The practice of chanting dates back at least 3,000 years and has a significant mention in all our
ancient scriptures. While the world believed it as spiritual process all this while, it is only recently
that its psychological and physiological benefits have been widely acknowledged and proven.
In a research undertaken by a few professors in the Macquarie University, the chanting of the
universal mantra ‘Aum’ for 10 minutes a day has proven to improve attention, encourage positive
mood and enhance the feelings of social cohesion. Other scientific studies have found that chanting
can reduce stress, anxiety and symptoms of depression and can help you to relax and improve your
focus. Many people who have experienced its positive outcomes have also come forward to describe
its magic and how they have made it an inseparable part of their lifestyle.
Just 15 minutes of any chant a day can help you reap the following benefits-
Improves physical health
Repeated vocal chanting is proven to impact our parasympathetic nervous system and activate our
vagus nerve – one responsible for a majority of our body functions including mood control, immune
response, digestion and heart rate. This overall leads to a healthier mind and body. In certain
incidences, regular chanting has also been able to reverse the existing physical illnesses and heal
people in very powerful ways. Chanting also slows down our breath, reduces the heart rate and
blood pressure and releases feel good hormones like Dopamine which make us feel good throughout
the day. In its own magical way, chanting also makes us more energetic and improves our stamina,
thus enabling us to work harder and more efficiently.
Enhances mental health
Suffering from mental health issues such as depression, stress, or anxiety? Chanting can your most
effective ‘go to’ solution.
Amygdala, the control center of our emotions, can be regulated through regular chanting. This helps
us to control and overcome the negative emotions of fear, anger, sadness, anxiety etc. and
encourage positive emotions to surface. Chanting also stimulates our limbic system, besides
activating many other crucial bodily functions, and help people come out of depression. It also
increases the brain function and makes a positive impact to those suffering from Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTDS), strokes and epilepsy.
Slows down ageing
Isn’t that amazing? Chanting can really slow down the cellular ageing process of our body by
improving its cellular telomerase activity. Studies also prove that besides slowing down physical
ageing, chanting can also rejuvenate our cells and reverse the harmful impact of stress on both
cellular and DNA level.
You sleep better
Want to beat your insomnia or turn around unhealthy sleeping habits? Chanting can do wonders.
Chanting, by lowering down our stress levels and by shutting down some areas of our brain, can be
incredibly effective in quieting our mind and give us the much-needed rest.
Aren’t the benefits of chanting too incredible to start practicing it right away? Then wait no longer.
Pick up your favorite mantras and get set go!
