Mantra Chanting - Liberation of the Heart
Mantra chanting
~How to get more out of yourself with mantra chanting
and be yourself
About the effect of mantras and my own liberation
In this article you can expect:
- My own liberation
- The effect of mantras
- Mantra Chanting: A Beautiful Path to You
- Bhakti Yoga: The path of devotion
- My favorite mantras
It was only when I discovered mantra chanting that I became truly free. What made me unfree were old beliefs that held me back from coming out of myself, speaking my own truth and living it.
When I participated in a sweat lodge in Peru in 2018 (which was part of my yoga teacher training), I experienced for the first time what mantra chanting, Man = mind and Tra = transcend, can do. Through chanting out loud, I began to dissolve old beliefs and finally live my true nature. It completely changed my outer world and I began to follow my heart.
My own liberation
Our sweat lodge was really not fancy stuff: it was a construct made of branches - similar to an igloo in shape. The mesh of branches was enclosed with thick blankets. Inside it is dark and you sit in a circle on the floor around a hole in the ground. In 4 rounds, 7 glowing hot volcanic stones are shoveled into the hole in the ground, so it gets hotter with each round. The sweat lodge, also called temazcal, is primarily for physical, mental and emotional cleansing and healing. I just found it exciting and participated mainly out of curiosity.
Our familiar circle of people, with whom I had had deeply transformative experiences over the previous two weeks, melted round and round into a magical mass of rhythm. We rattled wildly, drumming loudly and chanting Spanish mantras to it. Breathed deeply in and out through the dense heat.
If there is a physical sensation for spiritual liberation, that's what it was for me. New melodies and new, beautiful Spanish words impacted my soul. The songs described Mother Earth, how we belong to her and are all connected. We chanted about love. Sometimes I didn't even understand the lyrics, but I just let myself be carried away and sang with all my heart.
I felt something inside me wanting to get out.
And at some point I felt tears cooling my cheeks. How my heart pounded loudly. I felt something wanting to get out through the tears in my eyes. And I let it run free. I howled loudly, sobbing and gasping for air. My loud whooping was lost in the singing and drum roll of the others. But I didn't worry about that at that moment. I just let it happen and felt a sense of liberation in me.
"I felt a sense of liberation inside me."
The effect of mantras
Today, when tears come to my eyes, I remember that this is a mouthpiece of my deep self and that I want to hear it. We all have wounds. And we can speak of happiness when these move from the inside out to experience healing.
A mantra calls to your essence.Through chanting, beliefs, emotions and deep needs of the soul can become visible.
Chanting a repetitive syllable or phrase, that is, a mantra, works on three levels:
Physical
Chanting is also pranayama. It is deep breathing. Again and again. The body is brought into a harmonious vibration, which can have a positive effect on the organs, the nervous system and the psyche.
Emotional
When we chant mantras, we feel joy, we experience an immediate lightness. You can't chant and be deeply sad. Chanting mantras can extend to the feeling that your heart almost seems to burst with joy.
Energetic
Since chanting has an uplifting effect on our emotions (e.g. from sadness to joy or from anger to equanimity) this increases our energy field. You may feel a throbbing in the heart space (anahata chakra) or a tingling in the throat (vishudda chakra).
Mantra Chanting: A Beautiful Path to You
Through this raising of your emotional and energetic state, through the stimulation of the (mostly) upper four chakras, we feel freer. The fact that today I dare to sing in front of many people has not only to do with the dissolution of an old belief ("I am not musical"), but rather with a trust in myself, in my essence.
Singing means being loud. Not mincing words (anymore). Willpower. Saying yes. Saying no. Speaking your truth and not that of others. Dissent. Encouragement. Being tender. Being powerful. Mantra chanting is all of that.
Singing invitingly offers us the opportunity to come out of ourselves. To be loud. We women have been drilled over many generations to be well-behaved and quiet, to behave and not stand out. Stand out if you want to. Be loud and wild if you want to. Of course, this also applies to all men.
Maybe you will find in mantra chanting this one way that helps you to come out of yourself more, to dare to do something. To be loud. To be you. To go your way. And that full of love and devotion.
I wish you from the bottom of my heart that you find YOUR heart's path. In whatever form that may be.
Your Jessy
Bhakti Yoga: The path of devotion
Within the 4 paths of yoga (Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Raja Yoga and Bhakti Yoga) mantra chanting is part of the path of devotion and love, Bhakti Yoga. This includes chanting, dancing, praying, rituals and ceremonies, music, creativity - everything that makes your heart blossom and with which you can express yourself. It's about surrendering to your emotions, giving yourself free rein in movement or chanting.
It is considered the easiest way to self-liberation because we simply surrender to the higher power: Letting ourselves be moved or letting the chanting flow through us. The goal of bhakti is pure love and appeals to our emotional qualities. That's why tears of joy, of healing, of love flow now and then at bhakti events.
A small selection of my favorite mantras:
Probably the most famous mantra: OM ॐ
The yogis say that the Indian Sanskrit mantras in particular are connected to an energy field (morphogenetic field) that has been built up for thousands of years by all the people who have ever repeated the mantra. By chanting the mantra OM, you become connected to this field and to these gurus, masters and all the people who have ever chanted it. Think of this abundance the next time you chant AUM.
RA MA DA SA
Ra = solar energy
Ma = Moon energy
Da = Earth energy
Sa = Energy of the universe
Say = You / personal energy
So = I am
Hum = The Divine/Higher Power
OM GAM GANAPATHAYE NAMAH
This mantra honors the Indian deity Ganesha. Ganesha represents wisdom and knowledge and overcoming our obstacles. Ganesha is therefore often called first to open ceremonies. A mantra that is wonderful before yoga practice and also ideal for a mantra meditation with a mala.
Gam = sound (seed sound) of Ganesha
Ganapathaye = Ganesha himself
Namaha = in his name or honoring him
NAMASTASYAY
Namastasyay, Namastasyay, Namastasyay, Namo Namaha
I also like to sing in my own Spanish version to thank Mother Earth:
Pacha Mama, Pacha Mama, Pacha Mama, Te amo, Te amo (Mother Earth, I love you)
All of my retreats & events include a mantra component.
Feel free to drop by:
Instagram @jessy_inti_yoga: Here I share mantra videos with you every now and then
MUST SEE: A beautiful, deeply moving film about the power of mantras: mantramovie.com/
Krishna Das | inspiring mantra singer, harmonium player, kirtan leader: krishnadas.com/
Deva Premal & Miten | For me a great inspiration: www.devapremalmiten.com