WE’VE been chanting a mantra in meditation this week in yoga class.
A mantra is a sacred chant or sound which is recited repetitively. Mantra is a Sanskrit word that roughly translates to: Mind (Man) Free (tra), hence freedom for your mind.
We chant in Sanskrit, Pali or Latin and the mantra is often a prayer, an honouring or request of a saint or an advanced soul.
Meditation can be described as a soft relaxed awareness or a quiet, yet attentive mind.
Mantra is a form of meditation and chanting meditation is well suited to people who struggle with the discipline of quiet stillness.
We usually chant using a string of mala beads and chant the mantra 108 times.
It is thought that if you chant your mantra 108 times, you will have touched each of the delicate energy channels (nadis) of your body with the vibrational energy of the mantra.
We used the mantra to tap into the energy of the female Buddha, Green Tara.
One of the most powerful aspects of the Green Tara Mantra is using its energy to reconcile with our shadow selves.
Our shadow parts are banished because we feel they are broken, bad, or shameful.
We do not want the world to see our shadow aspects, only our successful, confident selves.
The cycle of hiding and/or covering up our shadow selves is exhausting.
So, this mantra gave us the energy to reconcile to all of our selves and hence, become more whole.
