|
Meditation, often referred to as sitting, is widely known as the art of calming and resting the mind. In many of the ancient traditions still widely practised today, silence, breath awareness, contemplation and insight are used as the primary tools on the journey to the realisation of truth and inner freedom.
Yoga practice generates energy and generally shakes things up: our subtle fears and hidden anxieties may pop to the surface, and sitting silently at the end of our practice provides an important space for resolution and an opportunity to bring our newly generated energy to settle.
In the world of popular yoga today, sitting and relaxation is often neglected and the deeper benefits of yoga, therefore as a powerful transformational practice is often missed. The third limb of Patanjali’s Ashtanga yoga, Asana, although in the broad sense translating to mean posture, does in its deeper essence mean stillness: our active practice essentially serves to bring us to a sense of stillness and into a being state. The last three limbs of Ashtanga yoga; Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi are referred to as the inner aspect of yoga practice.
“The mind in singular internal suspension is Dharana
The unravelling of perception is Dhyana
Apparent form radiating the singular significance of
emptiness (shunyata) is Samadhi iii, 1-3
Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi constitute meditation”
An excerpt from the Yogadarshana, by Godfri Dev
In the beginning it can be helpful to use a step by step approach to sitting.
The steps are varied and can be very detailed or not, the journey infinite; the following is an example of a sitting practice.
Sitting in a comfortable position in silence we begin with a profound softening and releasing of the physical body. In time we deepen this process to an internalised absorption in the breath.
Then, being present to everything arising in every given moment, we experience a profound sense of all encompassing open awareness.
Within that open awareness we are led beyond the fragmenting qualities of the mind and the limitations, suppressions and repressions often experienced by the I.
We sit within this inner blossoming of the mind and body while our thoughts play out freely without us becoming involved or reactive.
Sitting in silence as indicated above can be profoundly transformational. However, the sense of oneness, perfection, and being, experienced during meditation, is not only limited to the practice of sitting. By integrating sensitive awareness and an open inquiry into all arenas of our life, meditation can become available to us in any given moment.
Five minutes in a café, ten minutes playing with our children on the floor, are all moments that can inspire a delightful sense of being.
The experience of meditation does not require us to control the mind, stop our thoughts, or exert a huge amount of effort. On the contrary, it involves the dropping of striving, effort and end gain as we relax into each given moment and surrender to the freedom and truth of our natural state.
Jo studied meditation extensively in the early ’90s, while staying in Gurumai Chidvilasananda’s ashram in Ganeshpuri, India. Her direct experiences of spontaneous meditation from this time combined with intense studies with Godfrey Devereux and the Advaita teachings of Wayne Liquerman inform her explorations, practice and teaching of meditation.
All of Jo’s classes and courses include meditation.
For students with a desire to develop a deeper and regular sitting practice, one-on-one guidance is recommended.
© 2010 Jo Kemp. All rights reserved.
|
