Are you trying to connect with your perfect set of mala Prayer beads beads, but don’t know where to start? Wrist malas are just another way to bring our practice to our everyday life. The thumb pulls the next counter bead over the middle finger after each repetition. Traditionally, the beads have been used in prayer and meditation. Handmade with love, worn with intention.

Doing a mantra doesn’t require using a mala; the mala is just there to add another dimension to the practice. A mala is a string of 108 beads with one bead as the summit or head bead called a ‘sumeru.’ Malas are used as a tool to help the mind focus on meditation, or count mantras in sets of 108 repetitions.

Hold the mala in your right hand and between the thumb and middle finger. Our japa mala meditation beads contain the traditional number of beads which is 108, and are made from natural materials found in remote areas of India and Nepal. The Tibetans, on the other hand, have no such rules; they use their malas in either hand, and with any finger.

The reason most people use the third finger is that there is a nerve on the inside of that finger which is connected to your spine in such a way that you’re getting a little added benefit from the practice. Mala beads are known as ‘prakam’ here in Thailand.

You can reflect on your meditation practice, give thanks, honor your guru — or show yourself a moment of gratitude for slowing down to meditate. The easiest and most popular form of Meditation in both Hindu and Buddhist forms is the called Mantra Meditation or Japa Meditation.

Hold your MeruBeads in your right hand, draped between your middle and index fingers. Activating your mala is a beautiful way to connect the beads to your energy and intention. Mala beads are commonly made of sandalwood, lotus seed, tulsi (Holy basil) or semi-precious stones, such as carnelian and amethyst.

Mala beads have been used in Buddhism and Hinduism for centuries and the traditional Rudraksha mala dates back to the 10th century. These necklaces are made of traditional Buddhist mala beads crafted in India with knots in between. Mala’s are meant to ground the practice of meditation and recitation of mantras.

Just like each of the beads that are intimately connected to all the others through the string of the mala, the yogi is intimately connected to all other beings. Nor do they have a Guru bead, but they do have the same kinesthetic properties traditional Mala beads have – they are like Mala training wheels!

Traditionally, malas, or garlands of prayer beads, come as a string of 108 beads (plus one for the “guru bead,” around which the other 108 beads turn like the planets around the sun). In traditional Hindu use, you place the Mala in your right hand, with the first bead that you will count draped over your middle or ring finger.

Malas allow the wearer to keep count of mantra recitation, allowing her to stay focused, calm and relaxed while repeating a mantra 108 times. Like the one pictured, malas are often made from 8mm beads, which string together at the perfect wearable length for many people.

People hang their malas on their neck or wrap them around their wrists. Going all the way around your mala, you will eventually reach the guru bead—the bead that dangles from the mala. In other words, 108 beads represent the entire universe. Many of our Yoga Beads are made in Bali or India.