight limbs are a profound and enlightening path of growth and I would highly-recommend exploring them.

4. Find teachers that you connect with

Finding teachers that inspire and keep me coming back to the mat makes a huge difference in my practice. Even as a teacher myself, I often pull out my mat and wonder what the heck I should do. Oftentimes I will sit, breathe, listen to my body, and move from a place of exploration and freedom. But I can also get very lazy, do the bare minimum, and call it a day. 

I come to my mat refreshed when I have teachers I enjoy. They encourage growth and exploration that might be inaccessible on my own.

Take the time to look around for a teacher you love, whether you like to practice in a studio or online. Make a list of your favourite teachers (hopefully in a variety of styles) and commit to periodically taking their classes. When you find someone you truly connect with, your practice will grow, and your chances of sticking with it will improve!

5. Commit to your practice

Be realistic! Sometimes I get overly excited when creating my weekly, monthly, or seasonal timetable. I’ll schedule a routine of daily hour-long morning and evening practices. As phenomenal and beneficial as this could be, it is probably not realistic. An unattainable schedule leads to feelings of failure. I sometimes forget that life happens.

I recommend a sustainable, stress-free commitment to practicing. What length of time can you really commit to regularly? As mentioned before, yoga has cumulative effects. A 20-minute daily session coupled with 5 minutes of meditation before bed is more beneficial than a 90-minute class once a week.  To really commit to your practice, it’s key to intentionally commit to a routine that you’re able to stick to as much as possible.

6. Create a sacred space

It’s important to set up a space that is yours and designated for your yoga practice, whether you live in a tiny house, a flat, or a large home. Again, it is easy to get caught up and think that you’ll redo your office into a yoga room. But try to be practical. If you can renovate, go for it. But remember that you don’t need a big, fancy space. Your yoga space can be in the balcony, right next to your bed, or in the corner of your living room. 

Whatever space you choose, take time to declutter and make it special in your own way. You may want to even create an altar with crystals or flowers. Maybe even put some plants around your mat.

Create a space designated for your practice that you’ll want to show up to. If possible, leave your mat unrolled on the floor. I find that I am more likely to do the yoga if all I must do is step onto my mat.

Remember, the more you show up, the more your practice will evolve. 

7. Develop community

Yoga means to yoke, to come together, with oneself, others, and the Universe. Get involved in your yoga community in a way that supports others and allows others to support you. Find a local studio, a yoga book club, create your own group to practice together at a park, or join an online community like EkhartYoga and follow a program together.

Find and create community in a way that will support your growth and encourage you to continue your yoga practice. There are many possibilities and the search may involve a bit of trial and error until you find the right energy for you. But it’s out there. And if the right energy isn’t, create it! 

8. Give yourself grace

Give yourself grace. I believe that this is the most important tip of all. As you deepen your practice remember that growth isn’t linear. You will find rocks in your path. Sometimes you may not practice, you may get sick and need reinvent how you do yoga. Consider the principle of Vairagya or non-attachment in your practice. Life will happen. You are practicing the true yoga if you remember to breathe, stay present, and remain open to and grateful for life.

You, my friend, have chosen the yogic path. And although finding the path may be difficult, seeking it is certainly worthwhile.

So, keep practicing. Keep growing. Keep living your life with a sense of wonder and gratitude, and the rest will fall into place as it may. 

Balancing the masculine and feminine

In the beginning of time, a divine being sat absorbed in deep, blissful meditation. He sat with legs crossed at the mouth of a cave on the peak of a cosmic mountain, meditating upon his breath. Millions of years passed with his every breath. His name was Shiva.

In his state of complete and full absorption, he was unaffected by the external world. He was anchored in bliss and felt great contentment. But one day, Shiva felt a stir inside him. From a still, silent place within, the subtle pull of kama (desire) awoke. This stir of desire grew into a rippling, pulsating field known as spanda.

Shiva opened his eyes from his millennia of deep, transcendental meditation. His gaze landed upon the figure of the Goddess, Shakti, dancing and weaving around him in beautiful spirals. As their eyes met, spanda pulsed with an even greater vigor, and Shiva’s longing for her grew.

As the Goddess danced, Shiva held space for the beauty of her form and movement. In that moment, the world was born. The Goddess pulled a great cauldron out from the ether and poured in the element of earth. The cauldron gave birth to great mountains, canyons and plains that carved their way into our great and powerful planet. She poured in the element of water, which nourished the ground with rivers, lakes, streams and divine oceans. She poured in the element of fire, which brought us summertime, blooming flowers, bonfires and our sun-filled days. And finally, she poured in air, which brought us the great winds and gaseous chemicals that support all of life on earth. These elements stirred and churned with the great spanda, pulsation, of divine masculine and feminine connection; this gave birth to animals, plants and the entire world as we know it.

Masculine and feminine energy exists within each and every one of us, regardless of our sex and gender. Both of these energies are necessary for the balance and longevity of life here on earth, but can easily fall out of balance.

HARNESSING THE MASCULINE AND THE FEMININE

The masculine in balance offers us structure, discipline, organisation, protection, and containment. When the masculine is allowed its true expression, it holds space for the more organic parts of life while keeping us on track with our vision and goals. In our modern day, we’ve found ourselves in a time of excessive masculinity, which has led to a culture revolved around overachievement, overconsumption and reckless overuse of the resources of the earth for personal or industrial gain. We’re left feeling overworked, stressed and undernourished. When we live this way, it can lead to a degradation in our health and the natural environment.

Even in the world of yoga and spirituality, a similar dynamic is at play. Our practices easily become too forceful, competitive and regimented. Much of the asana we practice was originally designed for 15-year-old male bodies! Masculine practices focus on transcending the body to attain a state of enlightenment. These practices are powerful in the right context, but must be balanced by the feminine. When we only feed masculine practices, we are getting just half of the story. These practices focus on aesthetics, purification, strict and regimented movement and big, heady philosophy organised in linear charts and formulas.

Where the masculine focuses on transcendence, the feminine brings us into embodiment. Bliss is something we experience right here and right now, in the midst of imperfection. Feminine movement happens organically, intuitively and in spirals. Feminine meditation cultivates body awareness, acceptance, emotional expression and pleasure. The feminine brings us into our feeling, sensing and ever-changing bodies. We are drawn to experience the world with presence, joy and heart.

OUR TOP TIPS FOR BALANCING THE MASCULINE AND THE FEMININE

• Ask yourself throughout the day, “Am I in a state of doing (trying to get somewhere) or being (accepting myself as I am)?”

• Add more intuitive, circular movements to your yoga practice. Close your eyes and let your body lead the way.

• Use your hands to feel your body. This nourishes our desire for touch and intimacy.

• Breathe into the pelvic floor and womb space. This is a plexus where feminine power resides.

• Get outside and connect to Mother Earth.

• Practice gratitude. When we do this, we can connect to the spirit of generosity in the world and in nature.If you found this article beneficial, please spread the love and share it with your friends!

Pranayama for the Root Chakra

Pranayama is a very powerful and focused breathing technique that directs your energy flow for self-realisation and healing. In her study of the human bio-field, Dr. Valerie Hunt found this out. She established that people who felt ungrounded and lacked vitality often missed a certain energy frequency that’s associated with that of the Root Chakra.

Ungrounded states, where you don’t necessarily feel within your body lack physical vivacity and represent an imbalance in your energy spectrum. If your Root Chakra power is low, it’s a signal that you may be drawing less of it from the Earth. This often results in forms of numbness and dissociation. 

Hypo states like hypoglycemia, hypotension, and hypothyroidism show that you’re likely to be having insufficient subtle energy in your body’s grounding realm. The same applies to depression, fatigue, weakness, and general body under-functioning. 

Pranayama is the Answer

While many think of Pranayama as breath work, it has to do a lot also with the breathing, attunement, and direction of energy. Your intention in practice is to draw in power to replace the missing frequency in your biofield. In the case of being unground, the colour red misses from the energy biofield’s spectrum. 

Steps:

• Find a disturbance-free spot

• Adopt a sitting or standing position. It’s preferable to get the soles of the feet on the floor

• Relax, turn inward to your inner stillness, and set your attention on your breath. You can utilise Ujjayi for a more in-depth focus and generation of heat

• Follow your breath for a few moments, inhaling through the nose and allowing the breath to expand the belly, lungs, and ribcage.

• Exhale through the nose

Continue with the breathing pattern above before using the following visualisation technique:

• Imagine that roots are spreading down from the soles of your feet to the Earth’s centre anchoring you to the ground.

• During the inhale, imagine you’re inhaling red life-sustaining energy from the Earth, up to the roots and through the soles of your feet.

• Continue breathing in this energy upward through the legs and into the pelvic floor and the Root Chakra’s revolving, rich red cortex. This is where you’ll feel the absorption and distribution of the power through your body.

• If you wish, hold the breath for a short natural pause at the end of your exhale

• From the Root Chakra, exhale down the legs, through the feet, and down your roots back to the Earth’s centre

• Repeat this exercise several times, focusing on how grounded your hips and legs feel with the flow of energy

As an optional exercise, you can breathe the red energy of the Earth further up your body and into the rest of the chakras. You can also do so into any of the areas that are associated with hypo-functioning to feel the energy’s stimulating effects upon it. Exhale down back to the Earth’s centre. Repeat this cycle of breaths a few times. 

Start Today

Pranayama is the best exercise when it comes to directing your flow of energy for healing and self-realisation. It helps you draw the power that’s necessary for the replacement of the missing frequency in anyone’s biofield. Try Pranayama today to get these benefits.