Yoga is a practical system for personal development that helps you return you body and mind to health, and promote harmony in your daily life. This is achieved by developing a personal discipline so sure and a spirit so true that one can afford to be utterly spontaneous. By reaching such a state of deliberateness without effort, one can permanently be in the present moment, completely mindful of all thought, speech and action. The philosophy of yoga teaches that with this profound awareness and devotion to the goal of enlightenment and nirvana, we can release ourselves from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth and transcend to the
higher levels of existence. Meditation is an important part of this process and should always be practiced at the end of your yoga session. Meditation is awareness. The main difference between the different meditation philosophies and therapies around today is the object of concentration that allows us to develop this awareness. A yogi may use Om or a candle, a Buddhist may use the breath, Zen uses contemplations on nature and emptiness to discover the ultimate truth. These basic concentration and awareness techniques allow us to notice the qualities of the mind and how it works. We discover for ourselves the subtleties and impermanence of this mind, this body, this life, this universe. We realize that the mind is made up of wants, desires, judgements, plannings, measurings, etc. Seeing the scope of our wanting shows us how deeply and subtly dissatisfaction has created our personal world, and this seeing frees us from much grasping, from thinking that all our wants have to be satisfied, that we have to compulsively respond to everything that arises in our mind. We see that things can be a certain way without needing to be acted upon or judged or even pushed aside. They can simply be observed. When there is wanting in the mind, that moment feels incomplete.
Wanting is seeking elsewhere. Completeness is being right here, right now. When we experience the depth of wanting in the mind there follows a great joy. This is because we see how wanting obscures the present, with its reaching and desiring forthat which we do not have now. When we let go of this wanting we realize that there does n’t need to be anything to grasp for, or
hold on to. We can simply be. To realize that there is nothing to hold onto that brings lasting satisfaction shows us there is nowhere to go and nothing to have and nothing to be – and that’s freedom! Allowing us to strive towards our goals and dreams with wisdom and love, without expectation or attachment to the outcome.
When you are hurrying around too quickly, there is a part of the world you can not see. If for example, you
are taking the wrong direction in life, it is only when you stop and look at things clearly that you can revise your direction and take a more proper course. In order to find ourselves, we’ve got to learn to stop.
This is meditation. Training the mind to liberate itself from wanting and desire, to be content in themoment,
with non-attachment, accepting the ever changing universe as it is. This is inner peace. Being mindfulin the present moment, experiencing each and every moment with full awareness. This is true happiness. This is true health. And this you can not buy with all the money in the world. This you must experience for yourself, with regular training and the daily practice of techniques such as yoga and meditation.
Traditionally, Hatha Yoga is based on the principle that one can become aware of higher states of mind by
manipulating the different forces and systems in the physical body. Any stimulation or manipulation of the nervous system will surely have an effect on the mind, for all the nerves in the body are directly or indirectly connected to the brain. The concentration techniques of Hatha Yoga are aimed at purifying and preparing the mind for the higher stages of meditation attainted through other forms of yoga.
In yoga, the aim of practicing meditation is to awaken the dormant areas of the brain. Initially meditation
brings peace and calm to your life. But perseverance and dedicated practice will lead to a deep sense of self-awareness, super-conscious and a super-human state of illumination and enlightenment.
You have within yourself tremendous powers and latent faculties of which you have never really had any
conception. If want to you awaken these dormant powers and faculties you must practice Hatha Yoga for many years, in order for sushumna nadi to flow. You must develop your will and control your senses and mind. You must purify your whole being and practice regular meditation.
Meditation begins with the withdrawal and emancipation of the mind from the control of the senses. This
is known as pratyahara - withdrawal of the senses. The next stage is concentration exercises known as dharana. Concentration is holding the mind on to a particular object for a defined length of time. Concentration merges into meditation. This stage is called dhyana. Meditation is the unbroken flow of thought of the object. During meditation all worldly thoughts are shut out from the mind. With regular practice the layers of the mind are peeled away, allowing you to discover for yourself deeper realmsof consciousness, transcending the mental and physical worlds.
These techniques take you to the inner most recesses of the soul. The fruit of meditation is pure consciousness and complete absorption with the Divine. This state is known as Samadhi, where there is no separation, no duality between You - the individual human spirit, and the Supreme Universal Spirit, known as God. You are One with the Universe.