Mantra yoga: sing sacred songs self-healing
Surely you've heard the best known of all, the Om. This sound is precisely a mantra, a tool to stop thoughts and achieve a state of inner peace. How? Repeating the same word or set of words to quiet the mind and enter a meditative state.
“Mantras are sounds that have sacred vibrations,” explains Valerie Martin, singer and teacher of yoga and mantra yoga. “Those of us who sing today come mostly from very old languages — languages vibrational. They discovered the ancient sages who the vibrations of each sound act on certain places or aspects of being”, He adds.
Each mantra is like an antidote or a remedy to heal, improve moods, change thoughts, attract good vibes and calm the mind. “Mantras work directly on the energy of the body, and also on the state of mind and spirit. Many times at the end of a mantra session we felt as if we had had a good energy bath, ”says Martin.
There are specific mantras that you can use according to what you need in your life: bring balance to the mind, raise vital energy, stimulate the brain, strengthen the spirit or attract abundance, health, fertility or love.
“Mantras can be used anytime you need them. It is a technique and a tool for self healing. In yoga class you can sing at the beginning of practice, during practice or after. Not only are they sung, they can also be repeated aloud or inward to go into meditation, ”explains Martin, who has released his first mantra album, Essence of Mantra.
The effect of mantras is so powerful that there are specific classes in which singing and meditation are performed. Martin's classes are assembled in a circle around a center or an altar that symbolizes what he wants to heal.

“Sometimes we focus on a theme or energy that we want to work on and sometimes we sing freely, to ignite the flame of creativity and enjoyment. Last year I guided meditations at the end of each class called bad japa, which is the repetition of a mantra 108 times, ”he adds.
ONE MANTRA FOR EACH CHAKRA
The mantra yoga is, in essence, a healing ritual. You can share it in a group or practice it whenever you feel necessary to free yourself from negative thoughts and focus your mind on the present.
There are mantras to work different energies and among them you can find those specific to each chakra or energy center of the body. It is a very good idea to enter the world of sacred songs.
Sit in a meditation posture, focus your attention on the area of each of your chakras and repeat the mantras corresponding to each energy center:
First chakra: LAM
Second chakra: VAN
Third chakra: RAM
Fourth chakra: YAM
Fifth chakra: HAM
Sixth and seventh chakra: OM