If you have a mantra for this practice, chant it aloud or silently. Hold your mala in your right hand, draped between your middle and index fingers. Take a few deep breaths and set an intention. These beads are traditionally used as a tool for meditation, repeating a mantra as you touch each bead with your fingers until you complete the mala.To meditate with a mala, sit comfortably with your eyes closed. A mala is used for counting as you repeat a mantra-much like the Catholic rosary. Traditionally, mala-garlands of prayer beads-come as a string of 108 beads (plus one for the “guru bead,” around which the other 108 beads turn like the planets around the sun), notes Rae. She notes that 108 has long been considered a sacred number in Hinduism and yoga. She is a lifelong student of Tantra, Ayurveda, bhakti, hatha yoga, kalaripayat, Odissi dance, and yogic arts. The number’s significance is open to interpretation, says Shiva Rea, a leading teacher of prana vinyasa flow and yoga trance dance who teaches all over the world. The number is considered to be so auspicious that 108 is the number for emergency services in India. So what is the significance of the number 108? For example, you may have read of people doing 108 Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar) at the time of the spring equinox, or own mala with 108 beads. You may have wondered what the significance of the number 108 is in yoga. Get full access to Outside Learn, our online education hub featuring in-depth yoga, fitness, & nutrition courses, when you
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