A mala is a great tool to help enhance your mediations. Hold your mala in your right hand (in India the left hand is considered impure) and use your thumb to count” each mantra by touching the bead during the recitation and then lightly pulling the bead towards you on completion and moving to the next bead.

To use the Mala beads, choose a mantra or affirmation that you’d like to focus on. Find a comfortable seated position, close your eyes and settle into your breath. While you can always use an app or timer, the annoying ringtones and vibrations can throw you off your spiritual journey when they go off or anytime a text message comes in mid-meditation.

So I’ve always had a strong connection to prayer beads. Malas have been used for centuries to help their owners set intentions, meditate in the moment and get in touch with what they truly want to manifest in their lives. Overhand knotting not only makes the mala stronger but also provides the perfect amount of space between beads.

In addition, the numbers 3 and 6 are significant in relation to mala beads, with Buddhist malas coming in three forms: 108, 54 and 27 beads. Malas help the wearer focus their mind and are often used to recite mantras in sets of 108 repetitions. But 108 has long been considered a sacred number in Hinduism and yoga.

Mala (translated as “garland”) is traditionally 108 knotted beads of natural material such as rudraksha seed, bodhi seed, sandalwood or gemstones. Work on one intention or with one energy at a time, but if you have two malas that draw on that same type of energy and you want to wear both that’s OK.

This makes rudraksha malas sacred to Shiva but also helps in healing the heart center and balancing the chakras, promoting inner peace, as well as granting knowledge, power, and enlightenment. A mala’s makeup of 108 beads is very significant. Step 3: One side of mala: add 18 beads and 18 knots.

All of our mala beads carry their own intention. It is common to find prayer beads in Japan that contain a small image inside the largest bead, usually something associated with the particular temple or sect. You will learn the history and use of malas as well as how to intuitively choose the mantra and mala that is right for you.

To be sure you get the most out of your mala beads, each set of mama malas comes with a guide to mala meditation and setting intentions, a detailed description of the stones used and a soft pouch to protect them when not in use. Using these mantras is optional, but further increases the potency of the japa practice.

Traditional malas are made with Rudraksha beads, lotus seed beads, yak bone, Bodhi seeds, or wood. As a Christian, you can use mala beads to help you meditate and center on Christ. If I were in the situation you are in, I would buy a set of mala beads that I thought were beautiful (there are so many gorgeous ones out there!), and use them with freedom and gratefulness for this incredible time of spiritual growth in your life.

On a traditional Buddhist mala, the three beads above the guru bead represent the Three Refuges: Homage to the Buddha, Homage to the Dharma and Homage to the Sangha. This process is repeated and when arriving at the head or guru bead, the person meditating turns the mala around and then goes back in the opposing direction.

The guru bead is typically larger than the other beads, and its meaning and usage will be described soon. As discussed, part of spiritual energy of your practice gets stored in the mala as well. Conventional Buddhist tradition counts the beads at 108, signifying the mortal desires of mankind.

While I LOVE my many malas I have one specific and very special to me rudruksha mala with 108 beads that I keep at my altar and usually use for my mantra work. We use only carefully selected, 100% natural and authentic Rudraksha and other sacred power beads, all of the highest quality and vibrations.