Meditation
In Sanskrit, Dhyana means "Meditation." Dhyana refers not to an action but to a quality, this quality is stillness of the mind but also refers to thought and reflection.
This practice may come easy to some while others may find this practice challenging, but with enough practice and time you will start to realize the importance of this practice.
"Do not believe me, find out for yourself."
- The Buddha
When sitting it is best to envelop yourself in the practice without expectations while not trying to control the mind at first. Like a child, the mind may want to become active during a practice and wander around.
The human mind has between sixty to seventy thousand thoughts during a typical day, so controlling the thoughts while you Meditate are out of the question.
Instead just do not feed the thoughts or do not add to the thought or continue with the thought. Just be the observer of the thoughts without judgment or expectations.
At the center, we see this practice as a daily mini vacation because of the stress that is released, the feeling of being rejuvenated and the overall health benefits of becoming still in the mind and body.
This practice can help heal the body and mind and with an experienced Yoga teacher the chances of being successful is greatly increased.
Meditation and the spiritual Path
This practice give the practitioner the ability to experience the higher self or true self. About at the age of two is when the ego or lower self starts to express its self and in turn is fed or allowed to grow.
With time we start to believe that we are the lower self and therefore we do not see our Divine Nature and experience life as it is meant to be experienced. A Meditative practice also gives us the ability to work through past traumas that hold us back.
Preforming this practice gives us the ability to work with the Pranic system which includes Prana meaning “life force energy,” Nadis meaning “energetic pathways” that allow Prana to move through out the body and the Chakras meaning “wheel” or “vortex of Prana” which occur when two or more Nadis cross.
The path of Meditation
The practice of Meditation is to often seen as using the mind to achieve a goal and when a practice begins this is important. In order to understand the power of this practice it is highly suggested to start with the Chakras. When you are able to experience the seven main Chakras, you will start to understand that there is much more to the human experience then you currently are experiencing.
After working with the seven main Chakras, it is highly suggested to work through any issues that you maybe experiencing such as depression, lack of self-esteem or any other issue that is holding you back. For this guided Meditation are a great tool and we encourage you to
After the process above has been completed you will then be ready for the main purpose of this practice which is to allow the mind to settle into a state of calm or stillness. This is easier said the done so it is suggested to start with allowing gaps in thought by not feeding or adding to the thoughts that mind creates.
In the beginning the gaps maybe a few seconds, but with time and dedication the gaps will increase allowing you to experience the deeper dimensions of the higher self. When this is allowed to happen you may start to have experiences such as seeing auroras or light that surrounds leaves of a tree or plant, animals or people.
You also may loose the sensation of parts of the body or the whole body completely and many more experiences may happen that will not be discussed because we do not want to give you something to chase after. Instead of giving you something to chase after it is best to allow the practice to flower and allow the higher self to guide you through the journey.
This practice helps to make a Meditation practice easier by giving the practitioner a guided experience. This gives the practitioner the ability to learn the different practices, so they can be preformed anywhere and for any amount of time.
This practice is done with the spine in an erect but comfortable position, this is done so the Chakras are in aliment and the Nadis meaning "energetic pathways" are not restricted, allowing for the free flow of Prana meaning "life force energy."
This practice is the verbal repetition of a word, phrase, syllable or a whole sentence. With this practice the practitioner is using the mind as a instrument to calm then still the mind, using Dharana meaning "concentration."