Why You Should Begin a Chanting Practice Today

Chanting is a practice with myriad benefits both physical and spiritual. It is a fantastic form of active meditation where sound itself evokes the movement of energy within and around you. Different sounds resonate with different parts of the body, stimulating healing and removing blocks within and without. The act of chanting also calms the mind as it regulates your breath. It’s known to stimulate the nervous system and reduce limbic activity.

Chanting is a comforting and helpful tool in moments of deep anxiety. Repeating a chant silently within the mind has positive effects on your overall wellbeing. It helps calm your mind, bringing awareness to yourself in the moment, and you can take it to whatever heights or depths you desire.

Chanting for Spiritual Connection

You can chant to reach trance states through simple and monotonous rhythms and melody. Chanting stimulates your connection with spirit. You can use mantras to connect to specific deities, give honor to them and gain favor from them, and to bring about positive life changes. Changes in the physical body may happen as energetic blocks are released. Chanting in Sanskrit, if it is unfamiliar to you, produces an added benefit: when the mind is unable to attach an immediate meaning to the sound that is resonating within, the natural desire of the mind to latch onto the words and wander is mitigated.

With regard to using chants to connect with deities, such as Ganesha, it’s important to make offerings and to approach your chanting session with purity and reverence. It’s also important to perform the chants correctly. Be aware that the activity of chanting can be tiring at first. Though this practice produces many benefits, it takes time to build stamina.

Chanting as Self-Care

Chanting is a wonderful addition to any holistic self-care practice. If you’re not ready to begin chanting you can still receive the trance and meditation benefits by listening to others chant. Listening with intention provides similar benefits to any other sound-based meditation, but it won’t have the same degree of physical benefits of resonating the sound within your own body by using your own voice. Chanting is a simple practice to begin that can bring great change and a deeper sense of centeredness, awareness, peace, and healing to your days.

About the Author

Jessica Jascha is a Clinical Herbalist, Intuitive Consultant and writer in Minnesota. She also writes for Witch Way Magazine. She owns Jascha Botanicals and Owl in the Oak Tarot where she gives readings, teaches ritual, and provides holistic consultations. You can find her on Facebook.

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