The unique vibrational energy of mantras can help us heal by calming the mind and gently connecting us with spirit.

Dear Friends,

I'm speaking with Dr. Harrison Graves today about his course, Healing Mantras for Anxiety and Depression. Sound healing is really gaining in popularity these days, and I love that people all over the world are embracing it. I want to point out that people don't need to be good singers to try this healing method; it is really all about intention.


Madisyn Taylor: How can the use of sound in the form of mantras help us heal?

Harrison Graves: Mantras are sound formulas rooted in yogic science that calm the body and have soothing effects on the nervous system. They help us heal through the power of vibration, or vibrational energy. The physical body and the energy (astral) body are extremely sensitive to sound. Some sounds like ocean surf, a harp, or om chanting are soothing, while other sounds like blaring TV commercials or fire alarms are irritating or frightening, making the body cringe. The mantras in this course go far beyond soothing. They calm the mind and prepare it for meditation. More important, they connect us with spirit. Sanskrit mantras like om, a mantra for oneness and harmony, are prescribed in lieu of medications to treat anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Sanskrit, the language of ancient India, is also the language of mantra. Unlike other languages, Sanskrit is based on the science of sound vibration. Word meanings are secondary. The most important thing is the effect of the sound vibration on the body and mind.

MT: My company is called DailyOM, and people always ask what "OM" means. What does it mean to you?

HG: Om is a special mantra, a sacred sound formula, for creating oneness and harmony. When we chant om, or its cousin, au-men, we create feelings of peacefulness and calm in the body's cells at the vibratory level. Om extended out becomes a-u-m, which has the same harmonizing effect but with greater force and prana (cosmic energy). The extended a-u-m is rich in symbolism, one word representing the beginning, middle, and end of this universe.

Also, ahhh represents the waking state where we spend most of our time. Uuuu represents the dream state where we enter the astral realm, and mmmm is the deep sleep state where the soul rests. Om/aum is the most important mantra and the source of all other mantras. It takes us straight to the highest consciousness, the highest awareness, and the highest vibration.

In the energy body, om is the mantra for the sixth chakra, the third eye, the eye of intuition. It pulls the energy up from the lower chakras to the top of the head, the crown chakra. Om is the vibration of the higher self, the divinity within us all. It's the cosmic sound, the primal sound of the universe, the sound of yes! Over time, Sanskrit chanting leads to feelings of contentment, oneness, happiness, joy, and connection. These good feelings, these positive emotions, are the very goals of yoga and Ayurveda.

MT: I personally suffered from depression and anxiety for years and wrote about my own natural healing methods in my last book, Unmedicated. You are a doctor, and I'm happy that you are willing to explore alternate methods to medication. How did you get started in exploring alternatives to traditional medicine?

HG: Thanks for sharing that, Madisyn. My story is similar in some ways. I used to suffer from depression too. Taking an antidepressant helped at first, but after a year any beneficial effect wore off. I felt even worse. One day I realized that I was merely treating a symptom, not curing a disease. Fed up with pharmaceuticals and their side effects, I began searching for alternatives. Fortunately for me, I discovered yoga and its sister science, Ayurveda. What helped me most, more than any prescription pills, were the yogic tools of mantra and pranayama (conscious breath practices).

My path as a doctor has been unusual. After practicing emergency medicine in North Carolina for over 20 years, I discovered the yoga of sound in California at a music and mantra workshop. The next year I left the ER in Raleigh and moved to Berkeley, California, for a yearlong yoga of sound internship, culminating in a trip to India in 2002. During that time, I studied kundalini yoga and learned how to use the secret power of mantra for healing and higher consciousness.

MT: Take me on a journey through your course. What will it be like for students to work the eight lessons?

HG: It's a musical journey into the world of mantra yoga, with seven key mantras for healing and higher consciousness--from om to the gayatri, a meditation on the spiritual light. Along the way you'll discover Lokah Samastha, the ultimate yogic prayer ("May all beings be happy and free") and the reality check mantra Asato Ma Sat Gamaya ("Lead us from the unreal to the real"). If fear of death is causing anxiety, the "Great Victory Over Death" mantra can provide solace. When death comes, it can help us transition with ease and grace. Each mantra's importance is given, with its English translation and usage. Proper pronunciation is essential for achieving the desired results, the mantra's fruit. Each lesson has an audio or video link so you can experience the mantra by listening first, then chanting along later. Mantras are asanas for your mind. These yogic techniques are the keys to happiness and contentment, which is something I believe you address in your book.

MT: Talk to me about some of the video and audio segments in your course.

HG: The course starts with the cosmic aum. It combines om/aum chanting for oneness with amazing images of the most distant galaxies. Lesson two features a music video with the peace mantra Sahana Vavatu. It's a mantra focusing on the energy of mutual respect, the joy of giving (and receiving), and the absence of negative thoughts. The extended om shanti chorus at the end gives us a big dose of peacefulness.

Lesson five features an audio of the Sat Nam chant, one of the simplest, most powerful mantras from the kundalini yoga tradition. Sat Nam ("Truth is my identity") is a mantra that pulls the energy up the spine from the lower chakras all the way to the crown. It's a mantra for chakra balance and inner wisdom, a mantra whose sound waves can break up the stuck energy of depression.

MT: I would love to hear some feedback from students that have taken this course. How are they transformed at the end of the eight lessons?

HG: The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Many listeners feel immediately less anxious after discovering the healing power of music and mantra. Some feel calmer after one lesson. For others, it takes more time.
Mantra is the first step toward meditation and the first step away from medication. Normally, it's a gradual process. Just listen to the mantras first, and then chant along. For many, the desire for prescription drugs slowly and naturally decreases. The idea is to replace a prescription drug "high," or lower bliss state (also known as samadhi), with a higher samadhi, a mantric high.

It's important to note that the Sanskrit mantras in this course are offered as a form of complementary medicine to help patients reduce their dependency on prescription drugs for anxiety, depression, and insomnia. For patients who wish to decrease or stop prescription medications for depression or anxiety, it is crucial that you do so gradually and under the close supervision of your prescribing physician. Sudden withdrawal can be dangerous, even life-threatening.

MT: I couldn't agree more. People must never just drop their medication. I learned that the hard way. What are the benefits of Sanskrit chanting?

HG: The many benefits of Sanskrit chanting include the relief of emotional pain such as anger, sadness, disappointment, resentment, and low self-esteem; an increase in inspiration and creativity; a decrease in insomnia, anxiety, and depression; and a cultivation of sattva or feelings of centeredness, relaxation, calm, and an increase in feelings of connection with others and spirit. Chanting in a group promotes love, connection, and a sense of well-being. It helps us bond with those around us, something native peoples everywhere have known for millennia.

Course Overview

Mantra Meditation is a powerful holistic alternative to prescription drugs when it comes to treating anxiety and depression. Mantra Meditation, also called Mantra Therapy, is an important part of Ayurveda, the holistic medicine from India and the healing branch of yogic science. Sanskrit mantras, starting with OM, are sound formulas, packed with energy and intention, that have a profound effect on the body-mind. When these sound waves (mantras) are combined with thought waves (intentions), they become powerful tools for insight, healing, creativity and spiritual growth. The healing powers of Sanskrit chanting are just now being discovered in the Western world. Mantras use sound waves, sound energy, to heal our minds on the subconscious level, where the roots of our modern anxieties are found. In this course you will learn seven of the most healing mantras from this Ayurvedic/Yoga of Sound tradition -- seven mantras for soothing anxiety and breaking through depression.


How Does It Work?

Starting today, you will receive a new lesson every week for 8 weeks (total of 8 lessons). Each lesson is yours to keep and you'll be able to refer back to it whenever you want. And if you miss a lesson or are too busy to get to it that day, each lesson will conveniently remain in your account so you won't have to search for it when you're ready to get back to it.


Get Started Now

We are offering this course with the option of selecting how much you want to pay. No matter how much you pay, you'll be getting the same course as everybody else. We simply trust that people are honest and will support the author of the course with whatever they can afford. And if you are not 100% satisfied, we will refund your money.


How much do you want to pay?

$15$35$50

This is the total amount for all 8 lessons


Thank you, Dr. Graves, for taking the time to chat with me today about your course with us. I want to repeat that both of us feel that our natural methods of helping people with depression and anxiety are simply an alternative for those who want a different way. Until next time.

Be well,

Madisyn Taylor
Cofounder, Editor-in-Chief
DailyOM