How Can I Use Mantras During Meditation?

Sometimes people think that chanting and mantras are ritualistic, when actually they’re simply anchors to help you focus. Chants and mantras are either words or phrases that help you focus on whatever it is you’re focusing on.

How it works

Mantras are words and phrases that allow you to focus on your chosen intention.
They help improve cognitive function such as memory and enhance other benefits of meditation such as reducing stress and anxiety.
Chants and mantras are ideal ways to develop the breathing techniques that are associated with different meditation intentions.
You can also choose different mantras to match different intentions: from the directly focused “I am motivated” to the deeply spiritual “Aum”.

Think about it this way, when you’re about to do a very important task, do you whisper under your breath what you’re going to do? Or do you repeat a phrase over and over again, just so you don’t forget? That’s essentially what chants and mantras are. They help remind you what you need to focus on, and they’re perfect additions to any meditation session, especially when you set a specific intention to that session.

They Are Focus Words Or Phrases

Chants and mantras are simply words or phrases that help you focus on the intention you set for your meditation practice. So, if you’re meditating to help open communication lines between you and others, you’ll want to focus on words like “talk” or “speech” or even “words”. You can also focus on phrases like “I am well-spoken” or “I will express my thoughts clearly”. They don’t have to be short phrases, as long as it is related to your intention, mantras and chants can help you focus. They’re there to remind you exactly what it is you’re meditating for.

Sometimes, your mind will wander, in your meditation practice, especially if you don’t include or use a chant or mantra to aid you. So, eventually you’ll forget why you’re meditating, and will most likely change the intention halfway through, because you’ve forgotten. That’s why including chants and mantras into your session can help keep you focused on your intention. They remind you of your practice’s purpose and will prevent your mind from wandering.

They Improve Brain Health

As well as increasing your focus, during your meditation sessions, using mantras in your practice can be beneficial to your brain, since it helps improve cognitive functions, such as memory and thinking processes. Not only that, but they also help with mental health issues like anxiety and fatigue. It’s because chanting and mantras can help equalise and synchronise the left and right sides of the brain, which in turn promotes relaxing or alpha brain waves.

So, by incorporating mantras and chanting into your meditation process, you’re essentially helping your brain to function better and over time, slow down cognitive decline. It’ll help with solving problems and coming up with creative and innovative ideas and because your mood will improve as well, and you won’t feel tired because meditation and mantras will target those areas of the brain.

You’ll Take Control Over Your Breath

Of course, meditation isn’t just about relaxing your body and balancing your mind. There are also other bodily functions that you adjust, while you meditate, and that includes your breathing. When you meditate, you control your breathing, and using mantras and chants, you redefine your breathing pattern. When you use mantras during a specific breathing exercise, you create a different pattern than when you breathe normally. It reduces your need for oxygen and even helps you to subconsciously use your abdominals and diaphragm instead of your belly or chest, to breathe.

Therefore, including chanting and mantras into your meditation session can help you in the long term, because it’ll help you find a better natural breathing rhythm. Not only that, if you’re new to meditative breathing exercises, you can match them to mantras and chants. It makes the process easier, and it’ll help you relax into the exercise. After all, it can be daunting to practice breathing exercises, especially if they’re energizing ones, such as Fire Breath exercises. You’ll tense up or tire yourself out, or even make yourself dizzy, because you’re not practicing it correctly. Adding mantras and chants to those exercises will help calm you down and sink into the practice without stressing out about it.

There Are Different Mantras For Different Intentions

When it comes to choosing a mantra or chant, there is no “wrong” way to choose. As with everything else, it depends on your meditation practice, such as what your intentions are and how you choose to meditate, that will determine what kind of mantras you use. There are more religious mantras, to help you pray, throughout your meditation. There are mantras that are meant for healing and chakra focuses. You can even find mantras for different moods, daily stresses, and self-awareness. Even affirmations can be mantras, as they help with boosting self-esteem.

So, when it comes to choosing your mantra, figure out what your intentions are, and use that as a basis for your mantras. For example, if you are meditating for motivation, then you may want to use mantras such as “I am creative”, “I will be productive” or “I am motivated”. There are also Sanskrit chants that you can use, such as “Om” and “Aum”, and they are commonly used because it is believed that they are the original sounds of the universe. You’ll also find “So Hum” is a common chant, because it brings your awareness to yourself. Whichever chant or mantra you choose to try, is up to you and if you don’t think mantras and chants are your thing, that’s fine too, so don’t feel that you have to use them.