How I use Mala beads for sleep and managing anxiety
I bought my Mala beads made of mango tree several years ago, when I was really into Buddhism. It was great up until the string loosened, and it became hard to use. A year ago, I replaced the string, but I couldn't manage to make a guru bead on it again. Several days ago, I replaced it with just a bent paper clip, only for signaling the end of meditation.
I also put a sticky towel hook on my bedside table for easy access to the beads.
How I use them
I mostly use them before sleep time. Take the first bead near the guru bead (the paper clip in my case) with a thumb, take a deep, slow breath and slowly exhale. Be aware of your breathing, breathe manually. It is okay if your mind wonders, just return to the breathing and do not get angry at yourself.
Put your thumb on the next bead and slide it towards you, repeat the process with breathing. For all the 108 beads, it takes approximately 15 minutes. It really makes me relaxed and less anxious about everything, which makes falling asleep much easier for me.
This is not my only beads, by the way. I have three more: 2 malas and 1 orthodox beads. Other malas have this elastic string and intermediate lesser beads, which tend to distract me. Maybe one day I will remake them to my liking. And orthodox one I tend to not use nowadays, because currently I have some problems with Christianity which I try to explore.
Thanks for reading.