11 Best Yoga Mantras For Yoga Teachers

It might be scary to read mantras written in Sanskrit. Consider a mantra as a tool to help you focus in your yoga practice. According to studies, incorporating mantras into practice can help to make the practice sacred and take it out of the realm of the physical and into a higher state of awareness. Every chakra is thought to have a unique vibration, which may be balanced and harmonized using specific mantras. The experience integrates music, body, and intellect in a profoundly philosophical way. Yoga mantras for yoga teachers help to dive deep into the practice of yoga and strengthen the mind-body connection.

Chanting does not need you to be in a yoga pose; it may be done before or after you get onto the mat. Chanting a mantra is a useful yoga technique for calming your mind at any time or place. One can choose a word, phrase, or invocation, and recite it aloud, silently, or even inside. Whatever works best for you. Longer mantras can be repeated up to three times, while shorter mantras should be recited 108 times to get the most benefits. Either way, set aside a few minutes to concentrate on the sound.

 

Types Of Mantra 

Yoga mantras for yoga teachers fall into three basic categories: Nirguna (without form), Saguna (with form), and Bija (seed). 

Bija Mantras

Although the Bija mantras can be employed on their own, they are most frequently combined with Saguna mantras to give them a unique potency. The primary Hindu deities and the seven chakras are associated with the Bija mantras. Example: Kreem is the beej mantra to invoke the goddess Kali.

 

Saguna Mantras

The Saguna mantras invite the manifestations of the individual gods. Reciting the Saguna mantras is said to transform into the true form of the respective god, therefore revealing its power. Example: Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya offers an invocation to Lord Vishnu.

 

Nirguna Mantras

The Nirguna mantras are the earliest as they derive from the Vedic writings. These are exceedingly hard to understand and are said to have no particular shape or meaning because they do not call upon any deities. These mantras are said to encapsulate the core ideas of yogic philosophy and to identify with all of creation. It is stated that one needs a very powerful mind to focus on the abstract Nirguna mantras, hence beginners are not advised to practice them. Example: Aum, So-Ham.
 

How To Chant A Mantra 

Three components constitute a yoga mantra for yoga teachers: meaning, vibration, and intention. Intention is the objective of your practice. Meaning is the definition of your mantra. The vibration or the sacred sound is the link to the life force that your practice generates.

Mantras can be silently chanted in the mind, muttered gently, or yelled out loud. Reciting the holy words out loud is known as Vaikhari Japa, and it helps with pronunciation, focus, and connecting with the words. Upamsu Japa is the practice of softly humming or whispering words to promote harmony. Manasika Japa is an intensely focused internal chanting, or chanting just in the mind. 
 

Best 11 Yoga Mantras For Class To Set Intentions 

It is believed that mantras serve as a bridge between the devotee and the divine because each one invokes a specific power that can be used for very specific purposes. Yoga mantras for yoga teachers can become even more powerful when combined with the practitioner’s intention.

 

Shanti Mantra I

Oṃ saha nāv avatu

saha nau bhunaktu

saha vīryaṃ karavāvahai

tejasvi nāv adhītam astu Mā vidviṣāvahai |

Om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ||

 

Meaning

“Om! May God protect us both together. May God nourish us both together.
May we work conjointly with great energy.
May our study be vigorous and effective.
May we not mutually dispute 
Om! Let there be peace in me!
Let there be peace in my environment!
Let there be peace in the forces that act on me.”
 

 

Ganesha Mantra

 

Vakratunda mahaakaaya suryakoti samaprabhaa

Nirvighnam kurumedeva sarvakaaryeshu sarvadaa

Om Gam Ganapataye Namah

 

Meaning

“Salutations to the supreme Lord Ganesh, your curved trunk and massive body shine like a million suns and showers his blessings on everyone. Oh my lord of lords Ganesh, please remove all my obstacles, always and forever in all my activities and efforts.”

 

Shanti mantra II

 

Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah

Sarve Santu Niraamayaah |

Sarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu

Maa Kashcid-Duhkha-Bhaag-Bhavet |

Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

 

Meaning

“OM

May we all be happy 

May all be free from illness 

May all see what is auspicious

May no one suffer in any way

OM, peace peace, peace”

 

Patanjali Mantra 

 

Yogena chittasya padena vacham

Malam sharirasya cha vaidyakena

Yopakarottam pravaram muninam

Patanjalim pranjaliranato’smi

 

Meaning

“He who purifies the impurities of the mind by yoga, speech by grammar

He who purifies the impurities of the body through medical science 

He who is an expert in removing the impurities, to that most excellent  of munis

I bow down with folded hands to sage Patanjali”

 

Also read: 80 Yoga Sanskrit Words Every Yoga Teacher Should Know

 

Ashtanga Yoga Opening Mantra

 

Om

Vande Gurunam Charanaravinde

Sandarshita Svatma Sukava Bodhe

Nih Shreyase Jangalikaayamaane

Samsara Haalahala Mohashantyai

Abhahu Purushakaram

Shankhacakrsi Dharinam

Sahasra Shirasam Shvetam

Pranamami Patanjalim

 

Meaning

“Om,

I bow to the lotus feet, of our great teachers 

Who uncovers our true self  and awakens happiness 

Like a Shaman in the jungle, he brings complete well-being. (In ancient times, it was believed the shamans of the jungle were the best doctors)

He can even heal the most awful poison and illusion.”

“From the hand up to the head he has the shape of a human

In his hand, he is holding the conch and disc

On the top of his head, he has a thousand hoods of the cobra, because he is the incarnation of Adishesha, the greatest cobra

I bow down to Patanjali.”

 

Ashtanga Yoga Closing Mantra

 

Svasthi Praja Bhyaha Pari Pala Yantam

Nya Yena Margena Mahim Mahishaha |

Go Brahmanebhyaha Shubamastu Nityam

Lokah Samastah Sukhina Bhavantu ||

Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi

 

Meaning

“May the rulers  of the earth keep to the path of virtue

For protecting the welfare of all generations in every way 

May there be goodness for those who know the Earth to be sacred, and all peoples be forever blessed,

May all beings everywhere be happy and free

OM, peace, peace, peace”

 

Also read: Best Books for Yoga Teacher Training

 

Gayatri Mantra 

 

Oṃ

bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ

tat savitur vareṇyaṃ

bhargo devasya dhīmahi

dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt

 

Meaning

“Om,

We meditate on that most adored Supreme Lord, the creator, whose divine light illumines all realms physical, mental, and spiritual.

May this divine light illumine our intellect.”

 

Mahamrityunjaya Mantra

 

Om tryambakam yajāmaheoṃ

sugandhim puṣṭivardhanam

urvā rukamiva bandhanān

mṛtyu mukṣīya mā'mṛtāt

 

Meaning

“Om, we worship the three-eyed one,

Whose fragrant is increasing the nourishment

From these many bondages of the world, similar to cucumbers 

May I be liberated from death, so that I am not separated from the perception of immortality.”

 

Shanti Mantra III

 

Oṃ asato mā sadgamaya

tamaso mā jyotirgamaya

mṛtyormā’mṛtaṃ gamaya

oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ

 

Meaning

“Om, keep me not in unreality but make me go towards the reality 

Keep me not in the darkness but make me go towards the light

Keep me not in the fear of death/mortality but make me go towards the knowledge of immortality

OM, peace, peace, peace”

 

Guru Mantra 

 

Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru devo Maheshwara,

Guru sakshat, param Brahma, tasmai shri guravay namah

 

Meaning

“Oh, my Guru who is the Brahma (The Creator), Guru is the Vishnu (The Preserver), Guru is the Maheshwara (Lord Shiva, The Destroyer),

With this knowledge, Guru you are the Supreme God or the Absolute Truth (as the Guru leads us to the path of divinity or light), my salutations to you Shri Guru.”

 

Mahamantra 

 

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

 

Meaning

“O Lord, please engage me for your service” 

Krishna means the ‘attractive one ’ and refers to the Supreme Person who is the origin of all that exists. The name Krishna denotes the ultimate truth, the all-pleasant, all-blissful, all-knowing divine entity made up of all the positive attributes.

Rama refers to the ‘reservoirs of pleasure’. It refers to Krishna also called Radha Raman which means beloved of Radha. 

Hare is the invocation to the divine feminine as Krishna’s everlasting consort is Radha who is the epitome of heavenly love and devotion. Devotees are asking for her assistance in achieving pure love for God by repeating her name in the mantra.

 

Learn the Mantras in our 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh