What Is Mantra - Part Two

Namaste everyone !

An apt start to this email because, as promised, this week we’re plunging further into the world of Mantra; if your curiosity has sparked since my last email, this week’s blog is without a doubt for you - let’s uncover how to incorporate Mantra into your own daily practice. Even if this is not something you’re considering, this blog will touch a lot on the origins of Mantra - we’ll dive into Yogic Philosophy, unpack the meanings behind some simple yet powerful Mantras (you probably already know some of them!), learning what they truly mean through getting to their roots.

We’ll start with the greeting of this email - Namaste ! One I’m sure you’ve heard countless times, but maybe unsure of what it actually means. The word namaste itself is a representation of the physical gesture of namaskar - an Indian greeting where one places the hands together in prayer in-front of the heart, sometimes bowing the head towards the heart, symbolic of reverence, humility and peace. This humble greeting has always seemed incredibly touching to me; it doesn’t really require any words because it serves as a gesture of pure acknowledgement in and of itself; to me, Namaste it’s like saying “I see you”, and that is an acknowledgement that instantly floods ones heart with compassion and empathy for the other. Namaste is usually said at the end of a Yoga Asana practice - a reverent bow to the practice, the present moment, the lineage of Yoga and all of the conspiring energies, facilitators, guides and teachers that have brought you to the mat to practice in this way, today.

Another Mantra that is well-known in the world of Kundalini meditation, and one that I recite at the end of my own Meditation practice, is Sat Nam. SAT signifying truth or absolute reality, and NAM signifying name; together, these words translate to “I Am Truth”, or “Truth is my Essence”. Sat Nam is known as a Bija (seed) Mantra, a single syllable sound which activates the Chakras (energetic portals in the body). The unraveling of this Mantra is deeply powerful to me.

So, to go a little deeper: “I Am” is the Mantra relating to the Root Chakra (the first Chakra) - an affirmation that symbolises anchoring, groundedness and connection to the Earth and to the manifestation of physical existence. Truth is a spiritual concept relating to the Crown Chakra (the seventh, or final, Chakra in the Human body), a portal related also to connection - this time to our Intuition, our spirituality, Consciousness, divinity, and the essential, indefinable truth of creation. Thus, when we bridge the gap between the Root and the Crown, we see the merging of “I Am” with “Truth” - creating the sacred Sat Nam Mantra. This is an incredibly powerful connection because it marks the line of energy that runs up our spine, from the very base up to the crown of our heads - otherwise known as Kundalini Shakti.

Kundalini is often symbolised as a serpent - it represents the latent energy which lies coiled at the base of the spine. Shakti, in Yoga, is power represented as the Divine Feminine and is believed to connect us to the energy of creation - both within ourselves and outside of us. Together, they form the central line of energy that runs through our physical and energetic bodies, accompanied by the Ida (the left energy channel) and Pingala (right energy channel), situated at either side of the serpent.*****

(We’ll go more in depth into Kundalini energy in another blog post, but today the focus is on Mantra so we’ll keep it related!)*

On a very base, physical level, this energy can be seen as the energy that holds up our physical body; it keeps us standing, it enables us to walk through life; it holds our Central Nervous System - the brain and spinal chord - which connects us to our basic Human instincts, sensory reception and perception of the world around us, all very necessary things to our survival and thriving as Human Beings.

You’re seeing already how a Mantra as seemingly simply as Sat Nam, spoken as a greeting or at the end of a Meditation practice, possesses a world of complexity inside of it, and has the potential to open up so much dormant energy within, no matter how we relate to it.

Finally, I’ll take you on a journey through the Chakras - their Mantras and how you can use them to amplify and balance your internal energy, to improve the quality of your external world. Bare in mind that all of these affirmations are Bija Mantras - the “Seed” I was talking about earlier, consisting of one syllable, that resonates at the same frequency as the specific Chakras to which it pertains.

1. Muladhara (Root) Chakra : LAM (I Am); resonating at: 396 Hz.
2. Swadisthana (Sacral) Chakra : VAM (I Feel); resonating at: 417 Hz.
3. Manipura (Solar Plexus) Chakra : RAM (I Do); resonating at: 528 Hz.
4. Anahatha (Heart) Chakra : YAM (I Love); resonating at: 639 Hz.
5. Vishuddha (Throat) Chakra : HAM (I Speak); resonating at: 741 Hz.
6. Ajna (Third Eye) Chakra : OM (I See); resonating at: 852 Hz.
7. Sahasrara (Crown) Chakra : OM MANI PADME HUM (or OM SO HUM) (I Am That, i.e. acknowledging your connection to infinite source); resonating at: 963 Hz.

SO - there you have it. A great way to infuse these Mantras into your day is to listen to their corresponding Hz frequency and recite the Mantras as you like - aloud or in your mind… You could even create a melody out of them for yourself. An artist that I frequently listen to in my meditation and often play for my Yoga students during Savasana is Meditative Mind.

Even without a physical Yoga practice, you can infuse a humble Namaste into your day, perhaps upon waking, as you give thanks to your body for waking up, to your Soul for coming back into your body, to your physical environment and to the Universe for always having you back. Pssst: this is Yoga, too ! Arguable in its most important form - off the mat ;) .

And, even without a regular Meditation practice, you can infuse the depth of Sat Nam into your day, simply by speaking it at a time that feels particularly resonant to you - perhaps after communing with nature, after a wholesome conversation with a friend or after an acknowledgement of your gratitude.

I hope that this was an interesting experiencing of learning for you, and that the elusive topic of Mantra has now planted a seed of curiosity in your mind, one which you might explore in your own time, in your own way, to find your own peace.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or curiosities, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can connect with me on Instagram at any time or, alternatively, reach out to me right here on Hatchpath! My podcast, Trust The Process, is available wherever you listen, where we dive deeper into topics such as these, in the hopes of expanding our spirits and venturing into the unknown through thought, philosophy and spirituality combined.

Love, blessings and light, Claudia.