Japa (Chanting) Yoga.

[manishk012]

Hi. I have recently started doing japa(chanting) of a mantra. I would like to know if anyone of you are doing japa or wants to start japa, can contribute to this thread. **Chanting takes a lot of patience but it's easier if you're doing it with someone.

[Earth Healer]

Japa means reciting a mantra on a mala, with each bead being one japa. It can be any mantra, or one given to you by your guru. In my experience it is generally done silently and should not be confused with Kirtan which is chanting the mantra in a call and response format.

namaste

[peteyzen]

I do a lot of mantra, it is one of the fundamentals of my path. Mantras are divine sounds, words imbued with higher vibrations. The reciting of them helps to raise our own vibration. It is meditative and yet not meditation. Spiritually it is a great help in making the connection to the divine, also it helps keeps the mind occupied.
Many people give themselves targets of how many times to repeat the mantra and then focus on reaching that numerical goal. Thsi helps and often just having a mantra spinning around like a song in the back of your head is also beneficial.
The best way to use a mantra though, is to immerse yourself in the sounds as you say it. allow each part of each word to vibrate properly, dont rush it, say it carefully with full awareness, keeping the mind focused on the feeling and sound. This way is the highest way to mantra. Better to do 20 mantras like this totally focused than a few hundred with the mind thinking of other things as you rush through it.