What is a mala? 

A mala is a lot more than a gorgeous necklace!  Though, also beautiful if you would like to use it that way. However, utilizing it’s highest purpose has the potential to help you access states of higher consciousness, heal aspects of yourself, and help to recognize your true nature of Divinity.

In the simplest terms, malas are garlands of 108 beads strung and hand-knotted together, typically with a larger extra “guru bead” as the 109th, and are used in japa meditation to count mantras. Yoga is an ancient yet advanced technology for aligning your system to the cosmic geometry. It’s much more than asana practice, japa is also an equally important aspect. When you recite a mantra 108 times with a mala, the technology has the power to connect you (the micro) to the macro of the universe. By practicing japa, pranayama, or asana in rounds of this sacred number, the ancient yogis believed we could align ourselves with the rhythm of creation, and ultimately bring an end to our cycle of reincarnation. According to Vedic cosmology 108 is the basis of all creation.

Meditation with a mala has so much helped me personally with going deeper and staying connected to the mantra. I also find that wearing it helps to be as a reminder of my practice, and can aid as a protection against negative energies. To some extent, it helps me in maintaining a similar state of consciousness to that when I was in meditation. Also the powerful healing properties of the gemstones used to make our malas create an energy field that is unique to each piece.

When choosing, feel free to read our descriptions of the properties of each stone. This can help guide you toward the one. -And certainly, above all else, trust your heart instincts.  

For those who consider themselves to not be able to focus very well, I highly recommend trying a mala. Many customers in my shop claim that they don't have the attention span to meditate. That's exactly why meditation can be helpful! This can just take practice and is completely human nature to be of a "monkey mind" traveling from thought to thought. A mala has the ability to keep you more easily on focus which allows for a deepening to happen naturally. If anyone reading would like some pointers or advice about meditation, please do reach out via email.  We are here to help.

More about 108...

108 is considered auspicious in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Tantra and Vedanta. There are 1008 Upanishads in the Vedas, the oldest living texts in the world, and 108 that are primary, with also as many chapters in the Rig Veda. Sun salutations (Namskars) were developed about 3500 years ago, and often have 9 rounds of 12 postures =108. This number not only appears in religious text, but in mathematics, science, nature, and yoga, and astrology throughout human history. 

“For the mystics, such numbers offered more than a scientific explanation—they offered a code for awakening, a code to our own nature. And for the yogis, that code is 108.” Helen Avery

Super cosmic fun facts...

*There are 108 marma (energy) points in the subtle body.

*Heart Chakra: The chakras are the intersections of energy lines, and there are said to be a total of 108 energy lines converging to form the heart chakra. One of them, sushumna leads to the crown chakra, and is said to be the path to Self-realization.

*108 points in the ancient tantric symbol, Sri Yantra.

*In astrology, there are 12 houses and 9 planets = 108

*54 letters in the sanskrit alphabet each has a masculine and feminine form to make 108

*The diameter of the sun is 108 times the diameter of the Earth

*The distance between the earth and the sun is approximately 108 times the sun's diameter.  

*The distance between the earth and the moon is 108 times the moon's diameter.