Mantras. What are they? Why are they chanted in Yoga classes? And how can they support your spiritual and wellbeing journey?
When I first started practicing yoga, I had a lot of resistance in enjoying chanting mantras. It felt awkward chanting with people in class and I simply lacked the confidence to chant out loud.
It didn't take me long though to get in the flow of chanting, realize the power of my voice and allow the words to emerge from the heart.
The sound waves became a form of therapy which allowed me to travel deeper into my own consciousness and connect to a higher universal wisdom. Mantras became my spiritual practice which allow me to access my voice in the world.
Let's start by defining what Mantras are: "Man" means mind and "Tra" is projection or wave. Mantras are vibrations that we project which break the patterns of the mind. In simpler words, a mantra is a tool used to cut through your thought patterns and reprogram them towards frequencies that support your wellbeing.
Every object, thought, emotion and living being is vibrating at a certain frequency. By vibrating a certain combination of sounds we can tune in to new frequencies. So for example, if I am looking for "protection" in my life, I can chant a protection mantra that allows me to connect to the frequency of protection. The vibratory frequency of a mantra draws you to whatever you are vibrating.
So why should you chant?
1. Take Charge of the Body & Mind
When you chant a mantra you direct and control the mind. Everything you think of has a vibration, so even chanting a mantra silently can impact your state. If your mantra is "I am not good enough", then you live your life connected to this frequency. By introducing a new mantra, you can break the old thought pattern and connect your mind to a new vibration; I AM ENOUGH.
By repeating a mantra, it becomes like a code which is interpreted in the hypothalamus. With the tongue we activate the upper pallet of the mouth and release neuro-chemical messages to activate the pituitary gland (The master of all glands in the body).
What this does is it affects the major systems in our bodies: the nervous system, the endocrine system and immune system. In this way you become an instrument to change your state at your own command.
You allow the mind to create vibrations that invite relaxation, recovery, protection, love, health, wellbeing and the list goes on...what would you want to attract?
2. Activate Your Throat Chakra
The throat chakra holds the energy of our word in the world.
When it is out of balance, we are either unable to speak up our truth, or when we do speak, the wrong words come out.
By chanting regularly, we balance our throat chakra which opens up the space for us to transform our creativity and power into reality. The throat is the channel to transform our deep yearnings into words and ideas that we can share with the world.
Personally, chanting has allowed me to start setting boundaries with friends and colleagues. It also allowed me to stand up to many cultural expectations that I did not agree to. For the first time I was able to say "well that is not for me" or "I don't agree"...yet still finding a balance of compassion and respect in my words.
It also allowed me to finally speak up and request the universe for support in things I wanted. "I want to support people", "I want to teach yoga", "I want to quit the 9 to 5 job". It was only when I was able to clearly state what I wanted, that things started to manifest in my life.
3. Connect to Higher Vibrations
Everything around us is vibrating at a frequency. Even thoughts have a vibration. When you are vibrating negative thoughts, you attract more negative things towards you. Similarly, when you vibrate positive thoughts.
This why it is important to always have a mantra ready. The Mantra can be simple positive words of affirmations in your own language. Like for example "I AM". Sometimes when I feel challenged I just repeat "I AM...I AM...I AM"...it allows me to slow down and remember who I AM (nothing but spirit, I am who I am).
Another mantra I personally love using is "SAT NAM"...which translates to "I AM TRUTH". I repeat it often mentally and it allows me to break any negative thought patterns and focus on the truth of the moment.
Keep your mind equipped with mantras that support your wellbeing, choose words that work for you, in the language of your choice and allow them to be the recordings you play often in your head.
4. A Great Tool for Meditation
Many meditations include chanting a mantra within them.
When the mind is focused on a mantra, it becomes present in the NOW.
Mantras play a role in bringing your attention to the present moment, and the more you stay connected to the mantra the more everything around you dissolves and you find yourself diving into your deep inner journey.
5. Universal Connection and Community
When we chant together, we elevate together.
If you have never experienced a group chanting, you could relate that feeling to the one you get when your favourite song starts to play at a concert. As the whole crowd sings along, you feel a connection with every person in the crowd and you feel elevated into a new level of joy.
Well it is somewhat similar, except that when we chant, it is more devotional and internal. Yet together as a community we enhance and magnify the impact of the mantra to bring support to each person who needs it. Some mantras can travel miles and reach people across the planet.
Do not stop yourself from chanting out. It is your birth right.
It is in our tribes and our cultures. With sound we express, we elevate and we heal the world.
I am sharing here one of my favourite meditations which includes the mantra "I AM".
Let us chant.
