Successful Meditation In Yoga Takes Patience And Practice

With all of today's distractions, including online endeavors like Twitter and Facebook, finding the opportunity to simply clear your mind may be difficult chore.  And, for some, impossible.

But clearing one's mind of the useless clutter and reaching a state of calmness and peace is the goal of yoga meditation.  To accomplish this goal, the yoga student must learn to be in total control of their thoughts and mind.  Many people may believe they can easily achieve this state of calmness, but actually attempting meditation can prove to them how difficult it actually is.

What anyone attempting meditation for the first (or even third or tenth time) should realize is that meditation doesn't come easy.  Although the practice will eventually bring the student serenity, actually getting your mind to clear itself and remove stress is a difficult process with key steps.  And one of the most important steps is breathing. By learning to breath in a controlled manner, a yoga practitioner can control their life force, or "prana", increasing it or decreasing it to bring themselves into a sense of balance, which will ease the transition into a meditative state.

By learning to breath in a controlled manner, a yoga practitioner can control their life force, or "prana", increasing it or decreasing it to bring themselves into a sense of balance, which will ease the transition into a meditative state.

The life force works its way through the body along paths known as "nadis".  There are three nadis: the sushumna, which flows along the spine, and the pinngala and ida, which each run on one side of the sushumma.  The prana runs along these paths and is propelled by the student's breathing, thoughts and emotions.  The breathing patterns can control the flow of prana that, in turn, will enable the meditation process.

Followiing that thought, one of the first steps in yoga is to gain an awareness of yourself and your body.  To do this, start by lying on your back with your arms at your side and your legs extended.  Become aware of your surroundings, the way your body is reacting to them.  With your eyes closed, feel your body's weight, the weight of your arms and legs.  Feel your body sink into the floor or bed and let the various parts of your body come in contact with the surface.

Now try to gain an awareness of your body from top to bottom.  Became aware of your body starting with your toes.  Move your awareness up your legs, past your knees, your pelvis and continue upwards along your back to your shoulders.

Become aware of your arms and your hands, your head.  Become aware of any areas of tension, stress and discomfort.  If you sense your muscles are tight in a particular area, make an effort to get them to relax.

Now focus on your spine, the area where the sushumma flows.  Try to visualize the prana or life force flowing along the path.  Feel it moving along your spine from the base to your head. Imagine that it is flowing unencumbered and carrying with it all of the tension in your body.

If there seems to be areas where it appears to be blocked or does not flow freely, imagine it being lifted away gently, taking your stress away as well.  Finally, return to becoming aware of your entire body, making a note of areas that held tension or were noteworthy for some reason.  At this stage, your breathing should be slow, measured and calm.  Notice how your breath is flowing in and out and notice whether it is smooth and relaxed or heavy and labored.  Note whether you are breathing in an irregular pattern.

Also consider the thoughts you are having at this point. Hopefully, you mind should be at rest and clear, but if it is not, don't worry.  Having a mind that is not totally clear does not mean you have not achieved a state of meditation, only that it will take more time to reach a complete state.  In fact, many people who attempt to meditate for the first time find that their mind is still distracted by thoughts of work or family commitments.  This is to be expected.  After a while, you will be able to clear your mind and achieve a deeper level of meditation.

Become aware of the pattern of your heartbeat and how your body rises and falls with each breath.  Each time, make a mental note of your emotions at the time and your state of mind. And conclude by becoming aware of your entire state: mind, body and spirit.

You may have to attempt meditation several time before you find that you can completely relax, but as we said, it takes practice.  Schedule regular times to practice meditation and learn to listen to your body and mind to reach a level of peach and harmony.