Finding the Right Mantra Medicine for You

Finding the right mantra medicine for you is something I can only really speak about from my own lived experience, and from the knowledge I’ve gathered through practice over the last fifteen years.

Mantra, for me, is deeply personal. That’s exactly why I feel drawn to share this—because while there is a lot we can learn from textbooks and traditional teachings, lived experience often tells a more nuanced story. And sometimes, those two don’t quite say the same thing.

There is a well-known view within many mantra traditions that you only need one mantra. One mantra for everything. Often this would be your guru mantra—given by a teacher through initiation, or perhaps received through a dream or a powerful intuitive or mystical experience. I’ve lived with this approach myself. I have a guru mantra given to me by my teacher, and for a long time I chanted it constantly—especially internally, throughout the day, to different melodies that seemed to arise naturally in my mind. I’m sure it was very helpful during that period of my life.

However, intuitively, over the last few years, I’ve felt the need to ease off chanting that particular mantra so incessantly. It’s a Shiva mantra, and Shiva mantras carry a very strong energy of dissolution and letting go. And I’ve noticed that in the times we’re living in—these very alchemical, intense, melting-pot times—there is already an enormous collective impulse toward healing, purging, and releasing. I feel the Earth herself is going through this process, and as human beings we’re being invited into this more and more.

On a personal level, I feel this very strongly. As I’ve practised more, lived more consciously, and worked deeply with my body and awareness, my nervous system has become much more self-regulating.

These days, most of the time, I find my being defaults to a parasympathetic state—I feel relatively safe in my body and in life. That wasn’t always the case. In my teenage years, I was mostly operating in fight-or-flight, an adrenalised way of meeting the world.

Because of this increased safety and regulation, energy now comes up for release in my body easily and frequently. It can happen at any time. And I’ve found that if I keep chanting a Shiva mantra incessantly, it can actually overload this process of letting go. There really can be too much letting go!

I’ve experienced this very clearly. Too much release, too quickly, can weaken the immune system and lead to sickness. I’ve seen that happen in my own body multiple times. I’ve also experienced how releasing too much at once can actually re-traumatise the system rather than heal it. So over time, I’ve come to feel the need for more balance—for a range of mantra energies that support not just growth and awakening, but also stability, nourishment, and integration.

For me, one of the most foundational mantras in this balancing act has been the Gāyatrī Mantra. It’s my go-to mantra I’ve chanted daily for the last fifteen years. It’s often described as a very safe mantra, recommended even for children, and I feel that safety very strongly in my own experience. The reason I’m always drawn back to Gāyatrī is that it brings light—the light of consciousness—more fully into my being.

When I chant Gāyatrī, I feel more able to rest in the position of the witness. Rather than being caught in reactive patterns or the part of my personality that responds compulsively to life, I can observe, feel, and respond with more clarity. To me, that witnessing capacity is at the heart of living harmoniously. Gāyatrī supports that beautifully.

It also feels incredibly nourishing for the entire pranic system. It lights up my energy field, recharges me, and sharpens my intuition. I feel it deepens perception itself—not just quantitatively, but qualitatively. It enhances the way I see and sense life. This includes clairvoyance, clairsentience, and subtle perception, though I see these qualities as bonus benefits rather than as goals. Above all, Gāyatrī feels balancing, uplifting, and deeply supportive. For that reason, I would recommend Gāyatrī to all.

Another mantra I strongly recommend as a daily practice is the Mahāmṛtyuñjaya Mantra, known as the great healing mantra. This is a very powerful mantra, so I don’t necessarily suggest chanting it incessantly, but even 11 repetitions a day can be incredibly beneficial. It works strongly on the physical body—supporting health, vitality, resilience, and strength. It also carries that deep remembrance that we are souls, not just bodies and personalities.

Shiva mantras in general—including Mahāmṛtyuñjaya—are wonderful for reminding us of our eternal nature. They help us remember that we are living this life temporarily, and that death is a real and present part of existence. I feel these mantras have helped carry me through the deaths and suffering of people close to me. They bring perspective, humility, and a deep acceptance of impermanence.

The five-syllable Namaḥ Śivāya mantra also connect us strongly to the five elements— earth, water, fire, air, and space. This profound mantra enlivens the elemental qualities within us: the solidity and strength of earth, the flow of water, the inspiration and insight of fire, the movement and merging of air, and the spaciousness and spiritual connection of space. This can be incredibly grounding and expansive at the same time.

That said, in turbulent times—and especially when we are already experiencing a lot of release and healing—chanting Shiva mantras constantly, in my experience, can become too intense. This is where Vishnu mantras can be incredibly supportive. Vishnu energy is about preservation, balance, nourishment, beauty, love, and order. The Gāyatrī Mantra itself is connected to Vishnu, and of course, there is the Mahāmantra— “the great mantra”—and many other Krishna mantras which I’ve been especially drawn to in the last few years.

Vishnu mantras help stabilise us in times of turbulence. They promote joy, sweetness, devotion, and love. And joy, I feel, is often a profound medicine in these times. Feeling uplifted through mantra is not superficial—it’s deeply regulating and healing for the nervous system and the heart.

Ultimately, the mantras you choose will also depend on your personal intention—what you’re seeking, what you’re moving through, and what life is asking of you right now.

One way to structure a balanced daily mantra practice is ceremonially. In the tradition I’m most familiar with, the day begins with Gaṇeśa. Starting with Oṁ Gaṁ Gaṇapataye Namaḥ or the Gaṇapati Stotram can be incredibly cleansing. It helps clear mental clutter, surface tension, leftover dream energy, and brings you fully into the present moment. It’s a beautiful way to invite auspiciousness into your day.

From there, you can chant to the guru —which can mean your physical teacher, but also Life as your teacher, and your inner teacher—your higher wisdom, your third eye awareness. Chanting a guru mantra can also include calling in spiritual guides, ancestors, angels, animal totems, and/or indigenous wisdom lineages you work with. I find Oṁ Śrī Gurave Namaḥ, chanted with devotion, wonderful for this.

After that, you might bring in specific mantra medicines: Mahāmṛtyuñjaya 11 times for the body and soul, Gāyatrī 11 times for the mind and awareness. From there, you can weave in other mantras depending on your needs—Vishnu mantras, your guru-given mantra, or even Shiva mantras in moderation.

If you’re seeking success in creative endeavours, Oṁ Aiṁ Hrīṁ Śrīṁ Sarasvatyai Namaḥ is a beautiful mantra, as it affirms the interdependent relationship between Sarasvatī (creativity and wisdom) and Lakṣmī (abundance and beauty). 

If you want a steady, warrior-like energy through the day, Śrī Rām, Jaya Rām, Jaya Jaya Rām is incredibly grounding and strengthening.

Shiva mantras remain powerful allies, especially if you struggle to let go, or if you wish to stay deeply connected to the reality of impermanence. They cultivate humility, gratitude, and a vivid appreciation of life.

That said, when we are in the acute throes of trauma release—when the body is shaking, breath is ragged, and deep sensations are moving—chanting multi-syllabic mantras, in my experience, doesn’t feel natural or even supportive. In those moments, it’s usually better to be with the sensations, allow the body to shake, breathe audibly, feel discomfort, and let the wave pass.

The one mantra sound I do find helpful in these moments is Oṁ—especially elongated vowel sounds. Vowel sounds are very effective for releasing physical pain, while the nasal ‘mmm’ sound helps soothe mental anguish, anxiety, and distress. Chanting long, slow Oṁs can nourish and stabilise the energy. Faster, pulsed Oṁs can help discharge excess energy into the earth—but again, balance is key, as this can become too intense if overdone.

Regular mantra practice fortifies our system so that when healing arises—often through discomfort—we can meet it with more capacity. Mantras both cause and support healing. They help de-armour us, soften the heart, and open us to the beauty of life.

I’ve found that maintaining a balance of mantras—reflecting the flow of Brahmā (creation), Vishnu (maintenance), and Shiva (dissolution)—has been deeply supportive for my own inspiration, wellbeing, and evolution. Life is a delicate dance of all three, and our mantra practice can reflect and support that dance.

Mantras work on two levels: energy and consciousness. Holding both in mind can help you craft a practice that truly serves you.

Mantras are here to help us. Mantra is indeed medicine! And just like any medicine, the dosage and the type must change depending on what your being needs.

Thank you for reading! I hope these reflections are supportive for you.

PS. Geeti and I are excited to be exploring ‘Mantra Medicine’ more deeply in our May 2026 Retreat at Swami’s, Sydney. We’ll work with different mantra medicines and discuss how to create a supportive, evolving formula for your own journey—one that adapts as you and the times change.