The Power of Mantra
15/06/07 15:05
About a year after I had begun my yoga practice, I found myself in the yoga classroom out of my element. While I had gotten comfortable chanting Om, I was shocked to see a teacher sit behind a tiny piano (called a harmonium) and suddenly ask the class to chant “Hare Ram, Sita Ram”. I sat silently through the chant and waited for the ‘real yoga class’ to begin.
Despite my original reluctance, something about that first chant stayed with me, and I found it difficult to let the tune go, and wondered exactly why the tune was so ingrained in my noggin. That yoga class transformed my way of thinking about yoga as uniquely a physical practice, and I’ve grown to learn that the mantras, chanting and sound can have a deeply profound effect on the physical realm, not only enhancing your asana practice, but bringing greater well being all on it’s own.
One of the first mantras I learned was “Om Namah Shivaya”, which is one of the oldest and most powerful mantras known. It is said to be untranslatable, but the sentiment ignites an awakening of your own divine potential, what yogic scripture would call the ‘Shiva’. Shiva is known as many things, but one among them is the transformer, and he is able to transform negativity to create room for the positive.
I’ve been hearing this mantra a lot lately. In fact, in a discussion with a group of yogis, I heard one of them exclaim, “Om Namah Shivaya”. He used it as a replacement for something like “Darnit”. And it worked. The conversation did not skip a beat. He just kept on talking, and the rest of us followed along.
While I’m not suggesting that we all start adopting Sanskrit phrases as adjectives, I think it is important to realize that mantra’s power is transformative. It is able to embody whatever energy you wish to cultivate. So while the yogi in conversation lightly dropped the mantra “Om Namah Shivaya” as a remark, it did help him to process the energy he was ready to relinquish.
How, you may ask? That particular mantra has been chanted for thousands of years, and so has gained a tremendous amount of momentum. Sharon Gannon adds, “when you chant such an old and sacred mantra, it is as if you are harnessing the power of everyone who has ever chanted that mantra. It becomes charged, powerful, and potent.” And, it is common knowledge in these times that our world is made of vibration, or sound. So it makes sense that one of the easiest ways to affect our bodies
(which are also vibratory) would be through sound.
Mantras are composed, traditionally, of Sanskrit words, and Sanskrit has a profound affect on a vibratory level. It’s as if we’re taking a tuning fork directly to the source of dissonance when we chant mantra. And since each mantra has a slightly different focus, we have many different tools with which to tune our greatest instrument: our body.
Just as we have asanas that help to heal or realign our body, mantras help to realign our energetic bodies. And, the best part about them is that you have all the tools you need to chant a mantra with you at all times, no yoga mat necessary. You can even recite mantra in your mind, where the vibrations of it permeate your thoughts and create lasting change. When you repeat a mantra often enough, it actually gets stuck inside you, remapping your thoughts and body to embrace what it conveys.
Mantras have been used for thousands of years, and are becoming more popular these days as we discover the power of positive thinking. Choose one of the mantras below to begin with, and see if you can feel the vibrations settling into your mind and if nothing else, hopefully it will help to bring you into the present moment and reconnect with your yoga practice, while you are off the mat.
Simple Mantras and what they can be used for:
Om: The great eraser. The best way to press the reset button. Any time you need a refresher.
Om Namah Shivaya: Mantra of transformation. Use this any time you have negative energy that you need dissipated and translated into something useful for you to keep moving forward.
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu: Sharon Gannon translates this mantra as “May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words and actions of my life contribute in some way to the happiness and freedom of all.” This mantra is a great way to offer compassion to someone who needs it, may they be a friend, acquaintance, or foe.
Repeat as often as necessary. Out loud, or silently, either way, your body is listening.