Like most people my interest in yoga began routed in the physical, the asanas, and although this is still an integral part of my daily practise I am now following all the practises and philospohies as outlined by the eight limbs Patanjali's Yoga Sutras:
Yama Universal morality
Niyama Personal observances
Asanas Body postures
Pranayama Breathing exercises, and control of prana
Pratyahara Control of the senses
Dharana Concentration and cultivating inner perceptual awareness
Dhyana Devotion, Meditation on the Divine
Samadhi Union with the Divine
In very simplified terms the physical practise is a way of preparing the body for the breathing practises/pranayama which in turn help us to take control of our senses (see Power of Pranayama post here for further information), leading to deeper concentration and awareness and over time towards Dhyana and eventually Samadhi.
Practise of the asanas feels great, we hold many of lifes stresses within the body itself and so opening and moving releases these tensions and allows prana/energy to move more freely. It is intself a technique of moving meditation whereby we connect to the present, focus on the flow of the breath and the sensations in the body. On a practical level it literally prepares the body to be able to sit still in a comfortable (crossed legged then working eventually towards full lotus/padmasana) position with the spine erect and sushumna (the central channel) in alignment for meditation.
I am currently blessed with more free time to do what I love and so this has enabled my meditation practise to blossom. In London I tended to only be able to meditate for upto 20 minutes and I didn't have a consistant practise. Now, with the techniques I have learnt (see Introduction to Buddhist Meditation here and check out Alessandra Peceorella's Shabda CD here) I find it much easier to meditate for longer periods on regular basis and those moments of complete blissful silence are increasing.
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The numerous benefits of meditation I am enjoying include greater
Clarity
Connection
Contentment
Compassion
Consciousness
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There is an incredible wealth of scientific proof that meditation improves your health and actually affects those around you. If you don't meditate yet than I urge you to give it a go, even just starting with 5 minutes a day you will feel the benefits and be contributing to the higher consciousness.
Why and how can meditation make you happier?
In meditation we remove the layers of our rigid perceptions of who we are and the stresses and anxieties that this perception can hold and delve deep to the core of our Being.
In this state of Being (our true nature, the source, the eternal self) consciousness is no longer seperate and we enter a state of unity (a translation of the sanskrit word yoga is to unite) on a universal level.
Thousands of years ago the Vedas described Being as sat chit ananda /eternal bliss-consciousness and outlined the route to this state as through meditation. Contentment is within us, the most natural state is to be happy. Meditation evokes deep happinesss which makes you healthier as it systematically reduces stress from the nervous system.
During meditation you are contributing to the higher, collective human consciousness because your state of sattwa (purity) actually brings peace to your wider surroundings and the larger community.
In the words of Deepak Chopra
"The explanation offered by the rishis is simple: human consciousness is a whole, a single awareness that at a deeper level is shared by all. This collective consciousness unites people at their source, and whatever is generated from there is accepted as reality. When the collective conscious is weak and in conflict, negative trends predominate in society: there is crime, war, and absence of knowledge about enlightenment. by the same token, if collective consciousness can be made positive, these trends will decrease. It is just a matter of injecting a harmonious influence at the appropriate level, and everyone will feel the benefits."
(Return of the Rishi p170)
And for all the sceptics out there who this has all sounded like mumbo jumbo so far here's just a couple of examples of the scientific studies which have proved meditation's power to create peace:
"A Transcendental Meditation teacher whose parents lived in Lebanon feared for their safety. Their small village of Baskinta was in the war area under the most devastating bombardment from both sides. The surrounding mountains had been heavily armed with cannons during the past several years. TM's theory of collective consciousness held that if 1 percent of the people in the village meditated, they would not have to fear any enemy. So the teacher went home to Lebanon and taught TM to 1 percent of villagers. Then he followed what happended to them. In the next six years the bombing increased and the whole area was demolished. Casualties and damage were horrendous. Not a single bomb fell on this village. One day a single shell hit a tree. Nothing was damaged and noone was hurt."
"During the Christmas holiday in 1983, enough meditators gathered in Fairfield, Iowa, to reach the number needed for a global effect, about seven thousand, They meditated together for two weeks to create strong waves of coherence in world consciousness and then left. During exactly that periodm, crime rates decreased in other countries, international hostilities cooled down, and even the stock markets rose on a global scale. The trends reversed when the assembly dispersed."
(Return of the Rishi, Deepak Chopra)
I'd love to hear any of your experiences of meditation and if you have any tips on incorporating a meditation practise into your daily life....
Yama Universal morality
Niyama Personal observances
Asanas Body postures
Pranayama Breathing exercises, and control of prana
Pratyahara Control of the senses
Dharana Concentration and cultivating inner perceptual awareness
Dhyana Devotion, Meditation on the Divine
Samadhi Union with the Divine
In very simplified terms the physical practise is a way of preparing the body for the breathing practises/pranayama which in turn help us to take control of our senses (see Power of Pranayama post here for further information), leading to deeper concentration and awareness and over time towards Dhyana and eventually Samadhi.
Practise of the asanas feels great, we hold many of lifes stresses within the body itself and so opening and moving releases these tensions and allows prana/energy to move more freely. It is intself a technique of moving meditation whereby we connect to the present, focus on the flow of the breath and the sensations in the body. On a practical level it literally prepares the body to be able to sit still in a comfortable (crossed legged then working eventually towards full lotus/padmasana) position with the spine erect and sushumna (the central channel) in alignment for meditation.
I am currently blessed with more free time to do what I love and so this has enabled my meditation practise to blossom. In London I tended to only be able to meditate for upto 20 minutes and I didn't have a consistant practise. Now, with the techniques I have learnt (see Introduction to Buddhist Meditation here and check out Alessandra Peceorella's Shabda CD here) I find it much easier to meditate for longer periods on regular basis and those moments of complete blissful silence are increasing.
.jpg)
The numerous benefits of meditation I am enjoying include greater
Clarity
Connection
Contentment
Compassion
Consciousness
.jpg)
There is an incredible wealth of scientific proof that meditation improves your health and actually affects those around you. If you don't meditate yet than I urge you to give it a go, even just starting with 5 minutes a day you will feel the benefits and be contributing to the higher consciousness.
Why and how can meditation make you happier?
In meditation we remove the layers of our rigid perceptions of who we are and the stresses and anxieties that this perception can hold and delve deep to the core of our Being.
In this state of Being (our true nature, the source, the eternal self) consciousness is no longer seperate and we enter a state of unity (a translation of the sanskrit word yoga is to unite) on a universal level.
Thousands of years ago the Vedas described Being as sat chit ananda /eternal bliss-consciousness and outlined the route to this state as through meditation. Contentment is within us, the most natural state is to be happy. Meditation evokes deep happinesss which makes you healthier as it systematically reduces stress from the nervous system.
During meditation you are contributing to the higher, collective human consciousness because your state of sattwa (purity) actually brings peace to your wider surroundings and the larger community.
In the words of Deepak Chopra
"The explanation offered by the rishis is simple: human consciousness is a whole, a single awareness that at a deeper level is shared by all. This collective consciousness unites people at their source, and whatever is generated from there is accepted as reality. When the collective conscious is weak and in conflict, negative trends predominate in society: there is crime, war, and absence of knowledge about enlightenment. by the same token, if collective consciousness can be made positive, these trends will decrease. It is just a matter of injecting a harmonious influence at the appropriate level, and everyone will feel the benefits."
(Return of the Rishi p170)
And for all the sceptics out there who this has all sounded like mumbo jumbo so far here's just a couple of examples of the scientific studies which have proved meditation's power to create peace:
"A Transcendental Meditation teacher whose parents lived in Lebanon feared for their safety. Their small village of Baskinta was in the war area under the most devastating bombardment from both sides. The surrounding mountains had been heavily armed with cannons during the past several years. TM's theory of collective consciousness held that if 1 percent of the people in the village meditated, they would not have to fear any enemy. So the teacher went home to Lebanon and taught TM to 1 percent of villagers. Then he followed what happended to them. In the next six years the bombing increased and the whole area was demolished. Casualties and damage were horrendous. Not a single bomb fell on this village. One day a single shell hit a tree. Nothing was damaged and noone was hurt."
"During the Christmas holiday in 1983, enough meditators gathered in Fairfield, Iowa, to reach the number needed for a global effect, about seven thousand, They meditated together for two weeks to create strong waves of coherence in world consciousness and then left. During exactly that periodm, crime rates decreased in other countries, international hostilities cooled down, and even the stock markets rose on a global scale. The trends reversed when the assembly dispersed."
(Return of the Rishi, Deepak Chopra)
I'd love to hear any of your experiences of meditation and if you have any tips on incorporating a meditation practise into your daily life....
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