Hello and thank you in advance. I experience a headache when I silently chant my chosen mantra. Is this a sign that it is the wrong mantra for me or that it is working and I need to keep with it and get past the pain?
—Jennifer, USA
Dear Jennifer,
This is a very interesting question, and I can’t say that I really know the answer. It is certainly possible that it’s the wrong mantra for you and so it’s generating some friction that causes a headache.
You might try experiementing with other mantras and see how that goes. You might experiment with some of them in English, such as, “I am free,” or “I am joy.” These are not actual mantras, but they can be used for repetition as you would use a Sanskrit mantra.
You don’t mention how you are doing your mantra. For example, if you are concentrating at the spiritual eye, you could be knitting your eyebrows, which could cause a headache. You could be gazing upwards too high, which could cause pain. Your posture could be “off,” if you are sitting, for example, tilting your head backwards with tension in the neck.
It could be a passing phase, since you don’t mention how many times you’ve had this experience.
I’d experiment with some of the ideas here and see how it goes.
Blessings and joy to you,
Anandi
