Yoga: a preparation for meditation
Website design By BotEap.comMeditation is not something we can do, it just happens like falling asleep. We can prepare for it. For example, we brush our teeth, put on comfortable clothes, lie in bed and wait for sleep to come. In the same way, the entire eightfold path of yoga is a preparation to achieve self-realization, meditation being a very important help to achieve this goal. Shri Yogendraji, the founder of The Yoga Institute, Santacruz has given us many insights in his little book: Yoga Meditation Guide.
Website design By BotEap.comYamas and Niyamas Help create a pure and steady mind.
Website design By BotEap.comasanas allow the body to be healthy and flexible so that we can maintain a relaxed posture, leaving the mind undisturbed by the dualities of life: night and day, pleasure and pain, heat and cold, etc.
Website design By BotEap.comDuring the 10-day Vippasana courses, there are 1-hour sessions of adishtan or a strong determination in which, ideally, you should not open your eyes or change the position of your legs and arms. Needless to say, these 1 hour sessions can be torture! In Goenkaji’s speech when explaining the reason for adishtan He gives us the example of the Buddha who sat under a tree with the firm determination that he would not change his position until he became enlightened. Then he asks you to imagine yourself as the buddha; this always brings a stream of giggles from those helpful ones who failed miserably in the first ten minutes 🙂
Website design By BotEap.comPranayama or controlling bioenergy, helps us slow down and stop the generation of karma by controlling impulsiveness and breaking the vicious cycle of action and reaction.
Website design By BotEap.compratyahara it is the return of the senses that occurs naturally when we master pranayama. The senses are often depicted as 5 wild horses moving in different directions and pulling a cart!
Website design By BotEap.comDharana it is concentration on a chosen object and can only take place after a certain amount of mastery over the senses.
Website design By BotEap.comBreath is a wonderful tool for concentration, as it is constantly with us from the moment we are born to the day we die. Breathing reflects our emotional state. It gives us immediate rewards for being observers or witnesses. The breath becomes smoother and more subtle without any action on our part. The smoother the breath, the more peaceful and wonderful the state of mind.
Website design By BotEap.comDhyan it is meditation that is the result of deep concentration. Here there is an uninterrupted flow of consciousness towards the chosen object of concentration.
Website design By BotEap.comOsho describes meditation as relaxing into your being. We are very uncomfortable with doing nothing. Almost immediately we react; we turn on the television, read a book, clean, call someone, think about the past or the future. Being alone, present, aware, doing nothing is very uncomfortable for the mind, so it quickly finds ways and means to distract you.
Website design By BotEap.comAs beginners, our attempts at meditation give us a lot of information about how much control we really have over the mind. Have fun on the path of meditation and enjoy the antics of the mind.