So many times I have heard, “I’ve tried meditating but my mind won’t stop thinking and I can’t sit still. I’m bad at it and can’t do it.” Look, I too felt that way until I learned about the process of meditation. All my expectations about it were way out in left field and kept me from being able to do it. Once I understood the process, it’s become a daily practice that I crave and can’t live without. Curious??

MEDITATION IS YOGA

Before we dive into the Yogic meditation process I need to address a common misconception. Some of you might have no clue that meditation, traditionally, is a huge part of Yoga. Most people I talk with think Yoga = poses and Meditation = Buddhist tradition. Meditation has been an integral part of many spiritual paths from the East, not just Buddhism. 

So, I want you to broaden your definition of Yoga to include meditation. Think about the poses as a beginning. They can help you to start training the body and mind to be able to meditate.  

Alright, let’s talk about Yogic meditation.

RAJA YOGA – YOGA FOR THE MIND

I’m going to be using the path laid out in Patanjali Yoga Sutras called Raja Yoga, which is known as the path of Meditation and Yoga for the Mind. Meditation is a key practice in Raja Yoga and one can not reach Samadhi or ‘enlightenment’ without it.

You might be thinking, “I’m not looking for enlightenment, I just want a calm mind. I just want to stop reacting all the time. All I want is to stop having so much self-doubt and negative thinking.” Awesome! Because, Raja Yoga’s goal is the complete cessation of all thought waves. So, if your goal is a calmer, more peaceful mind, meditation can also help you achieve this.

The ‘prescription’ to settle and calm the mind from PYS is Ashta Anga Yoga – not to be confused with the pose practice…completely different. Ashata means eight and Anga limb or component. The ‘prescription’ is made up of 8 components: 

• Yamas, Niyamas, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara (Practices to calm the mind from external disturbances and move more and more inward)
• Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi (Inward practices that lead to Self-Realization.)

I’m going to focus on Dharna and Dhyana in this post.

PROCESS OF MEDITATION

Dharana is the practice of Yogic meditation and it starts with focusing or concentrating your mind on a single-point. Now, when you start, you might be able to focus for 1-10 seconds and then the mind wanders. It’s all good! Remember this is a practice.

A belief that if you can’t sit still… with a calm mind… for 20-30 minutes means you’re “bad at” or “can’t” meditate is actually a ridiculous notion. You start where your mind is at.

When the mind wanders and you’re aware of it, you bring it back to the point of focus. This might be the breath, a mantra, an image, a point in the body, etc.  

That’s the practice: Focus on a point, mind wanders, bring it back and refocus on the point of focus. Again and again. That’s it.

Over time, as your mind moves from several seconds to tens of seconds, to a minute – you will have moments where you realized your mind didn’t wander but instead felt as if you dissolved for a moment.

That moment of dissolution is a moment of Dhyana, which is complete focus to the point of melting with the point of focus. I experience this as dissolving my awareness of myself to just be. Of course, when your mind is aware of this and starts thinking again, you are back to practicing Dharana. 

Those moments of Dhyana, over time, lengthen. This is meditation according to Yoga.

AGAIN, IT’S A PROCESS

I want to be very clear that this process, to be fully in Dhyana without going back to Dharana, takes a long time. Not months or a year or two. I’m talking years and decades. So why do it?

This practice of concentration, bringing the mind back to a point of focus, quickly starts to transform daily life. You become more aware of yourself, aware of patterns that aren’t helping you. You start to pause before you react and start responding in a more calm manner. Things that you ‘freaked out’ about start to not be a bother anymore. Meditation becomes not only a stand alone practice, but a way of life. It’s transformative!

A calm, peaceful mind happens by spending time with yourself. It is an inward process. It won’t happen if you have lots of money, that promotion, that new shiny thing. Otherwise, we’d be living in a VERY peaceful world…and that’s obviously not the case.

3 TIPS

Here are a few tips to remember to get you started:

1. Meet your mind where it’s at. If you have an active mind, start with an active meditation. Use your Yoga pose practice, i.e. Yoga class, as an active meditation. Do this by being as present as you can to the movements, to your breath. Keep bringing your mind back to being present in the poses.

You can also try walking meditation. Here’s a video from a 7-Day Meditation Challenge I’ve done in the past on how to do walking meditation.

2. Start with 5 minutes, that’s it. We can all find 5 minutes in our day to sit quietly and focus on consciously breathing. Slow the breath down and lengthen the exhale.

3. Be consistent. Try to do your practice, even for 5 minutes, at the same time of day and in the same spot. This consistency helps to condition the mind and body, which makes it easier in the long term.

Remember, if you want a calm and peaceful mind, start the process of meditation!

Namaste.