Yoga meditation

Yoga is one of the most effective systems of self-improvement invented by humankind. The origins of this tantra go back to ancient Indian philosophy. Meditation becomes the main tool of yoga, everything else in it should be considered only as an auxiliary technique, allowing a person to meditate with full dedication.Thus, yoga and meditation are essentially the same thing. We are talking about a single complex, which develops the physical and spiritual capabilities of the individual. The goal here, too, is to reach a state in which the yogi is given the right to communicate with God. In the fundamental work of the ancient Indian sage Patajali, the Yoga Sutra, this state is called Samadha. Translated from Sanskrit, it means perfection, supreme happiness, nirvana.

The role of meditation in yoga is key. It is the only way to remove oneself from extraneous thoughts and focus on the most important things. Man is the product of his thoughts: what he thinks about, that is what he becomes. That’s what the ancient yogis taught. He is constantly influenced by the outside world and tempted by temptations that generate not only pleasure but also suffering. Meditation, by filtering all this through the realm of consciousness, makes it possible to eliminate the negative components from life, thereby making the road to the desired goal easier and more joyful.

The benefits of meditation become increasingly tangible and evident as one develops skills in practicing it. Regular exercise is a great opportunity for a person:

• increase stamina, confidence;
• it gives dynamism and purpose to one’s actions;
• bring calmness and satisfaction.

Relaxation, which comes as a result of the meditative effect on the mind, clarifies the mind. It greatly enhances creativity. The habit of not being distracted by unnecessary life details allows you to focus your intellectual energy on achieving only your chosen goal.

Practice has shown that the most effective methods of meditation are the Ayurveda and Kundalini versions of yoga. At the same time, the first method includes mainly a complex of physical preparation for meditation, while the second one directly organizes mental perfection of consciousness. It is preferable to use both methods of meditation only after mastering the simplest exercises.

The first thing that a practitioner should decide on is the timing of the yoga practice. When practicing regularly, the morning before going to work is ideal. This will significantly wake up the body relaxed after sleep and adjust it to the day’s activities. In the daytime, short meditations can relieve fatigue accumulated at work, improve attention and increase work productivity. They can be done several times in short sessions. Evening sessions are useful for distracting oneself from the day’s problems and moving on to rest at home.

Before you start exercising, it is advisable to fulfill a few conditions that will improve the effect of the workout and make it more enjoyable:

• Find a separate room for yourself;
• Ventilate the room thoroughly;
• Wear loose-fitting clothes that do not restrict movement;
• Turn on relaxing music;
• Get into a comfortable position.

After a certain practice, it is possible to learn to meditate in any place: in nature, in public transport, in the work environment. Music can be replaced by the singing of birds, the sound of leaves, the murmuring of water, and even silence. What’s important is the skill of adapting to any circumstances.

Yoga exercises are done from a sitting position with eyes closed. Ideally, the pose should be the Lotus pose: straight back, with the heels brought as close to the hips as possible and the knees bent apart. This is difficult for beginners, so it is sufficient to begin by sitting down on a soft mat and keeping the back straight. The last circumstance is very important. In this position of the spine, it is easier to correct the amplitude of movements.

The decisive importance in meditation is the regularity of practice. The meditator must be able to make the most of the experience of the meditation, and the meditator must be able to make the most of the experience of the meditation.

To achieve the desired effect, the exercises must be performed in sequence.

Stretching the spine

From the starting position on a slow inhale mentally imagine that someone is pulling the body up by the top of the head. As you exhale relax and “squeeze” again. Repeat the exercise several times until you are slightly tired.

Consistent relaxation

Close your eyes. Mentally relax the entire body, beginning with the toes and ending with the top of the head. On the first stage of training, you can state the relaxation of each area with an inner voice:

• pinky toe relaxed,
• knee,
• abdomen,
• shoulders,
• neck,
• face,
• tongue, etc.

The result should be a feeling of heaviness throughout the body.

General relaxation

Hold the initial position and don’t move. Visually assess the surroundings, but do not react to them in any way. Pay attention to your body condition: relax it completely, without changing your posture.

To achieve the desired effect, the exercises must be performed in sequence.

Stretching the spine

From the starting position on a slow inhale mentally imagine that someone is pulling the body up by the top of the head. As you exhale relax and “squeeze” again. Repeat the exercise several times until you are slightly tired.

Consistent relaxation

Close your eyes. Mentally relax the entire body, beginning with the toes and ending with the top of the head. On the first stage of training, you can state the relaxation of each area with an inner voice:

• pinky toe relaxed,
• knee,
• abdomen,
• shoulders,
• neck,
• face,
• tongue, etc.

The result should be a feeling of heaviness throughout the body.

General relaxation

Hold the initial position and don’t move. Visually assess the surroundings, but do not react to them in any way. Pay attention to your body condition: relax it completely, without changing your posture.

Breathing exercises

Just breathe through your nose, lifting and lowering your diaphragm (not the whole abdomen). Deeply, without making any sounds. The exhalation should be longer than the exhalation. The task of the exercise is to develop a figurative sense of the passage of air along the entire respiratory tract: from the nostrils, trachea, lungs to the diaphragm and back.

Mantra Breathing

A mantra (Sanskrit word for incantation) can be any sound that needs to accompany every breath in and out. The main thing is that it should cause a certain vibration in the body, such as “x-xx” or “o-o-o-o”. The volume of the sound does not matter. What’s important is that the memory with the mantra fixes the duration of the inhalation and exhalation.

Cleansing of consciousness

During breathing exercises (with or without mantra) consciousness will constantly fill a succession of various thoughts, bad and good, necessary and unnecessary. The task of meditation consists in their mental filtration: a choice of one, the most important thought colored with emotional positive. All other things should be filtered out as the exercise is repeated.

Breathing with Music

Music, due to its rhythmic nature, also serves as a mantra. At the same time, if the repertoire is chosen carefully, it can fulfill a relaxing function – to a certain extent it can combine the tasks of “breathing with the use of mantra” and “cleansing the breath” exercises and enhance the concentrating effect of meditation. Ideally, the rhythm of the musical composition should coincide with the beats of the pulse in a calm state.

Working out of time regulations

The duration of meditation has no specific limitations. Everyone is guided only by personal sensations. The minimum threshold capable of fixing certain skills is about ten minutes. The maximum is up to the moment when the consciousness has time to fully concentrate on one thought and calm down. To control the necessary time limit, set a timer during the class.

Return

At the call of a timer or simply by the already developed habit leave a condition reached during meditation. It is made gradually. First it is necessary to return to the body the tactile sensations removed during the exercises: from the toes to the head. Then to liberate consciousness – to immerse it in ordinariness and to become adequate to it. Open your eyes and slowly stand up.

Meditation in yoga acts as a kind of trainer to tone the body and mind. A huge part of the time and internal energy is spent on comprehending unnecessary ideas, a stream of filling the consciousness. Sometimes it is difficult to choose what interferes with life and what helps in practice. In the process of meditation one gets an opportunity not only to sift out unnecessary thoughts and focus only on what is needed, but also to get a skill to such an algorithm in any circumstances of life.

By meditating, we learn to control our mental reactions, emotions and actions, and learn their limits. This gives us the ability to be balanced even in critical situations and come out of them in the most dignified way. Do you want to learn more about yoga? Go to Built By Beauty.