Mantras to deal with anxiety
There was a time when modern science rejected the notions that things like Yoga or Pranayama could benefit in anxiety management. It took a while for science to catch up.
A lot of people ask me if Mantra chanting could help in anxiety reduction. From my personal experience I can say 100%. This is not a conjecture or mere claim. I can tell with 100% integrity that mantra chanting has had sea of an impact on my anxiety levels.
How mantras reduce anxiety:
Mantras are word but they do not work in a magical sense. Mantras must be chanted with perfect pronunciations and associated rituals. Each mantra is set in a specific `Chandaa`(a tune or a meter) which maps to our cerebral activity. Just the way heavy metal might make you feel extremely uneasy because its beats are not on sync with the rhythm of your heart, mantras too have potential to impact your state of mind based on how it interacts with various rythms of your body.
Why rituals are important:
Just like a needle is not same as sword, mantras too are different and require a context in which they are chanted. You can have an "istha-mantra" (your loved mantra) which you can chant anywhere and anytime including when you are answering natures call. You can get a "guru mantra" (offered to you by a guru) which you must chant in specific settings.
Which are some simple mantras to reduce anxiety in any setting:
Om Namah Shivay (ओम नमः शिवाय )
One of the most popular Shiva mantra that you can chant anywhere and anytime. Remembering Shiva anytime is desirable. This mantra can be used in two different modes, but remember once you chose one mode the other mode will not be accessible to you.
- Normal mode : You chant this mantra all the time for general spiritual health. If you chant it thousands of time a day you will see a difference in everything.
- For anxiety reduction: Chant this mantra only when you realize your anxiety levels are rising. If you chant it at other times it will not help with chanting.
Have a metal shiva lingam statue at home on an altar. Offer plain water to the statue after having bath but before having food. Before having food remember Lord Shiva.
श्री राम जय राम जय जय राम (Shri Raam Jai Ram Jai Jai Raam)
One of the most potent and simplest mantra for Kaliyuga. This mantra will not have any impact on you unless and until you "siddha" it. The process of Siddha basically unlocks the potential of the mantra for the chanter. You see, in Kaliyuga mantras are less potent. You do not want evil people to use them easily, you want folks with certain foritutde alone to use them and hence Lord Shiva during the process of Yuga transition decided to make all mantras less potent. As a result a `sadhaka`is required to go through a phase to make those mantras work for him/her.
Typically unlocking the mantra involves just chanting it for a long long time. It is said that this mantra is unlocked when you chant it around 100,000 times. If you change it 10,000,000 times it will transform you inside out and Lord Hanumana himself will personally visit you. Perhaps in the form of a monkey.
ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम्। उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय माऽमृतात्।।
Om Tryambakam Yajamahe sugandhi pushtivardhanam, urvarukamiv bandhanan amtrutyormukshiy maa-mrutat.
This mantra is "Maha-Mrutyunjaya-Mantra" (Super Victor on Death Mantra) and is actually praise of Lord Shiva. This is again a very powerful mantra for Kaliguya which can protect your from all sort of illnesses including anxiety. But this is not a mantra for day to day sadhana but rather like a medicine which you take only when needed.
To use this mantra for anxiety reduction, have bath and wear clean washed clothes. If you are a man do not cover your upper body. Offer plain water on a metal shiva lingam. If you do not have shiva lingam you can keep aside a metal coin and use it for that purpose. Coin should not be moved and kept on an altar in your house. Offer water on the lingam and chant this mantra 18 times.
Once chante that the water and apply it on your forehead and eyelids. Try to live a good life while you perform this sadhana which means avoid doing "Tamasik" deeds such as killing or eating meat, cheating, stealing, lying, uttering bad words. Try to offer alms to others, needy and learned people, respect elders and show care for nature.
Hanuman is the god of ultimate mental health.
Visit a hanuman temple every Saturday and offer oil and white flowers. Engage in bodily exercises such as chopping wood, hiking, lifting heavy weights whenever your health permits. Feel the outdoors and the wind on your face.
The mantra I am about to offer you here is not a mantra you will hear often but it was given to me by Shankaracharya indirectly.
बुद्धिर्बलं यशो धैर्यं निर्भयत्वमरोगता | अजाड्यं वाक्पटुत्वं च हनूमत्स्मरणाद्भवेत् ||
BuddhirBALAM YASHO DHYARYAM NIRBHAYATVAM AROGATA
AJINKYAM VAKPATUTVAM CHA HANUMAT SMARANTBHAVET
अर्थ : हनुमानजीका समरण करनेसे हमें बुद्धि, बल, धैर्य, निर्भयता, आरोग्य , विवेक एवं वाकपटुताकी प्राप्ति होती है !
Chant this mantra 1000 times a day for instant gain in mental acumen, increase in fear, better public speaking and better performance which requires good personality. Without a doubt this will help you a lot.