The Power of Chants in Yoga

You might think that a yoga practice needs to be quiet, with only the sound of breathing in the background. However, using sound can elevate your practice in surprising ways. Yoga mantras offer a point of focus and help still the mind. 

Plus, they help with transformative breathing exercises.

Sound has energetic properties that can bring calm, release negative energy, and bring you into vibrational alignment. It's long been a part of yoga tradition.

The Mindful Purpose Institute offers a convenient online course that helps you introduce the power of yoga chants and meanings into your spiritual practice.

What Are Yoga Chants?

Yoga chants can be either a single sacred word or a phrase. They’re designed to focus the mind and elevate spiritual awareness during yoga or meditation.

They can help you set an intention for practice. They also create a positive atmosphere and a connection to Universal consciousness.

With their unique sonic presence, the sounds themselves have a transformative effect within the body and mind. On a practical level, they can provide a tool to improve breathwork.

Yoga chants may be performed at the beginning of a yoga class or personal practice to establish a proper frame of mind. Or it can be done at the end of a class as a sign of reverence to mankind and the Universe.

Popular Yoga Chants and Their Meanings

Yoga chants have been developed and passed down for centuries. There’s no known exact number. But there are ten in particular that are time-tested favorites, each one with a unique spiritual use and meaning.

Adding these to your spiritual “toolbox” will change how you approach your day, a yoga class, or any other practice.

1. Om (Aum):

“Om (Aum)”

Among Sanskrit mantras, this is considered the most sacred of sounds. Chanting "om" at the beginning or end of prayer or restorative meditation helps tap into the present moment and supreme wisdom.

As one of the shorter mantras, the droning sound heard is literally the primal sound of the Universe, the origin of all reality.

2. Gayatri Mantra

“Om bhur bhuvas svaha

Thath savithur varaynyam

Bhargo dheyvasya dhimahih

Dhyoyonah pratchodhay-yath”

The Gayatri mantra is a prayer for enlightenment and illumination of our conscious mind. Traditionally, it’s chanted three times a day: sunrise, noon, and sunset. "Om, Earth, Sky, Heaven, we meditate on the most excellent divine light of the Sun. May it inspire our intellect". 

3. Mahamrityunjaya Mantra

“Om Triambakam Yajamahe

Sugandhim Pushti Vardhanam

Urvarukamiva Bandhanan

Mrityor Mukshiya Mamritat

Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti”

This mantra is designed to offer freedom from the fear and anxiety around death, providing a sense of eternity and liberation. It’s also used to provide protective energy and healing.

"We worship the Three-eyed One (Shiva), who is fragrant, nourishing, and who gives life." 

Another translation is: "May we be liberated from death's attachment, just as a cucumber is freed from its stem."

4. Lokah Samastah Sukino Bhavantu

“Lokah Samastah Sukino Bhavantu”

From Sanskrit, this translates to “May all beings everywhere be happy and free.”

It’s a prayer for universal compassion and a way to extend positivity and loving-kindness into the world.

5. Om Namah Shivaya

“Om Namah Shivaya”

This chant honors Lord Shiva, translating as, “O salutations to the auspicious one!”. It’s often chanted 108 times and is considered cleansing and purifying to body, mind, and spirit.

6. Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya

“Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya”

Known as the Twelve-Syllable Mantra, this chant means, “Om, I bow to the Lord who resides in all beings.”

It’s used to attract positive energy and find calm during stressful times.

7. So Hum

“So Hum”

This simple mantra translates to “I am That” and helps strengthen the connection to the Universe. It reminds us that we’re all interconnected to something larger. The repetition of this chant helps calm the mind.

8. Om Mani Padme Hum

“Om Mani Padme Hum”

This is a Tibetan chant that roughly translates as “Praise to the jewel in the lotus.” It’s often used to protect against negative energy, send healing energy, and turn emotions like anger into compassion.

9. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

“Om Shanti Shanti Shanti”

“Shanti” is the word for “peace," so this translates as "Om peace." It’s chanted three times. The first time is used to heal the physical body, the second is for mental clarity, and the third brings peace to the spiritual body.

The Om shanti mantra is helpful during stressful moments, such as before an important meeting or even when you're stuck in traffic.

10. Om Gum Ganapataye

“Om Gum Ganapataye”

This powerful mantra is dedicated to Lord Ganesha, remover of obstacles and a deity for protection. It translates to “I bow to Lord Ganesha” and is used to bring wisdom and success in the material world, as well as the spiritual one.

Benefits of Yoga Chanting

Yoga chanting offers numerous benefits.

• Mental and emotional: it improves focus, concentration, and reduces anxiety.
• Physical: Yoga chanting helps improve breathing. That also boosts cardiovascular health.
• Spiritual benefits: you gain a stronger sense of connection to the entire Universe. Chanting also helps put you in a meditative state.

How to Practice Yoga Chanting

After you’ve chosen a mantra, sit comfortably. Take a few deep breaths to prepare.

Chants can be done aloud or they can be repeated silently. Some, like the Om Namah Shivaaya, should be performed a certain number of times. In those cases, you can use mala beads to keep track.

The Mindful Purpose Institute offers an online mantra chanting teacher training course that breaks down the specifics, including the correct pronunciation of mantras from the sacred script in the original ancient language. Added to our yoga teacher training course or meditation teacher certification course, it’s a powerful tool for any spiritual journey.

Conclusions

Among the yoga sutras, there's a wide variety of longer mantras and short chants. For instance, simply chanting "yam" will open and balance the heart chakra for emotional healing. The Bija mantra is a one-word "seed" representing the primordial energy of creation. It's frequently used to balance and heal energy centers, like the throat chakra, root chakra, and more.

You can even create a sonnet-length mantra of your own, which, like a sonnet itself, is a precise 14 lines. It's built around a personal affirmation or theme, blended with certain mantras that hold personal appeal. For example, for more attuned communication with others, you can build a mantra around a simple phrase like, "Listen more, speak less."

Besides the ten mentioned above, there are others, like the Adi mantra ("I bow to the Creative Wisdom. I bow to the Divine Teacher within"), chanted at the start of Kundalini yoga practice. The Sat Nam mantra ("Truth is my identity") is used during meditation.

Understanding the power of mantras will transform your personal journey. As a yoga teacher, offering mantras to your students is an ancient yoga tool that will elevate a practice today in the 21st century.