How Mantra Changed My Mind
My tendency can be an overactive, overthinking mind. The type of mind that could keep me awake at night, revisiting the same scenario again and again, even though there was nothing I could do to change the outcome of a particular situation. My ruminating mind would hop through past stories, limiting beliefs, and consistently loop back to old fears and worn-out stories. The noise was deafening.
Breathwork and a daily practice of pranayama was an absolute game-changer for me in terms of regulating my nervous system and pacifying my overactive mind. The deeper I went with my practice, the more benefits I uncovered. So, discovering mantra, for me, was like combining my beloved best friend with my sister; it gently guided me to a deeper state of support. The softness, the stability and the deep connection I received from the practice began to transform my inner world, but in addition to that, it was changing the way I was thinking and ultimately how I was showing up in my life.
A mantra is a word, phrase, or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation. Rooted in ancient traditions, the word itself comes from the beautiful Sanskrit language: ‘man’ meaning mind and ‘tra’ meaning tool, instrument or release. Quite literally, a mantra is a tool for the mind or releasing the mind from the prison of thought.
Mala Beads - used for counting and concentration during meditation
Mantra is like a tuning fork for your inner world, it changes your frequency and how you are vibrating from the inside out. It calms your worries, helps manage stress and intervenes and changes habitual thought patterns. When your thoughts are a chaotic orchestra of doubt, worry, or stress, a mantra is the steady drumbeat that brings intentional rhythm and calm.
Mantra is so much more than just repeating a phrase again and again; it helps us to truly connect to ourselves and bring us into a revered state of presence. Mantra is a vital component for working through addiction and can pave the way from ongoing addictive thoughts and behaviours towards deep awareness and personal transformation.
Mantra is an extension of my pranayama practice. The way the breath is regulated through mantra provides stabilisation and breath control, helping to provide an additional element of support in regulating the nervous system. The prolonged exhale helps to create balance in the biochemistry, altering blood ph and allowing the nervous system to come back to a state of homeostasis. Mantra helps to stimulate the vagus nerve and improve communication from the body to the brain and brain to the body. By stimulating the vagus nerve, you are slowing down the heart rate, which the nervous system interprets as the body being safe – thus regulation and relaxation can occur.
The more I engage with particular mantras, whether sitting in silent repetition or chanting beautiful ancient mantras with others, the more I notice the energy at play and the more I can readily dissolve into an envelope of calm that pervades my being. The ease that I enter into different states of being is palpable. My out of control, crazy arse mind is now capable of coming the table as an elegant guest with grace and peace on each arm.
I have always been supported by my dedicated practice, so it took me some time to realise that the change I was experiencing was the injection of sound and the vibratory meaning of the mantras, which were working on a deep level within my subconscious. As a result, my negativity bias began to switch – I was now capable of seeing exactly what Dr Wayne Dyer meant when he said, “change your thoughts, change your life”. Mantra is a methodology that can help you change the thought processes that are running your life behind the scenes, deep in your subconscious.
Neuroscience tells us that our brains are not fixed. Through a phenomenon known as neuroplasticity, the brain constantly reshapes and rewires itself based on our experiences, thoughts, and behaviours. In simple terms, what we repeatedly think, we strengthen. Like walking through grass, the more you take the same path, the more pronounced it becomes.
When we repeat a mantra, we are not just focusing and concentrating the mind - we are literally carving out new neural pathways. We are interrupting the old, often unconscious thought loops (like “I’m not good enough” ) and replacing them with new, intentional patterns.
Repetition seems so simplistic, but it is powerful. Just like our negative self-talk takes hold as self-doubt, directing all our behaviours, a mantra practice can gently begin to open us up to a new way – one grounded in presence, compassion, and clarity. Scientific research supports enhanced cognitive function and heightened focus following a sustained mantra practice.
Studies on meditation and mantra-based practices show reductions in stress, anxiety, and even physical inflammation. Brain imaging reveals increased activity in regions associated with attention and emotional regulation. Essentially, mantra gives the mind something constructive to focus on, which over time, becomes a part of its deep inner wiring.
Today, when I feel overwhelmed, I find it futile to try and work it out through my logical mind, instead, I reach for the comfort of mantra. It doesn’t make the external chaos disappear, but it gives me a steady place inside to meet it from and provides me with a more productive way to respond to it.
If you’ve never tried mantra before, start simple. Choose a word or phrase that resonates. It could be traditional (like Om, So Hum, or Sat Nam) or completely personal (I am peace, release and let go). Repeat it softly in your mind during a walk, your breath practice, or as you fall asleep.
Let your mantra be your guide, your tuning fork and your support. It will regulate your breathing, calm your nervous system, enhance your cognitive function and ultimately change the program running your life.