Five Things: Malas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With Mala Earth’s Rebecca Agent –

Mala Love
Mala is a Sanskrit word, meaning garland, and simply put, Malas are ancient prayer beads. They have been worn for thousands of years in the traditions of Buddhism, Hinduism and yoga for their spiritual and healing qualities.

All our designs have full semi-precious gemstone varieties to support the wearer with certain spiritual and physical benefits, and a combination of Rudraksha and (the rarer) Rudrani seeds. The seeds, often referred to as beads, come from trees that grow in the wild and on sustainable plantations found in the Himalayas of India and Nepal, and Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Worn together they join the auspicious energies of Shiva and Shakti, or the Divine Mother and Father. These energies help to harmonise the feminine and masculine within the individual.

Our Mala makers (Aum Rudraksha Designs) on the beautiful island of Bali have a deep spiritual connection to their work and, like us, firmly believe in the healing power of the Rudraksha seeds blessing each Mala Earth piece before it leaves Bali.

Together we aim to be sustainable, fair-trade and ethical with Aum Rukraksha Designs distributing 15% of profits between their staff and the farmers of the Rudraksha trees and a further 10% to local Bali charities.

Intuition
The purpose of a Mala depends on the wearer’s needs and when worn by intuitive prescription based on the type of stone, it is a powerful amplifier of mental, physical and spiritual needs.

We always say the best way to choose a Mala is to use your intuition as a guide. My yoga teacher, Eoin Finn, calls it “listening to the wise guide inside” and I believe when we tap into this space within us our choices come from a heart centred, real and honest place. The Mala becomes a talisman, a beautiful piece of jewellery for our soul that will be carried with us to be reminded of our work, of what we need and desire the most in life.

Typically you’ll be drawn to a certain stone, or look and feel of a Mala. This complements listening to your intuition, as does choosing a Mala based on your current yoga or meditation practice. If you need grounding, for example, a Mala with agate or smokey quartz are excellent grounding stones. Colour is also a powerful guide if you are working on your chakras. A blue stone such as turquoise would help your throat chakra for communication and self-expression.

The Significant 108
Our Malas are made with 108 Rudraksha beads and semi-precious gemstones, along with the 109th bead of the string, the guru bead. One hundred and eight is a sacred and spiritual number that shows up in many ancient wisdom paths. For instance:

• The text that many yogis study is called the Upanishads and has 108 chapters
• There are 27 constellations by four parts which is 108
• The 12 zodiac signs by nine planets is 108
• The Ganges River is known to have 108 names
• It is said that there are 108 energy lines converging to form the heart chakra
• In Buddhism 108 is said to represent the following formula:

6 x 3 x 2 x 3 = 108 –

6 senses of a human being: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, thought
3 times: past, present, future
2 conditions of heart, mind or intention: pure or impure
3 emotional states or “kleshia”: like, dislike, indifference

Meditation
We all know calming the mind can be a bit tricky! Using a Mala in meditation can help quiet the mind and body, making the practice more meaningful.

The most common method of using a Mala for meditation is to have the Mala hanging between the thumb and the middle finger of the right hand. The middle finger is used to rotate the Mala toward oneself one bead at a time repetition of breath and/or mantra, making sure the index finger doesn’t touch the Mala. (The index finger represents ego, seen as the greatest impediment to realisation in ancient Hinduism.) The practice begins at the guru (head) bead and continues around the loop until the guru bead is reached again.

The guru bead is powerfully sacred and is usually separate from the rest of the string. This is to signify both the relationship of student and guru as well as a realization of the universal self.

Wear + Care
We believe you that you can and should wear your Mala often. Wear them as a necklace, around your wrist, placed next to your yoga mat during practice or a special place. Keeping your intentions close by and being reminded of what you desire and are manifesting in your life can only bring positivity and goodness to the wearer. You can even take a mini-meditation with a Mala bracelet if you need a little centring energy during a meeting. Gently touch each of the beads, silently reciting your mantra or an affirmation like “I am calm” under the table!

With regular use you can carefully clean your Rudraksha Malas and semi-precious gemstones with warm water and mild eco-friendly soap. (Just dip the tassels into the water too.) The Rudraksha seeds will darken over time with oils from your skin, enhancing the benefits found in the seeds and strengthening them and you can give your Mala some extra love by oiling them occasionally with coconut or sandalwood oil to keep them from drying out. All semi-precious gemstones need to be treated with care as they can crack with force, particularly amber and turquoise which have natural fracture lines within the stones already.

These spiritually powerful pieces carry energies within them that at times may need resetting or recalibrating. It is advised not to lend your Mala to anyone else to wear as these pieces absorb our energies over time becoming more powerful for the wearer. You may wish to cleanse and reset the piece before re-wearing.

There are many ways to cleanse your Mala. Here are a few ways we have cleansed ours:

• Lay the Mala out under a full moon once a month for a natural recharge
• Burn palo santo or sage to release energies that do not serve
• Create a Mala Mandala by laying the new Mala either on your shrine or encircled with any other crystals and special pieces you may have in your collection for transference of energy
• Other useful tools for Mala cleansing can be Himalayan rock sock, sea salt bath (be careful with potential iron deposits coming into contact with salt as it can leave rust spots on your crystals), singing bowls, chanting and the use of a pendulum

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Thank you so much, Rebecca!

Rebecca is the busy creator behind Mala Earth and she is passionate about these beautiful items. I bought my first Mala from her and was fascinated by the inspiration behind it and why my intuition drew me to this particular piece. I love the care that has gone into making the Malas and Rebecca’s commitment to mindfully respect the materials, including the semi-precious gemstones as the limited resource they are, and her support of the Balinese workers.

Connect with Rebecca and Mala Earth below and make sure you check out her Mindfulness May videos! (The latest one discusses Malas and Meditation – helpful and clear guidance. And I need all the help I can get…)

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© The Yoga Connection 2015