Mala Meditation
To use your mala, hold the mala in your hand over your middle finger and use your thumb to move each bead, avoid using your index finger. Recite a mantra or focus on your breath as you go. Start with the bead next to the large "guru bead" and move clockwise.
The guru bead is very important as it is supposed to represent your Buddha nature (higher self), and your intention. As a sign of respect, certain traditions never cross the guru bead. Instead, when they get to the guru bead they either complete their meditation, or turn around and go the other way. Different traditions have different practices, some never touch the guru bead. Others use it at the end of a mediation; they hold the guru bead between middle finger and thumb and say a prayer, acknowledge their teacher, or connect to their intention. Others use it as a healing tool when someone is sick by placing the guru bead on the sick person’s forehead at the third eye, and offer them the accumulated energy of the japa mala practices.
Decide how you want to treat your guru bead by what feels natural to you, and incorporate it into your japa mala meditation.
Step-by-step guide
Additional tips
The guru bead is very important as it is supposed to represent your Buddha nature (higher self), and your intention. As a sign of respect, certain traditions never cross the guru bead. Instead, when they get to the guru bead they either complete their meditation, or turn around and go the other way. Different traditions have different practices, some never touch the guru bead. Others use it at the end of a mediation; they hold the guru bead between middle finger and thumb and say a prayer, acknowledge their teacher, or connect to their intention. Others use it as a healing tool when someone is sick by placing the guru bead on the sick person’s forehead at the third eye, and offer them the accumulated energy of the japa mala practices.
Decide how you want to treat your guru bead by what feels natural to you, and incorporate it into your japa mala meditation.
Step-by-step guide
- Hold the mala:
Hold the mala so the guru bead is at the top, and it rests in your hand. It's common to hold the mala in your right hand in the Hindu tradition, with the beads resting on your third or ring finger, but you can use whichever hand feels natural to you.
- Find the first bead:
Begin with the first bead to the right of the guru bead.
- Recite your mantra:
Repeat a mantra, an affirmation, or simply focus on one breath for each bead.
- Move the beads:
Use your thumb to pull each bead over your middle or ring finger towards you. Avoid using your index finger, as it is associated with the ego.
- Repeat:
Continue this process for all 108 beads until you reach the guru bead again.
- Turn around:
When you reach the guru bead, pause, either connect to your intention, and end your meditation, or to continue on, do not count or cross over your guru bead. Turn the mala around and begin moving back in the opposite direction, repeating the process with your thumb and beads.
Additional tips
- The guru bead:
The guru bead is a marker for the end of a round. When you reach it, it's a time to pause, reflect and complete your meditation, or to begin a new round in the opposite direction.
- Focus:
Using the mala helps to focus the mind and can prevent it from wandering during meditation.
- Keep it safe:
When not in use, keep your mala in a soft bag or box to protect it from damage.
- Wear it:
You can also wear a mala as a necklace or bracelet to serve as a reminder of your intentions throughout the day.
Japa Mala Meditation:
Example:
Other examples of Japa Mala Meditations:
inhale “I am”
exhale “peaceful, present, here, or calm”
inhale “om”
exhale “shanti”
inhale “so”
exhale “ham”
Soham signifies that there is no separation between the energy that surrounds you and the energy that you are.
‘Soham’ is an integral part of Vedic philosophy. It is the Sanskrit word for “I am He/That”. There is a line of thinking that believes that when a child comes in the universe he cries by making a sound ‘Koham’ to which the universe replies back ‘Soham’. The universe tells him that ‘you are the same as I am’.
Use any word or words that resonate with you!
I have found japa mala meditation to be very beneficial for me. It helps to calm my thoughts. There are moments during these meditations that my mind is fully present. Often we have word associations with english words, and that can interrupt you. The benefit of using Sanskrit words is that you don’t have those associations.
Japa Mala Meditation:
- Sit comfortably.
- Get in touch with how you are feeling, and find a word or two to describe your current state of mind.
- If you are feeling disempowering emotions like sad, tense, anxious, angry, etc., see if you can come up with a word or two that describes the opposite of that quality.
- Visualize yourself connecting to these positive qualities that are your desire (from step #3). Use past times of feeling a specific way or imagine what it would feel like to reach your goal.
- Use the words from step #3 to create a short statement (affirmation) in present tense. “I am, I have, I feel…..”
- Be sure you have connected to the feeling state of what it is you desire (step #4), then start your japa mala meditation.
Example:
- I am feeling overwhelmed with all of the projects I have going on.
- Tap into what I want to be focused on and the way that I want to feel and be.
- I want to be organized, prepared and calm.
- Visualize myself being organized, doing what I need to do to make progress, feeling calm and peaceful. In this visualization, I connect with the feeling state of each of those positive qualities.
- “I am organized, prepared and calm.”
- Do my japa mala meditation, repeating my affirmation (step #5) with each bead I hold.
Other examples of Japa Mala Meditations:
inhale “I am”
exhale “peaceful, present, here, or calm”
inhale “om”
exhale “shanti”
inhale “so”
exhale “ham”
Soham signifies that there is no separation between the energy that surrounds you and the energy that you are.
‘Soham’ is an integral part of Vedic philosophy. It is the Sanskrit word for “I am He/That”. There is a line of thinking that believes that when a child comes in the universe he cries by making a sound ‘Koham’ to which the universe replies back ‘Soham’. The universe tells him that ‘you are the same as I am’.
Use any word or words that resonate with you!
I have found japa mala meditation to be very beneficial for me. It helps to calm my thoughts. There are moments during these meditations that my mind is fully present. Often we have word associations with english words, and that can interrupt you. The benefit of using Sanskrit words is that you don’t have those associations.
