Meditation Beads, often called Mala Beads, are something that I very recently added to my meditation toolbox. It might sound funny, but meditation beads first caught my attention while watching the 2012 Summer Olympics. The cameraman zoomed in on a coach of the Chinese women’s gymnastics team. The commentators noted he was holding and using meditation beads in between the routines of his gymnasts to help him stay calm. I thought it was interesting and did some research.
The history of meditation beads dates back thousands of years and is used in just about every culture. Some religions use prayer beads, much like the Catholic rosary. Other faiths and cultures use them for meditation. The number of beads on a strand is both significant and varies from culture to culture and faith to faith. Often, there is a whole belief system behind how many beads must be on a strand. Frequently, the number of beads must total 108, or be in numbers that can be equally divided into 108, like nine, twelve or twenty-seven.
Many believe that the type of beads you use impacts the spiritual energy of your body. For example, beads made from the wood of a certain tree has a different effect than beads made from pearls or jade. In no way am I knowledgeable enough to educate anybody about the many beliefs behind prayer and meditation beads.
For me, how to use the beads in my personal meditation is far more important to than all the details of: their history; the meaning of the number of beads used; what kind of beads to use; and the possible benefits of the material used in your choice of beads. Don’t get me wrong, I totally respect the importance those things have to other people and how it applies to their beliefs. For my purpose, however, I just wanted to learn to use them to help manage my pain.
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