A Word About Meditation
No exploration of yoga would be complete without a thorough understanding of meditation.
Meditation is essentially the calming of the chattering mind. In the Buddhist tradition, the mind is likened to a monkey – constantly chattering in your ear to no clear purpose. In the West, we are conditioned to thought and the primacy of the mind, but in the Eastern tradition, the mind is often seen as an obstacle, and a source of confusion.
Sooner or later, your thoughts always tend to bring you down.
With meditation, you calm that chattering monkey and focus on what is before you – without purposely thinking. The irony of this practice is that the calming effects of meditation allow your mind to fulfill its proper function as a tool. When thought is necessary, it will be there, only calmer and much more rational.
Formal meditation involves sitting quietly – with or without closing the eyes. Usually you simply focus your attention on something right in front of you, or something obvious. This can be a candle flame, or more commonly, simply your breath. The act of focusing on your inhalations and exhalations and ignoring any thoughts that go through your mind sounds simple – but it is difficult to master in the beginning.
The trick is to not be concerned with any stray thoughts. Thoughts will pop into your head automatically. You must simply let them come in, and let them drift out – without focusing on them.
Sitting quietly for no more than 10 minutes a day – preferably at the same time of day – will calm your mind, give you much better focus, and lower your blood pressure. You will also find that you will think more clearly during the rest of the day, act less impulsively, and make fewer mistakes.
Another aspect of meditation is to incorporate it into your every day life. You can meditate while performing simple acts or going through the routine of your day. If you have to climb a long flight of stairs, don’t think about the chore of getting to the top. Instead, focus on each step as an action in the here and now. The future is an abstraction and the past no longer exists.
All we can ever really deal with is the here and now. Just the simple understanding of this will relieve you of a tremendous psychological burden. Let go of any attachment to results. Results are based in the future and the future is just an idea in your mind. Once the future appears, it will actually be the present moment. After it comes and goes, it will then be an abstraction once again, only this time just a memory.
Meditation allows us to experience this and to see the intransigence of everything in life. The irony is that once this is understood, life loses its heaviness and drama.
Set aside ten minutes each day to meditate before even attempting a yoga pose. Over time you will find it transforming.