What is a Mala

Malas are a string of beads, onto which each bead a single recitation of a chosen phrase or word of meditation, prayer, affirmation and/or chant, is repeated as many times as there are beads. The first, or ‘head’ bead is utilized as a sort of ‘anchor’, or ‘foothold’ used to begin a meditation, and when the cycle is complete, the user may begin another rotation on the Mala in the opposite direction.

In the Tibetan Buddhist and Hindi tradition, strings are strictly made up of 108 beads, however, depending on the belief system for which they are used, Malas may contain strings of 18, 27, or 54 beads as well. The fixed number of beads allows as many repetitions to be counted as desired without having to count the recitations in addition to focusing on the chosen idea, which can cause interference to the specific affirmation being performed. Buddhists, Hindus, Catholics, Islamists, Sikhs, and a variety of others who value the cognitive, emotional and spiritual transformations that repetitious meditation can offer have used some form of prayer beads (or Malas) for centuries. However, this method of meditation has been adopted in more recent decades by a variety of people with more broadly-based beliefs, many of which can by classified as syncretists, or individuals who incorporate a variety of spiritual practices based originally in more than one culture and/or belief system, as opposed to honouring a single theology or philosophy to guide beliefs, actions, and rituals.

That being said, we welcome all beliefs . The benefits of prayer, affirmation, meditation and/or chanting as a means to help solidify a positive outlook and to embolden the law of attraction in your life has long been a scientifically proven benefit to anyone who chooses to do so. Whether your higher power is ‘God’, ‘Allah’, data collected in scientific discovery or anything in between, we have a Mala for you!