Meditation

Yoga strengthens and balances the physical body, helping one to sit upright and quietly in a comfortable position to meditate.

Meditation is considered the most important aspect of spiritual practice.

Meditation is a way of quieting the mind. It sharpens our focus and builds our ability to choose what to notice and what to let go of, building discernment, rather than being mindlessly driven by whatever passes by. 

Meditation is concentration-training. We can actively choose to let go of waves of passing thoughts, feelings, desires, sensations and distraction of all kinds, focusing instead on the just being present to being aware, without preference. 

The fact that we are aware all the time, that awareness is present all the time, is one of the few constants in our lives. For example, while reading these words, take a moment to ask yourself, “Are you aware, right now?”, taking a step back from the content, as if standing behind your eyes or head. You will notice that you are aware of all that is going on. This presence of being aware is just there. The thought waves are there too, but they are not awareness. They are just in your awareness. 

With practice, meditation teaching you to disidentify with passing phenomena, like nothing more than passing clouds, so that you can attend to the here and now, recognizing I am not those thoughts or sensations; and I have no preference for one or another. Yes, I notice these thought waves, and yes, I have a choice let go of following them. It is a process of allowing and a letting go. A cool practice that brings peace and ease, returning us to the simplicity of our essence and self, without much ado about nothing.

There are many ways and paths of meditation. One can meditate by following the breath, paying attention to sound, silence, an object, body sensation, as well as mantra. 

Using mantra for meditation is powerful. It cuts through a negative or self-limiting thought so that you can align with your true self. Mantras are ancient sacred sounds that have been used for chanting for 1000’s of years. They silence the mind and ego to open us to experience what Sat Dharam Kaur calls, the meditative mind. “The meditative mind takes all the inputs and memories to a place of neutrality and allows us to push through any situation without self-sabotage. The meditative mind controls the self so the infinite can talk to you and your intuition is clear.”

Benefits of Meditation

• Calms the body mind, and connects us to our intuition and inner knowing
• Develops awareness and controls impulsive thoughts
• Links our minds to the infinite and formless, pure awareness
• Releases subconscious thought patterns and block, thus helping to break unhealthy habits
• Balances the hypothalamus, and develops the frontal lobe and thalamus 

Focus of concentration for the eyes

Meditation requires focusing the eyes internally at a single point to help still the mind. There are number of points of focus, for example, on the tip of the nose, between the eyebrows or crown of the head, with the third eye between the eyebrows being most common. These points are called Drishti Points. 

Interestingly, the point between the eyebrows, called Ajna chakra (third eye), is also where the optic nerve crosses the optic chiasm and where the pituitary gland and hypothalamus are located. This eye position has multiple effects on the brain, consciousness and glandular system. In general, Drishti points help to concentrate the mind to avoid distractions, helping us to focus inward, deepening our meditation practice.