Om Namah Shivāya Mantra Meditation

In this meditation, David guides you through a mantra meditation with the mahamantra Om Namah Shivāya. The translation means, Om - I Surrender to Shiva. But the mystery of this mantra is far deeper than any translation. Yogis have been using this mantra to merge into the sacred power that is Shiva - pure consciousness and bliss - for millennia. Enjoy and let us know your experience. The guided practice begins after a brief introduction to the mantra.

Transcript

Welcome to meditation. This is a mantra meditation using the mantra, Om Nama Shivaya. Om Nama Shivaya. It's a very ancient mantra, And I'll guide you through the practice using it in meditation. But a lot of times people want to know the meaning of the Sanskrit. Shivaya is Shiva, And this is a name that is given to that unnameable creative energy of the universe. In the Hindu iconography, Shiva is the dissolving power of the universe, But in the non-dual traditions, Shiva is a name that is given to the all-pervasive divine energy. The first part of the mantra, Om Nama, It connotes a surrender. Nama is surrendering to, Salutations to. So really this is a mantra of surrender to that greater power. Let's practice. Make yourself comfortable in your seat, Wherever you are. If you're sitting on the floor, Sitting in a chair, Lying down, Make sure that your body feels good wherever you are. We start off every meditation remembering that this is an act of self-love. So we're loving to the body first and foremost. When you've settled in and you're comfortable, Let your eyes close and find your body in space. Feel where your body is, How your body is, The position that your body is in, But also the condition of your body. If you feel tired, You feel energized, You feel relaxed, You feel tense. Take some deeper breaths into the body to root your awareness in your body. And the deeper breaths also help with the relaxation process. Definitely relax your face, Relax your tongue, Relax your jaw. Scan through and see if anything else needs to soften your belly, Your hips, Your legs. Relax your hands. And as your body relaxes, Usually it feels good to relax. See if you can ride that good feeling inward. And this inner space is where we practice the mantra. With this meditation, We're going to focus on using the mantra, Om Namah Shivaya, And synchronizing the mantra with your breathing. But it's a loose synchronization. I suggest synchronize the mantra with your out breath and you're doing it silently. It's not even whispering with your lips. Your lips are very soft. Your tongue is totally relaxed. Just play with it at first. As you exhale, Silently repeat, Om Namah Shivaya. When you breathe in, You just feel it. The next out breath, Om Namah Shivaya. Get into that rhythm. So there's a repeating of the mantra and then there is a space. So you can imagine shouting into a cavern or some place where there's an echo. During the in breath, You're just feeling the space, You're feeling the resonance of the mantra. You're resting. During the in breath, You're totally letting go. In the out breath, The mantra is there, Om Namah Shivaya. At first just get used to it. If this repetition with the space feels too slow, You can keep on repeating the mantra, Even on the in breath. You can't really do this wrong. It belongs to you. But if you can, See if you can find this rhythm. Mantra pause. Om Namah Shivaya. Breathe in. It takes a moment to get familiar with these syllables, Especially if this is a new practice. Om Namah Shivaya. See if you can relax a little more and see if you can get the vibration of the mantra a little bit deeper in your body. So it's not just in your face, It's not just like you're saying it but silently with your mouth. See if you can feel as if the mantra is coming from someplace deeper, Like maybe your throat or maybe the center of your chest. Maybe even as deep as your navel, Your belly. So when you breathe in, You follow that in breath into your interior and then the mantra originates in that deeper place. Om Namah Shivaya as you breathe out. And the other thing that you can play with and adjust is the tone of the mantra and really the silent volume of the mantra. So it might feel good to have an internal vibration that's very soft, Like a whisper into an ear, So gentle. Or it might feel more resonant to have a louder internal mantra, Have some activated energy with it. Everything doesn't have to be gentle in meditation. It's not always the medicine that we need. It might feel good to have some real thump to the mantra, Like a drum, Like thunder inside. But whatever the internal volume, Let the tone be a tone of love. Let the tone be a tone of sweetness, Even if it's intense. Om Namah Shivaya. Om Namah Shivaya. We surrender to that principle. As you get it going, As you have that vibration kindled, It's almost like kindling a fire inside. The secret to the practice is dissolving your sense of self into that vibration. You and everything that you are and everything that you hold gets to dissolve into Om Namah Shivaya. It might not happen all at once. Might happen gradually. It might come and go. All of this is okay. Just keep repeating the mantra with love every exhale. Keep surrendering into that vibration. It's not a religious practice. This is a mystical remedy. And the mystics, The masters, They say that as we repeat Om Namah Shivaya, We're really affirming our true name. We're not surrendering to this thing that is greater than us or bowing down to some foreign power. Om Namah Shivaya is Shivoham, Is I am Shiva, Is as I surrender, I embrace my own vastness. I am connected with everything. I was never born and I'll never die. I am ancient. I am an infinite ocean of loving kindness, Loving awareness. Om Namah Shivaya. See if you can find a sense of relief in the mantra, A sense of, Ah, Yes, This is me. Om Namah Shivaya. If at some point the mantra wants to stop or the mantra wants to dissolve or you want to just dissolve into the mantra, Don't fight it, But also stay here. Enjoy this process even if you're deeply relaxed and spacious. You can play with doing Om Namah Shivaya every few breaths. So you do it once and then just ride that reverberation for a couple of breaths and then again repeat. Om Namah Shivaya. Let yourself feel this meditation and your head can just let go. Let your mind do whatever it wants. It's all taking place from the neck down. Om Namah Shivaya again and again. I surrender my smallness to infinity. I surrender my contraction to the vastness of my being. Om Namah Shivaya. I surrender my conditioned mind to the vastness of my awareness. I surrender all of my struggling to the vastness of love. Om Namah Shivaya. Keep your body comfortable. You don't have to sit still like a rock. Om Namah Shivaya. Be so kind to yourself with this meditation. Om Namah Shivaya becomes like the most soothing balm. Om. I surrender to that imperishable loving awareness. Wherever you go, The mantra is there for you when you come back. There's no punishment. There's no spanking. There's no scolding. Welcome back. Om Namah Shivaya. Om Namah Shivaya is so much better than whatever we wander off to. Whatever we're afraid of. The last couple minutes, Make your repetition the sweetest, The most resonant, The deepest in your body. Find the deepest middle of you and repeat the mantra from there. Om Namah Shivaya. Even as we transition from this practice, The mantra doesn't have to stop. You can let your breath deepen, Let your body move. Let's see how the mantra can keep going. It's always there for you whenever you want to use it. When you feel ready, You can really move your body and stretch if you want to. Let your eyes come open. Om Namah Shivaya. Thank you for joining me for this meditation.

Reviews

A wonderful reminder practice for when you need to leave daily distractions behind.

I’m fairly new to mantra meditation. This was a lovely introduction. Thank you 🙏

This is a wonderful journey into the inner world and yet to the vastness of the universe

The best instruction on mantra meditation I've had, thank you! Took me much deeper, more connected to the mantra than I've felt before. So I'll be back again and follow you for sure :)

Thank you so much. My spirit really needed this