Mala beads. A beautiful sacred tool we use in yoga for japa meditation. Japa means rotate. Japa mala meditation involves us using our fingers to rotate from bead to bead as we repeat a mantra. There are 108 beads on a full mala, a sacred number in the yogic tradition. Beads can be made from wood, seeds, semi precious/precious gemstones and are strung together with durable thread or cord. The 109th bead is called meru and is the guru bead (not used when reciting the mantra) These beads are not a fashion item and should be treated with respect, care and love. They have incredible benefits on your practice as they store and absorb energy(Prana) My precious beads from left to right are- 1)My very first mala given as a free gift from the Jivamukti Yoga centre NYC made from sandalwood. 2) The main mala I use in daily meditation from my beloved Sattva Yoga Academy made from rudrashka the sacred seed of the Himalayas. This one has been in the holy waters of the river Ganga and charged by the powerful energy of the Sattva deities, our guru Anand and my wonderful sangha💥 3) From Rishikesh a beautiful aquamarine semi precious gemstone to energise the throat chakra and also my birthstone. 4) Presented to me at our 300 hour teacher training graduation at Sattva Yoga Academy by my wonderful guru @theanandmehrotra another rudrashka and very special one 💛 Simply owning a mala will not lead you to enlightenment the mala itself can’t do that! It must be used as a sacred tool to enhance your practice. The practice must be done to progress to a higher state. Regular consistent practice steeped in patience, trust and commitment. ~ ~ #yoga #meditation #mala #malabeads #rudrashka #aquamarine #sandalwoodmala #jivamuktinyc #sattvayogaacademy #anandmehrotra #japameditation #sacredtool #doyourpractice #bethechange #india #rishikesh #vintageindia https://www.instagram.com/p/B0vLnZjiIb4/?igshid=1pyvni80hhjsq