Yoga Posturas » Yoga Schools » Yoga *and* meditation
Yoga *and* meditation
Question:
A question for those of you who practice yoga regularly: do you find that yoga and meditation go hand-in-hand? Does one enhance the other? Does the use of one lead to or necessitate the practice of the other?
Yeah, to me they do if for no other reason than that I get a backache after sitting for an hour at a time & I REALLY need a decent stretch!
Response:
My two cents: – It requires enormous patience and years and years of practice to "get into full meditation" as put by Silkeyed. – It also requires an attitude of detachment – not being attached to the results of the efforts of meditation. I know this is difficult as most of us want instant gratification. – The results of meditation are also highly dependent on lifestyle as yoga is an integrated system. Thus one cannot expect excellent results by not practicing regularly or by not paying attention to some aspects of yoga such as yamas and niyamas. – Temporary help / encouragement can be provided by a teacher or guru but in the final analysis, lasting results can be achieved only by persistent dedicated individual effort. The temporary help serves only to reinforce the motivation of the practitioner when (s)he is going through a dry period, like jump starting a car! – A yoga dairy of meditative experiences also helps to see how one is making progress. Cheers Mukti Most traditional yoga schools teach yoga as an integrated system using meditation, asana, pranayama, and other yoga techniques. In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras he states that the ashtanga (eight limbed) practices of yoga (yama,
(deleted) – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - — – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -the wanderings have reached cessation (nirodha). This is NOT done by restraint or force, but through insight gained from observation, dedication, spiritual passion, and consistent practice. A question for those of you who practice yoga regularly: do you find that yoga and meditation go hand-in-hand? Does one enhance the other? Does the use of one lead to or necessitate the practice of the other? I’m just curious. I never was able to get into full meditation (or do it on a regular basis) and I always wondered if I was missing something and if I shouldn’t try harder to make a go of both. In all these years I never could get my mind to hush long enough to say I successfully "meditated". :) I know some people swear by it and I was hoping some people would share their thoughts on the subject. SilkEyed
Response:
Eh? dude, they go hand-in-hand. Your not a novice? By no means. Have a good time . From the usenet. Before you buy.
Response:
Thanks to all for your opinions and messages. I will consider everything you have said carefully and appreciate your help. SilkEyed
Response:
Hello, SilkEyed one! The greatest practice that I experience, is when I combine Awareness meditation along with physical "hatha" yoga practice. Of course, that would mean studying and understanding awareness meditation, but believe me, it is really worth the while. Combining the two allows your inner/greater consciousness to guide your yoga practice, and the practice becomes much more relaxed, powerful, and you’re not likely to injure yourself because the limited mind cannot understand the body and its energy systems as well as the greater/inner mind… The Buddha rightly put concentration AFTER mindfulness. Because we "think" we are concentrating when actually the mind is still buzzing with activity around its concept of "concentrating." I love Tao and Zen because their way of meditation is so relaxing, and yet so powerful. Indeed, I’ve grown to respect Taoist Chi Kung Yoga practices far more than Indian Hatha Yoga. However, I have learned to combine the two practices together. Raja
Response:
A question for those of you who practice yoga regularly: do you find that yoga and meditation go hand-in-hand? Does one enhance the other? Does the use of one lead to or necessitate the practice of the other? I’m just curious. I never was able to get into full meditation (or do it on a regular basis) and I always wondered if I was missing something and if I shouldn’t try harder to make a go of both. In all these years I never could get my mind to hush long enough to say I successfully "meditated". :) I know some people swear by it and I was hoping some people would share their thoughts on the subject. SilkEyed
Response:
Yoga isn’t really yoga in the classical sense without meditation. Three of the eight limbs of Patanjali’s Yoga involve meditation – so, of course, they do go together. The main purpose of the earlier limbs like morality, postures and breath-control are to prepare for meditation. Regards Ken – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A question for those of you who practice yoga regularly: do you find that yoga and meditation go hand-in-hand? Does one enhance the other? Does the use of one lead to or necessitate the practice of the other? I’m just curious. I never was able to get into full meditation (or do it on a regular basis) and I always wondered if I was missing something and if I shouldn’t try harder to make a go of both. In all these years I never could get my mind to hush long enough to say I successfully "meditated". :) I know some people swear by it and I was hoping some people would share their thoughts on the subject. SilkEyed
Response:
Most traditional yoga schools teach yoga as an integrated system using meditation, asana, pranayama, and other yoga techniques. In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras he states that the ashtanga (eight limbed) practices of yoga (yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyhara, dharana, dhyana (meditation), and samadhi) are mutually synergistic and I agree. Later when asana practice meant more than sitting (during Medieval India) those who founded hatha yoga still taught meditation i.e., asana practice was never considered a practice separate from meditation, pranayama, and the rest. The very practice of asana was always defined as being within the broader scope of yoga of which meditation was a part, various schools emphasizing specific methods. Thus Raj Yoga emphasizes meditation while hatha yoga emphasizes asana practice, laya yoga emphasizes dharana, but the traditional hatha yoga that you will find in Gherand Samhita, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Siva Samhita, Goraksataka, etc., advocate both as mutually synergistic. Patanjali says in "the Yoga Sutras", II -28-29I "yoga anganusthanad asuddhi-ksye jnana-diptir a viveka-khyateh yama,niyamasana-pranyama-pratyhara-dharana-dhyana-samadhayo’stav angani" All the authentic teachers including BKS Iyengar and Patabi Jois both practice and recommend meditation, but not all teach it. What we see in the West as being named as a yoga class is most often just an asana class. It is only one part of hatha yoga. Hatha Yoga includes many other elements as well. i.e., asana practice is not synonymous with hatha yoga. Now for the second part, yes I too find it synergistic. I don’t know what you mean by full meditation (perhaps you have a pre-conceived notion of what that is? The mind wanders, you bring it back to the breath and energy, it wanders again, you drop the attachment, it wanders again — you bring it back — eventually it wanders less and you become focused on the present more — your energy and attention are no longer dissipating, wandering, going off into the future or past, to shopping, to "other" places — a tremendous amount of energy thus becomes available to you for regeneration, healing, or just abiding in your self nature — swarupa. Over time as you start to pay attention to the true nature of "mind" whence it arises and when it subsides, this process brings self confidence, true security, peace, and well being. Eventually through joyful practice you get used to paying attention to your energetic center more often, so that you are bringing this joy and peace into the world with you — and "Eventually" the circle becomes complete — outer and inner, heaven and earth, head and body, spirit and nature …. Meditation is simply the process — letting go of a wandering thought and bringing your attention back to the present IS meditation. This trains the mind and establishes internal habits that lead eventually to not having it wander at all, or what is called nirodha – the cessation of the vrttis fluctuations) of the mindstuff (citta) THAT is called returning to swarupa (true nature) or samadhi. There are many kinds of samadhi, most people experience what is called temporary samadhi (sabija-samadhi) or samadhi with seed. This beginners stage of samadhi can last for an instant (satori) or longer and it can vary widely as to depth. It is nirbija samadhi (samadhi without seed) where the yogi can still the mind anytime they chose — where the wanderings have reached cessation (nirodha). This is NOT done by restraint or force, but through insight gained from observation, dedication, spiritual passion, and consistent practice.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A question for those of you who practice yoga regularly: do you find that yoga and meditation go hand-in-hand? Does one enhance the other? Does the use of one lead to or necessitate the practice of the other? I’m just curious. I never was able to get into full meditation (or do it on a regular basis) and I always wondered if I was missing something and if I shouldn’t try harder to make a go of both. In all these years I never could get my mind to hush long enough to say I successfully "meditated". :) I know some people swear by it and I was hoping some people would share their thoughts on the subject. SilkEyed
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