Meditation can seem complicated. In truth, it’s easy. All you need is time, patience, and a technique that works for you.
Like asana, some Hindu meditative exercises take discipline. If your toes start to curl when you hear the D-word, redefine “discipline” as developing a positive habit.
Begin by finding a quiet space and scheduling a regular time to practice. Perhaps early mornings work best because they occur before you get caught up in the busyness of the day. The simplest way to integrate meditation into your life is to follow your asana practice with pranayama (breathwork) and Savasana (Corpse Pose), and then sit back up in a comfortable position for meditation. Practicing the asanas themselves can also be a form of meditation. At the very least, poses help to prepare the body and mind for meditation by taking you inward.
Then, take a moment to check in with where you are starting—physically, mentally, and emotionally. Ask yourself: What is my motivation for today’s practice? Why do I want to cultivate focused attention anyway? It might be that you want to feel calmer at work or find some relief from a difficult time you’re going through. Whatever your answer, make it an intention for your practice, imbuing your meditation with meaning.
The next step is to begin training your mind to focus on, and stay with, one thing for an extended period. For some hindu meditative exercises, you might either close your eyes or keep them slightly open, which would help keep you alert if you’re a little sleepy. Various meditation techniques—like those presented on the following pages—train you to unify, calm, and center the mind and find focused attention. This attention will allow you to begin to see, but not get caught up in, the habits and patterns of your mind. With that comes the freedom to connect more fully with your deeper wisdom.
Of course, even the most seasoned meditators experience floods of thoughts. When the thoughts arise, gently and lovingly invite your mind to return to the technique you’ve chosen as an anchor for your attention.
Once you begin to notice how out of control the mind is, you will learn to not take all of the thoughts that come up so seriously and will start to develop compassion toward yourself. Some meditators liken this process to the process of training a puppy. If you train a dog by beating it, it will become obedient, inflexible, and neurotic. If you train the little guy with kindness and firmness, your pet will learn confidence and trust. See: One Tip That Changes Everything For Your Meditation
It takes time to develop a new habit, so be patient with yourself. Begin with 5 to 10 minutes and progressively build up to 30 to 45 minutes of quiet meditation. (You might find it helpful to use a timer so that you don’t have to watch the clock.)
Try all of the practices on the following pages—maybe devoting a week or more to each one—and see what works for you.
Keep in mind that you are not trying to get anywhere, so don’t get caught up in the techniques. They are simply tools; they are not the meditation itself. Meditation is ultimately a way of being with the present moment, exactly as it is, with an open heart and an open mind.
mind-focusing practices
Try one of these simple techniques to hone concentration and invite meditation.
just breathe
Find a comfortable seated position and begin by observing your natural breath. Notice the texture, length, and rhythm as the breath flows in and out of your body. Feel the temperature of the air as it touches your nostrils. Take note, too, of pauses between breaths. As thoughts arise, note them, but then allow them to float by like clouds, gently bringing your attention back to the breath. If you find it difficult to concentrate, try silently counting. For example, inhale 1, exhale 1, inhale 2, exhale 2, up to 10, and then repeat the cycle. After a while, you can stop counting and just focus on your natural breath.
The Focusing Of The Mind On Spiritual Ideas – Chant A Mantra
Traditionally, mantras are sacred words or syllables given by a teacher that are repeated as a means for awakening to the Divine or the focusing of the mind on spiritual ideas. Meditating on words of power is a powerful way to soften the critical mind and transform the energy of your internal dialogue. In yoga, Sanskrit sounds imbued with specific meanings are often used, but you can choose any sound or word that has meaning for you. You might try repeating the word shanti (peace) out loud as you exhale, and “peace” silently to yourself as you inhale. When thoughts arise, concentrate on the sound and the vibration of the sound in your body.
see the light
Where the eyes go, so goes your attention. Tratak, a Sanskrit word that means “fixed gazing,” is the practice of staring at an object to steady the mind. Place a burning candle at eye level, about two feet from where you are comfortably seated. Focus your gaze on the flame without blinking your eyes for about a minute, using the light as a focal point to return to when your mind wanders. Then close your eyes and visualize the flame at the point between your eyebrows, holding the image for as long as you can. When the image fades, open your eyes. Repeat the exercise three or four times. End your practice by rubbing your hands together until they heat up, and gently place your palms over your eyelids to bathe them in warmth.
scan your body
This is a great technique to use if you have an injury or illness that makes it uncomfortable to sit. Lie on your back with your legs straight, or prop yourself up on pillows so that you are in a reclining position. Close your eyes unless you are sleepy, in which case you can keep your eyes open. Cultivate an alert but relaxed attention as you take a mental tour of the body. Bring awareness to each part of your body, starting with the big toe, each of the other toes, the ball of the foot, the arch. Continue in this detailed fashion to the top of your head. Ask yourself: What tension do I feel? Where is there pain? Observe any sensations—warmth, coolness, tingling, dullness, compression, and spaciousness—as you move through the body. Notice your relationship to your experience, to thoughts, images, and feelings as they arise and pass away. This is not an exercise in trying to change or judge the body, but to experience what is there. Meet what you find with friendliness and without resistance. The point is to train your mind to go where you want it to go.
step out
Walking meditation is great if you find you are too restless to sit still, and it can help widen your field of focus. Begin standing, bringing your attention to the bottoms of your feet and the contact of your feet with the surface beneath you. Lift one foot, noticing how your body weight shifts to the standing leg. Feel the standing foot spread itself over the ground. Going as slowly as you can, step forward, tracking the changes in the body as you move. Can you feel specific muscles contracting and others relaxing? At what point does your balance shift from the back leg toward the front leg? Each time your mind wanders, bring your attention back to your feet. Notice the environment around you—the colors, the scents, the textures, and any thoughts or feelings that arise— and keep bringing your attention back to the act of walking.
freeform practices
Connect with a more spacious awareness throughout the day with freeform meditations.
gaze at the sky
Nature is a powerful ally of meditation. Sometimes—when the computer crashes as you’re facing a pressing deadline, or the car breaks down when you’re short on money—it’s easy to get caught up in the dramas of life and feel disconnected from your sense of presence. For this practice, find a place in nature where you have an uninterrupted view of the sky. Invite a soft gaze that allows you to have peripheral vision. Imagine you have eyes in the back of your head and have a 360-degree field of view. Take in the spaciousness of the sky and open to it. You are not looking for anything in particular. Instead, you’re simply being with the spacious awareness as your thoughts appear and disappear. If you start to zone out, you can close your eyes and come back to your body and breath. Once you feel more connected, you can open your gaze again and keep some awareness in the body as you invite yourself back to the experience of spaciousness. Before returning to your daily activities, take a moment to ground yourself and reconnect to the earth.
zoom in and out
This practice helps you to cultivate concentration and a more spacious awareness during daily activities. Imagine that your attention has two lenses: a zoom lens and a wide-angle one. As you move through the various activities of your day, zoom in on a specific task or object, and then zoom back out again. For example, while washing the dishes, notice the feeling of the water on your hands, zooming in on the sensation. Is it warm or cool? Where do you feel it most strongly? See if you can narrow your attention to the edges of the sensation. Then shift to a wide-angle lens. As you continue to feel all of the sensations in your hands, open to the space around you: the sounds in the room, the view in front of you, the space behind you, and the ground beneath you. Alternate between narrowing and widening your focus and notice how the changing perspectives affect your experience.