Blog
Can Chanting Make you a Better Person? Gemma Perry's Scientific Research on Mantra!
Psychology researcher, Gemma Perry, shares her doctoral research and personal experience with the use of chant and mantra sound yoga therapies for the body and mind. Her innovative research experiments explore the effects of chanting mantra by creating a sense of community, connection and a deeper relationship with self while motivating the practitioner to seek harmony by pursuing their potential.
Gemma Perry is a meditation and yoga teacher currently doing her PhD in the Department of Psychology at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Gemma investigates the eff...
OM Chanting Fail: Top 3 Mistakes Chant Leaders & Yoga Teachers Make When Leading AUM
How to Lead a Sensational OM as a Chant Leader
When youâre leading a chant, particularly one involving Aum, your primary role is to create a safe and resonant space. This post highlights essential practices for chant leaders to help participants feel confident and connected.
Three Keys to Leading Aum Chanting
- Provide a Clear Tone
Establishing a clear, stable tone is essential. Use a harmonium, tuning fork, or your own voice to set a sonic floor. Choose a pitch thatâs comfortable for both you and the group. This step ensures everyone feels anchored and secure in the...
The Healing Power of the Medicine Buddha Mantra
I feel in love with Tibetan mantras on my first trip to the HimÄlayas in 1997. I trekked (in plastic sandals, silly 19-year-old me!) to Namche Bazaar then to the Tyangboche monastery. There I was blessed with an audience with the 80+ year old Rinpoche Tyangboche and his gaze, his voice, cut straight through the fuzz in my chaotic mind.
I felt, for the first time, the clear still infinity that is the result of a long-time sound-based meditation practice. It inspired me from then on to make inner knowledge my priority (over other "normal" goals like partnership, parenti...
Why Are Mantras Chanted 108 Times?
Have you ever wondered why mantras are traditionally repeated 108 times? In all of my years of teaching Sanskrit mantra meditation to beginners and at workshops & festivals all over the world, this is one of my most common frequently asked questions. Normally, I just say that "it's traditional" because to delve into all of the reasons why mantras are changed 108 times is kinda nerdy, and to some people, kinda woo-woo! (And I like to keep things fact-based, evidence-based, and rational when I'm working with the therapeutic power of sound and mantra.)
However, to satisf...
Learn Wahe Guru, a Powerful Sikh Healing Mantra, with Punnu Wasu
I had the honor of sitting down with Punnu Wasu, an incredibly talented musician and spiritual teacher from Hyderabad, India. His journey through music, yoga, and mantra chanting has touched countless lives, and his insights provide a unique perspective on how these ancient practices can awaken peace and joy within ourselves.
Exploring the Healing Power of Mantras: an Interview with Punnu Wasu
Punuâs connection with music began at a very young age, learning Kirtan from his father at the age of five and later diving into Hindustani classical music. Throughout his life...
What is Mantra Yoga?
Mantra yoga, a simple definition for ordinary people:
I was on the phone once with tech support for my web hosting service. The guy (who sounded like a nice Southern California surfer) was looking at my website, and asked, âWhat's a mantra?"
I said, âItâs a collection of sounds or words that you repeat over and over to yourself as a form of meditation, either out loud or silently in your mind.âÂ
And he said, âSo kind a like âthink happy thoughts?' "
Laughing, I replied, âSort of. If you repeat one happy thought over and over again, it would be a form of mantra medi...
Sound Yoga Therapy: Interview with Anandra
Recently I had the pleasure of doing a video interview with Daniel Aaron from The Art of Vibrant Living, and we got into some wonderful topics.
Sound and Mantra Therapy Conversation Topics:
- Sound yoga therapy and nervous system self-regulation
- Sound and music as a path of self-expression vs. sound as self-inquiry
- Defining the interoceptive approach to sound yoga therapy, mantra therapy
- What's the most interesting, powerful, effective way of using sound or being with sound for transformation specifically?
- What defines "Sacred Sound"?
- What's the difference betwe ...
The more you know, the more you know you donât knowâŚ
The more you know, the more you know you donât knowâŚÂ
Is there any realm in which this is not true?
People.
The longer you know someone, the more you realize that you have no idea what is really going on for them deep inside. They hold multitudes of mysteries, complex trauma, perceptual, differences, patterns, and habits built on foundations that you can never understand fully, because you have not lived at yourself.
Mantra.
Are used to think that learning how to chant, more mantras, sing more songs, do more complex, and longer chance meant that I knew more, and h...
Is it OK to mix mantras? Do we risk cultural appropriation or misuse of mantra?
For chant leaders and mantra recording artists, the question of mixing mantras for chanting is one that has intrigued many, prompting inquiries about the permissibility of blending deities and languages in spiritual practice. For some, the idea of combining "oáš namaḼ ĹivÄya" with "wahe guru" in a single chant may feel intuitively right, but is it ethically sound? Let's delve into this complex topic, which I also cover in depth in my sound and mantra teacher training course.
Q. (From a graduate of our 500hr Sound & Mantra Training course who teaches mantra workshops ...
Maha Shivaratri FAQ & Mantra Tutorial for Chant Lovers! (The best night of the year to experience Shiva mantras!
In proper transliteration: MahÄ ĹivarÄtri: The best night of the year to experience Ĺiva mantras!
And the ONLY night of the year that I can "party" all night long LOL! The sattvik wakefulness, clear-eyed, vibrant, meditative... is worth observing the holy night every year.
What is the meaning of MahÄĹivarÄtri?
Esoterically, it is said that during this night the "eye of Ĺiva" is neither open nor closed. Consciousness rests in a state of balanced awareness suspended between external expression (concealing grace) and internal absorption (revealing grace).
For the aspi...
