Take your meditation practice to the next level!
Each Mala is personally curated just for you. In the designing and creating process, you can select a specific intention to be infused within your Mala as it is being made such as meditation, a specific life goal, connecting to a certain aspect of the Divine or a specific diety, or a more general intent. The intention you create determines which sacred Mantra will be infused into each and every knot that is tied during the creation of your custom, hand-crafted Mala.
Similarly, each custom Mala comes with the opportunity to hand pick the gemstone or combination of gemstones used in your design. Each gemstone has different energy properties and is connected to different spiritual benefits which sculpt the more subtle level of the design process. With your order of a custom Mana Mala, you get to choose from an array of different gemstones such as Tiger’s Eye, Lapis Lazuli, Pink Jasper, and so many more! Choices also include classic Mala beads such as Rudraksha or Sandalwood. Each bead is cleansed in a water purification ceremony for several hours prior to its ceremonial creation. Personalized and unique design coordination is available with the help of our team here at Mana Malas. Please feel free to use previous designs as inspiration for gemstone, and gemstone combination, decisions. The price of each Mala will naturally vary depending on the value of the gemstones chosen in your custom design.
Mana Malas is on a mission to share the healing medicine of mantra and meditation with the world while simultaneously planting trees together.
Mana Malas Founder: Christie Leigh
Spiritually Driven
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Environmentally Conscious
Introducing Christie Leigh: the founder, visionary, and creatrix behind Mana Malas.
She was introduced to the practice of chanting and working with Mantra nearly a decade ago by her life partner. Tragically, he passed away in a car crash in 2019. At the funeral, his mom gave Christie Leigh his broken Malas that he used during their years together. Adam David was a daily meditator who loved to chant Mantras, sing Bhajans, and practice Bhakti yoga.
Adam loved sharing this practice with everyone he met as it is such a powerful catalyst for well-being of body, mind, and spirit. He asked Christie Leigh, when the time was right, to release his broken Malas into moving water.
At the one year anniversary of his passing, in the wake of tremendous mourning and soul searching, she found enough strength and courage to perform a ritualistic release at the Taos Gorge in the midst of a snowstorm.
Where it all began…
The very next day, someone unexpectedly asked Christie to make them a Mala. She agreed and followed by sharing a picture of the finished product to her jewelry page. After that, she continuously received orders for Malas. Adam David often reminded her that when you release an old Mala, karma will be dispersed and a new abundance will form. Realizing that she was only making Malas now, she took this timing as a clear sign of synchronicity of his blessing and thus began Mana Malas. In honor of his legacy and Christie & Adam’s shared passion for environmental sustainability, every single purchase with Mana Malas supports rainforest restoration and reforestation by planting a tree through our partnership with One Tree Planted.
It is our belief that all beings: plant, animal, or otherwise, are interconnected in the web of life — externally and internally.
“You cut down the forests so you do not allow the earth to receive the rain from the skies. The rainfall will decrease, you will not have any water for your crops, and you will not have any food to eat.”
-Shivabalayogi Maharaj
“Only through love and compassion is the protection and perseveration of Nature possible…
In truth, we are not protecting Nature — it is Nature who protects us. Trees and plants, for example, are absolutely necessary for the purification of vital energy (the life force)… Look at a tree. It gives shade even to the person who cuts it down. It gives sweet, delicious fruits to the person who harms it.”
-Mata Amritanandamayi Ma Devi (Amma)
Pictured above is Christie Leigh, fulfilling her shared vision with Adam David of visiting the only Rudraksha Tree Forest in the US which is on the island of Kauai. The Rudraksha tree’s seed is associated with Lord Shiva and is typically used in Malas associated with Shiva.
Guided Mala Mantra Meditation
Enjoy this relaxing Gayatri mantra to use with your new Mala. With the mantra chanted 108 times, there are 108 beads around your Mala. Sitting in meditation, you may use this video to guide you.
Mala Symbolism
The symbolism and meaning behind the construction of a Mala is complex and multi-faceted. The Mala is a sacred tool for connecting to the Divine. Traditionally, they are used in combination with the repetition of a holy Mantra, known as Japa, as a means to deepening one’s meditation experience. The main part of each Mala has 108 beads which reflects the 108 primary energies in creation and the 108 spiritual powers, or Siddhis, which are attained with Enlightenment. There is a profoundly mysterious and cosmic significance to the number 108, it is generally auspicious and known to resonate on different levels throughout the cosmos. The average distance between the Sun and the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Sun. The average distance between the Moon and the Earth is about 108 times the Moon’s diameter. By aligning your energy with that of the Mantra 108 times you are quickly attuned to the healing power of the Divine. This is why Mala’s usually have 108 beads, they are like microcosms of the entire Universe in your hand.
“Japa is not simple words — each Divine name is full of Divine vibrations. These surround us and protect us and penetrate both our bodies and our whole inner being. Remembrance of the Divine name gives immediate peace and happiness and turns us from the worldly to the Divine.”
-Mother Meera
The 109th bead, as you may notice, is separate from the rest of the beads and connected to the tassel. This is known as the Guru Bead and represents the aspect of the cosmos which is an Eternal Teacher that silently guides us all. In an act of respect to the Divine, a spiritual practitioner using a Mala traditionally flips the Mala and changes the direction in which they are counting Mantras on each bead of the Mala. This simple act also brings a slight return of alertness and wakefulness as one enters into the trance of sleep-like meditation states through the repetition of the Mantra with a Mala.
Similarly, the symbolic intricacies of the Mala apply to every level and aspect of their creation. The tassels represent the roots of the Lotus flower, the symbol of blooming into your awakened potential. The final wrapping of the tassel is done specifically in correspondence with the numerical qualifications of the Moon’s cycles and the 5 Elements. All this is accounted for in the conscious and intentional orchestration of each Mana Mala.
If you are interested in ordering a custom Mala, please visit our shop tab or contact us to begin designing your personalized creation today!
Blessings and
Om Namah Shivaya,
from our team at
Mana Malas
“Japa helps us to purify our consciousness and make our sadhana (spiritual self-efforts) easy.”
“In doing Japa, one should not strain or try to achieve something specific. One should try to be sincere and to have love of God."
-Mother Meera
“Japa will bestow good health to both mind and body.”
“For a true disciple, the repetition of mantra is like food.”
-Mata Amritanandamayi Ma Devi (Amma)
“If you practice prayer, bhajans, homa, and japa, all these will help you develop further in the spiritual path. Gradually these will bring you into the line of meditation.”
-Shivabalayogi Maharaj