Pranic Healing

Pranic Healing through Mantras

It’s All in the Breath

A mantra is a combination of words, (seed words and associated words) also known as a sacred utterance. Words form an intrinsic part of our every day life no matter what language or culture we speak or live. Words are used in one way or another everyday to communicate, they can be used to communicate to others, or to communicate with our-self, or higher self.

We use words to communicate with others on a very physical level, (speaking) when we use words to communicate with ourselves, we either use them on a psychological level (thinking in words) or we can use them on a spiritual level such as when speaking Mantras.

Words (and Mantras, or Mantric words) resonate at different energetic vibrations, as do the individual letters of those words. Although we may not see those energetic vibrations, it doesn’t mean that they do not exist.

Our bodies are energetic substances, all vibrating at different rates, different levels. If we can remember that we are spiritual beings that have a physical manifestation,(the body), as opposed to a physical being with a spiritual body, we would begin to realize how much we have been starving our real body – the spiritual, of the necessary food in order to keep it at its optimum state.

Our physical body is nothing more than a manifestation of spirit, it is the effect of a spiritual principle, concept, cause. With that in mind, we can start to understand that feeding and maintaining our spiritual body is just as vital to life as it is for the maintaining of our physical body. In order to feed the physical body, we need to give it physical food, in order to feed the spiritual body, we need to give it spiritual food. Spiritual food can come in several shapes and forms because we all have that which we believe in, that which we believe or know is good for our spirit.

Mantras are a therapeutic method to enhance and heal the body as a whole, on all levels. Their therapeutic importance is under-rated, and stand very much in the shadow of the more popular Alternative Medicines, (at-least in the West) however, despite the lack of understanding and the oversight of the average Westerner to recognize their therapeutic value, it non-the-less, does not take away from the fact that Mantras are a significant addition to health and wholeness.

The good thing about Mantras is that they can be used anywhere, as they can be quietly spoken or sung in the individuals mind. You don’t need a special place or time to be able to practice them, you just need the understanding of their value and efficacy. As both the Mantras and our bodies are vibrating at certain levels, we can use the Mantras to bring effective relief or healing to specific ailments of the body by way of resonation. Mantras resonate deep into our spiritual body via their relationship with our Chakras. As Chakras also vibrate, we are able to change the vibrations within an individual Chakra which affects the associated organ or gland that the Chakra is related too. This is accomplished by the use of seed words and associated words formed to make a Mantra.

If we could become more aware of the words we use on a daily basis and remember that what we speak is having an impact on our body, we may be encouraged to take stock of what we say. This is why it has always been said that those who continually speak and think negatively are continually ill in one form or another.

Speaking or singing Mantras are designed to harmonize with your breathing, so it also permits you to change your respiration rate and bring a sense of calm and peace back into the body. Hence, in times of stress when your body is breathing erratically, by speaking or singing a Mantra you will be able to re-balance and stabilize your respiration. You will also take in more Prana (life force) and therefore feel more energized and calm.

Mantras are thought to be able to slow down the ageing process, assist in the prevention and relief of Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases. They are said to be able to tonify the heart and other organs, as well as bring a general feeling of well-being to the individual.

For the greatest therapeutic effect, Mantras should be taught to children from very young (just as nursery rhymes are) via repetition and participation. We teach our children to pray, to recite rhymes yet we could be teaching them to recite Mantras. If Mantras were made part of everyday life, as the child grew up it would be second nature for them to use Mantras for health and well-being. Just as they naturally rub their leg to relieve the pain after a hard knock, so too would their natural response to emotional, physical or spiritual discomfort be to chant a Mantra.

I first heard of the word Prana in 1980, I was studying to be a Hatha Yoga Teacher. It changed my life, it was the opening up of my spiritual path which led me where I am today.

Prana means life-force, breath, flow of life, it reflects continual movement of life and breath cycles. Prana is more than just oxygen, it is the essential life force, the Divine Essence that runs through all things including the sun, the air, the moon and even our food and water supply. It is this same Prana that vibrates through us, around us, within us, within our Chakras, it is the substance of matter, of that which is the cause of materialization. It is, if you like, the seed that is implanted in all living organisms.

The more pure the food we eat, the purer and stronger the vibrations, hence the more Prana that we will receive. If we feed our body dense food, our energy will resonate at a lower, denser level. If we feed our body plenty of raw fruits and vegetables, we will raise our vibrations naturally, which will resonate throughout the physical and spiritual body; then our entire system will be re-juvenated.

Pranic healing is using this very Universal life-force, this very highly sustaining energy or Pranic Energy by way of absorbing it into our systems on all levels. The absorption of it comes about through the assimilation of a Mantra into our organism which is carried on the breath, as well as via sound and vibration. As we raise our own systems vibrations, we raise our energy levels which in turn keeps our Chakras  and organs in a healthy state of balance which is constantly fed and maintained by the appropriate resonant seed word. Seed words, or Mantras have the ability to stimulate certain organs and/or glands to release life giving hormones to boost our whole system and to assist in the preventing of disease. Our whole immune system can be re-vitalized.

As we continue to encompass and embrace our spiritual life, we will find that as our vibrations raise, our consciousness will also raise. We will become more aware of that infinite thing that we are all part and parcel of, whether you call It God, or by any other name.

Not only can Mantras be used to uplift and tonify, but they can also be used to remove toxic waste, congestion and blockages. As with all things spiritual, their limitation is only limited to the limitation you set in your mind. In God, all things are possible, we just need to believe. In the beginning Words were used to create, if God (or whatever you call It) made words with power and used words to affect a world, and manifest all in it, how narrow minded and ignorant we are to even suggest that words are nothing more than a language to communicate with!

When we use Pranayama (meaning breath (prana) control (yama)), we can direct the breath, that same Universal life force, to specific areas of our body for healing. We can choose specific appropriate Mantras in which will resonate with specific Chakras, in order to work through all of our Chakra system to bring about balance and well-being. If we select a Mantra for each Chakra and inhale/exhale ten times with each Mantra morning and night we will bring a positive change to our being. Many of the Mantras start with a specific seed word which will encourage deep breathing which many people do not do. As many of the Mantras are for self-healing, they are also suggestive, and as you are in a altered state of consciousness whilst focusing, it assists in the suggestion being permitted into the sub-conscious by way of reduced critical thinking. Mantric breathing causes you to meditate on what you are doing as you concentrate on the direction of the breath.

As mentioned earlier, each Mantra stimulates its associated organ and/or gland, so regular practice of Mantras will assist in the raising of your vibration and will put you more in touch with your higher consciousness.

In regards to the use of Mantras for the eyes, other than congenital disease and/or injury, the majority of cases of eye ailments are caused by over straining, by too much bright lights, too many hours sitting in front of the computer, sitting too close to television screens and reading for long periods of time. It has been noted that when we use our eyes for long periods of time whilst concentrating, we have a tendency to reduce our blinking. We automatically blink less than what we normally would do than if we were using our eyes in a relaxed state such as looking at the scenery. When we look at the scenery, we are looking at a variety of colours, textures, all of which  have different fields of vision which permits the eyes to change focus and react to the different light sources and varying strengths of light. Whilst engaging in one activity for long periods, such as working on the computer, our eyes are exposed to bright lights, with only one field of vision, hence we get tired or strained eyes. Reduced blinking can create dry eyes which can feel irritating and sore and can disturb your sleep. There are various eye defects which can also be brought on by the ageing process, by side-effects to various drugs and also through poor diet. In order to help rectify and heal eye ailments we need to address the above issues which may mean a change of life-style for many individuals.

There are several Mantras to assist in the correction or balancing of eye defects but two of the main ones and the easiest ones to remember are:

Inhale with – ASSAN

Exhale with – NEESH

To supply pranic energy to the eyes we can use:

Inhale with – SHAFFANKH (meaning healthy eyes)

Exhale with – NOOFFEES

Mantras with the following seed letters are also advantageous: R, S, SH, Y and J. This is NOT a complete list of seed letters as there are many more which are suitable for the eyes, just as there are many more suitable Mantras.

As mentioned earlier, we are spiritual beings vibrating on different frequencies of energy. Our Chakras are spiritual centre’s or vortexes of energy which also vibrate. We know that sound has its own vibration and that it can and does affect our spiritual body. When we add sound, or music to our Mantras, we are adding another dimension to its healing capabilities. We all know that music and dance can lift your spirit, can give you a sense of freedom and connectedness to the Divine. Music and dance can lift depression, help let go of inhibitions and relieve stress.

In many cultures, such as North American Indians, they use music (drumming) and dancing with chanting in ceremonies and celebrations. They are well aware of the power of Mantras/Chants and hence the use of Mantras/Chants to call down the rain spirits or whatever it is they are hoping to accomplish.

Musical Mantras undoubtedly assist in a deep healing process because we are not only using the power and vibrations of the Mantras themselves, but we are also using the vibrations which have been created via putting several musical notes together. Just as we take several words and turn them into a vibrational Mantra, we also take several musical notes and turn them into vibrational Music, so the music alone has the power to bring about healing. On top of this, if we are speaking out or singing out the Mantra, we are affecting a cure once again on another level. It is one thing to say the Mantra in your mind, but another to say it or sing it out loud. Speaking it in your mind, is thus, using it primarily on a physical level (thought) to some degree, whereas speaking it out or singing it out, resonates the sound and vibrations even more, right through your entire organism and into the ether so bringing about a more powerful healing, (in my opinion).

If you stand near a gong, although it has its own vibration simply because it exists, you do not feel the vibration as strong as if someone bangs the gong. Once the gong has been hit, the sound and affect, the vibration, can be felt through your whole organism on a very different level.

If we can incorporate Hypnotic music, music that has a Trance Generating Loop built into it, we will again receive further healing as all suggestive Mantras will go straight into the sub-conscious.

A good dance Mantra is:

Inhale with – SA-RA-YAHHAN NAM

Exhale with – MUNI-JEE RISHIH HOON

I find the above Mantra works comfortably with a 1 in 4 rhythm or 4 beats to the bar.

Musical Mantras do not have to be accompanied with energetic dancing, they are just as affective if used whilst sitting or even lying. The effect from the music and the Mantra themselves will still bring about healing and balance.

Death comes to us all sooner or later, it is a natural part of the cycle of life. It is simply nothing more than the cessation of biological functioning, which simply means, we start to live without the physical vehicle. What comes after biological cessation is not relevant here, but what is relevant is the process that brings us to this point in life.

For many, we go through our natural stages of life, commencing with birth, childhood, teens, early adulthood and adulthood. For the average individual, the adulthood is marked by many changes, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. As the biological clock keeps ticking, we reach an age where we notice that we are perhaps not able to do as much as we used to do, we may feel we no longer have the strength that we once had, we may notice that perhaps our memory is not what it used to be. We start to notice many physiological changes, many of which many people struggle to embrace or accept. As time goes by, we realize that the young people seem to look even younger and even more far away from where we are. Many mature people start to look for ways to lengthen their already waning years and look for Alternative Medicines in hope to regain a balanced healthy body that perhaps they had in their earlier years.

For many, it is too late, the constant heavy consumption of alcohol, the use of recreational drugs, the un-healthy diet and life-style will have already taken its toll. Many will have resigned to the idea of taking medications for high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart problems just to name a few, but there is only one way to slow down the ageing process and that is simply by doing what you can to help prevent it. Prevention should be built into all of our children, for most, children copy their parents, they see the parents over indulging, and do the same, it then becomes habitual. If we can re-educate young parents now, we can affect the following generation, as generations go by we have the power, the knock-on-affect to bring about a complete change in perspective in relation to health, wholeness and longevity. (Except we probably won’t be here physically to see it).

Many people fail to breath adequately, and it is this very same breath that keeps us alive, keeps us animated. We need breath to nourish our body, our cells, to renew our skin etc, yet so many fail to breath deeply. We can assist this lack through the use of Mantras and also by the appropriate selection of Mantras to assist in things such as: longevity, healthy gums and teeth, nourishment, hair, strong muscles, memory improvement, the list goes on.

If we can maintain a well-balanced diet, continue to exercise even if it is passively, continue to get enough fresh-air, sunlight, water, reduce our anxieties and stress whilst accompanying it with Mantras and deep breathing, we will be well on our way to slowing down the ageing process.

Suitable Mantras are those such as:

Inhale with – LONG

Exhale with -GEVITY

Exhale with – I AM BRAINY

Inhale with – BRANNAM

Exhale with – I AM CONQUERING

Inhale with – ARRA-YAKA-NAMMANG

There are many different suitable Mantras that effect different parts of the brain, the body and the Chakras, as there are different Mantras to assist in better nutrition, preventing Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases. For many people, they need to re-learn what it is to be child-like and start to laugh again, so many people forget to laugh, forget to appreciate the beauty in the world.

If we can choose some suitable Mantras, and practice them ten times both day and evening, we could be well on the way to extending our mature years. More and more people are starting to live up to, and beyond 100yrs and I believe that much of this is also down to their state of mind, as a positive life giving mind will inevitably maintain and stimulate healthy cognitive processes.