Today, November 30, 2010. We are located at the Cultural Center “Awakening” near the metro station “Novoslobodskaya” in Moscow. My name is Victoria. This thematic session of the International Open University of Yoga. The theme of our lesson, “The practice of meditation.”
In this lesson we will deal meditation practice, practice concentration and focus. The topic is very complex and global in Yoga. On this topic has been read many lectures and seminars in the school tradition Anandasvami and the theoretical side of the issue is less illuminated. The practice of meditation has not been allocated to a separate activity, but is well represented in the composition of Hahta, Kriya Mantra Yoga and Pranayama. Learn more about the theory of meditation can www.openyoga.ru on site.
To come to practice, remember the essence and meaning of meditation, although if you are familiar with this kind of yoga, you probably know that the word “meditation” of Latin origin. This is not a Sanskrit and some Vedic language. The word “meditation” means “thinking”, “thinking”, ie work with the mind. This term was used because of the fact that the Western man is very hard to imagine the depth of the subject, and in Sanskrit, it is very difficult to give an unambiguous definition. Sometimes, in Sanskrit given a few shades of the word “meditation”, it pratyahara and samadhi. Therefore, to have a European view of this practice, they began to denote the depth of this term is the word “meditation”, ie work with the mind, with a certain condition, with concentration, with the concentration.
Q: What’s the point of meditation?
Victoria: The meaning is this: that we took to its highest position “I”, ie the final stage of meditation is as follows, so we looked at the world from the perspective of his higher ‘I’. All concentrations, others some techniques are needed so that we can razotozhdestvitsya with what we are not, and get into the state observer from his higher ‘I’. The problem is very complicated, it is the ultimate goal of yoga. Therefore difficult to say that there is a kind of yoga as meditation, yoga because everyone involved so that we razotozhdestvlyalis with what we are not and left in the position of his higher ‘I’.
If you’ve been doing yoga, you will agree with me that in Hahta yoga meditation element is also present in the Kriya Mantra and in all other forms of yoga. In all kinds of Yoga meditation we do, ie, we razotozhdestvlyaemsya and leave in its highest position “I”. We work with “vritis”, with representations of themselves, trying to get rid of them, looking at the world from a position of higher ‘I’. Catching Mantra Yoga, the pronunciation of certain sounds or mantras, at the same time we practice meditation, concentrate on the sound, the vibrations. This concentration is very strong – working with our thoughts and states. Through numerous state we go into some grand state when we really begin to see the world from a higher position. When we do Pranayama yoga, there is the same effect that we go through the breath in some higher, transcendental state. When we do Hahta yoga razotozhdestvlyaemsya with his gross body and also eventually leave this higher state. When we practice Kriya Yoga, there is the same effect. Therefore, if one of you says that he never engaged in meditation – it is cunning. Meditation we are doing everything, but did not know what they are doing.
However, there are techniques that do not work with the body, with no voice, and directly with our thoughts concentrations on any object. Typically, such a technique is called “meditation practice”, although this question is more capacious content.
Practice.
Today, we pay attention to practices that through breath work with our will, concentration and thoughts.
Exercise 1.
We begin to focus on a particular object, that object will be an anchor to stay in one spot. Those. we anchored and we will not give our ship, our mind under the influence of wind and waves to drift elsewhere, left or right. Imagine the image: ship – this is your mind, rises a strong wind and storm, and the ship sailed to the left, then right, then somewhere else, ie, it throws on the waves. And we need to ship dropped anchor, we will anchor. Waves – our thoughts, our emotions. There was some kind of emotion, a thought, and we sailed for the idea. Then came another wave, and our ship, our mind, sailed on for another wave. So our mind is jumping here and there.
We will try to concentrate on any one point, on one object, so that the ship has not sailed away these thoughts, and remained fixed in one position. Anchor may be some point in front of him, ie, you concentrate on a point in front of you, you can concentrate on the tip of the nose, and can be on your breathing.
So you anchored, very concentrated and ran the idea came a wave, that wants your boat somewhere to withdraw, and if you are badly anchored, really float away and then just remember that anchored. How strong was the wave that only after some time, you will remember that there were at anchor. The atmosphere will help to ensure that you will remember why you’re here, go back to the starting position, try to anchor again. Again, the idea goes, but you clearly keep the anchor of the ship and tries to swim away – you return it back. Again I want to lead the wave of your boat, and you return it back. Notice your mind play in this exercise.
We must summon the will, as the anchor will be none other than the will. If using the will, we can hold these waves, we cease to identify themselves with it, and a ship with these waves. We begin to understand that we can control the thought process, and it is a good step, when we do the will of applying, try to keep a fixed position and do not give our minds, our thoughts somewhere we lead. You can accept this practice as a game. You see, what is really focused on the subject and have not noticed that for a long time are far away in the wilds of his thoughts. This practice makes it possible, at least in part razotozhdestvitsya with these manifestations, with the idea of himself.
During practice we observe our breath as the air flow near the tip of the nose takes place in us, then comes out, and we will try to fully focus and concentrate only on your breathing with the help of his will. It appears the idea, and so want to think about it, so I want to sail her, but you return on your breathing process. There comes a kind of emotion, the emotion we want to lead, but you re using your will return itself to its original position.
Pose for the practice to be relaxed and comfortable. We relax the face, body to practice hard to sit if you can lie down or to change the position of the feet. Those. if it will be painful, uncomfortable, we will concentrate on the pain, rather than to engage in the practice. Therefore, we choose the most suitable and comfortable position for themselves. Practice this exercise we will be 10 minutes, so collect will in a fist.
So, sit straight, relax your body and notice how the air stream enters into us and then leaves. Applying the will to retain and fix attention on the breath.
Practice exercise for 10 minutes.
Finish the exercise, lie down on your back and relax.
Victoria: There were times when there was a state when there are no thoughts, there were waves and have nothing to be saved?
Answer A: There was a time when almost stopped breathing, it was so shallow that there was virtually no difference between inhalation and exhalation. There was a feeling that all the processes in the body stopped, and life focused on this round breathing. Exhale was so small, and a feeling of delight and some freedom and joy fills in the course of this exercise. Very good.
Victoria: Ie I was not consuming thought in which the left Prana energy and feel liberated potential.
Answer A: I want to say that I’m smarter, uttered the mantra Soham, probably it helped.
Answer B: Focus almost did not happen, at some point I thought it was so much that they even entered the state of slumber me. They attacked from all sides. At some point I realized that I started to fall asleep.
Victoria: If we do not follow the thoughts, they cease to exist.
The answer: It feels like you’re sleeping, and, on the other hand, do not sleep.
Victoria: Ie is an intermediate state, as in Yoga Nidra. Now you understand that to you such a powerful tool as your breathing and meditation practice that you can use at any time of his life.
Question: I have to concentrate, had to breathe out loud, hear your breathing, breathing harder, somehow, it disappeared out of sight, out of focus. So it is possible and so to do?
Victoria: This is one of the techniques when we start to listen to the sound, or making noises, and it is, of course, allows us to concentrate more, to anchor. Because the idea – it’s thinner substance than when we utter speech or sound. A voice vibration, we are concentrating more, a strong anchor. Mind can bind strongly, as if rough component, and we are working with a mental level, it is more difficult.
Answer D: I slowed breathing, slowed breathing due to stop thinking, but what is most interesting when thoughts cease, images appear, begin some more subtle thoughts and begin to cling to them. After the image, laughing, that it is necessary to go back, and then the body was gone. You sit and you do not understand, do you include in the air, whether you have air. Then begins a state: sleeping or not sleeping. What is most interesting, I saw the beginning of thought, where it all begins – Bhavna state – “and yet cool – to live.”
Victoria: In fact, walking on the waves, a whole bunch of thoughts. Very good point, because here they thought, and we are used to them and somehow understand what it is, what kind of substance. The thought occurred to us – do not follow it, and it disappears when we do not support this idea his Prana, his attention. And what to do when you’re a long time sitting and distilled these ideas? They are gone, and suddenly began some more exotic states – a bright light or colored glow? Of course, I want to leave behind the waves. Powerful state, begins to open something that had previously been closed and these finest waves are mirages that really want to get away, but you should not do that.Our task – coarse, fine, finest waves, but they are still only some constructions, it is some images that are created within us and we should not cling to them. Therefore, we once again return to the original state itself, to the original point, and if we dwell long on this initial point, then we begin to truly understand the nature of occurrence of all these vritis, these waves. The longer we are in a state of concentration, the more we understand the nature of things. The more we are in this state, the smaller the waves. First, a lot of them, but over time become less and less, indeed, begins to fade breath, because there is a strong linkage between our breathing and mysleobrazovaniem.
If we are in a state where a lot of thoughts, and those thoughts lead us to a certain state of tamas, the state of mist, we have to breathe hard, to lift themselves out of Tamas, at least a little to dispel the fog, work with voice, sound or listen to your breathing. Those. perform a tough job to lift themselves in a state of clarity, so as not to run over the waves, and there was extreme clarity – no thoughts, because of this, breathing becomes shallow. Bundle: no breathing – there is no thought. If we are in the state of tamas, it is dangerous to breathe, because the fog will cover so much that the ship sinks, we return to the analogy of the ship and the waves. If we went into a state of sattva, on the contrary, the thinner the breath, the less vritis.
This practice has a very practical everyday purposes. Each one of you wants to deal with provocative influence from the outside, because it is vital. This bundle is observed if we readily respond to internal waves, the wave came and led us, as we readily respond to external wave. I came a man wronged us – we burst into tears came a man smiled at us, and we followed him smile, because we have an instant reaction, ie, we have been working on, and we’ve got the same response, we immediately followed by this wave. Something happened – pratyahara on this built – somewhere some noise, ie, some provocative action from the outside – we’ve got the same reaction. The relationship between people, the attitude just the environment to us, for example, advertising. What do not we have said, we will immediately begin to somehow pay attention to it.
If we learn to work with the “inner screen”, with internal waves, at least in part to keep out of their game, then it is transferred instantly and our outer life. Those. if we work it out on a subtle level, then immediately turns on the external level. If you want to really make sure that you have not been affected, a good sense of the word, from the environment, then work with their internal images, because there is no difference in what comes to us from outside or comes from within, in relation to our I – it’s all external.
Very well, if this practice will become your constant throughout the day and night. You keep track of what is coming on the domestic “screen.” If it is difficult without fixing, you fix your attention on some object. Although the next stage, it is when we are on anything not fix his attention, not so much concentrate, and simply observe, but do not follow vritis, the waves.
Question: Is it possible to deal with the thoughts, they are like pirates climb aboard the ship, and the attention to sleep, had to put more of a watchman who sits and stands out for attention. As soon as the climb of thought, it is necessary at once – “Wake up!”, Not so much to keep track of attention, as these climbing thoughts to focus unabated.
Victoria: An example from the life of the external manifestations – came someone in a bad mood and started to get you, provoke you to be out of yourself and start to respond, biting, fighting, barking, scratching, such as to show aggression, and all you’re hooked. You provoked, you start to fight for life and death. But in the end that you followed them to this provocation. The same happens with the thoughts. If we begin to fight them – we caught them on a hook. If we start to fight with them, we voleizyavlyaem that it is such a powerful force, which is necessary to fight, to fight, and may even not defeat this force. If we leave unnoticed thought if we leave provocation by unnoticed – not notice provocateur and all its features, what makes a provocateur? He is behind us, it is not interesting. And so he gets us, and commercials, and some emotion we want to call, and we do not react, and he becomes interested, he goes to get the other. Similarly, the idea, if we start with her fight, fight, bite, the idea rubs his hands together and said – well, here’s what I’ll, suck out the man more forces. If we do not react and leave unnoticed the idea, then it dissolves.
As the sea: you draw in the sand, a wave comes and washes, a complete illusion. If we cease to fight with the enemy, we cease to fight with your thoughts, then they disappear or water waves, like ripples on the water, and we begin to understand the nature of these thought that this was a single medley, and creates a single image from this clay, then he disappeared in a single nature. That figure has turned out beautiful, but not very much, but still everything is made from the same cloth. And we begin to understand, there is no good or bad thoughts – one batter, the material from which made the emotion and thought – alone. If we are fighting for this image, that’s it – ugly image, and begin to beat them, we are strengthening it, it becomes a monolith. And, indeed, we have a good time in our lives, there is bad, and we still live. Those. our whole life – these are the laws that we ourselves are building. We do these monoliths, and they are all around us, and we strongly believe in them, but it is actually made from a single material. A good or bad? In fact, it is a solid joy, pleasure, happiness, Ananda, something beyond and higher.
Meditation we achieve that begin to realize that everything is made of a single. Do not “think” the idea and not have it, you start to think – it becomes hard. Good idea or bad, does not matter.
Question: When you are focusing, breathing, not breathing, and thoughts go, come and go. Then why – the body reacts. What should be done so that it does not respond?
Victoria: In order to get to work with thinner bodies, our thoughts, we have to work out a rough level – our body. The body should be in the form that it did not go numb for hours and could be fixed. For this purpose there Hahta and Kriya Yoga. Before meditate for 6-7 hours, you need to do Hahta and Kriya Yoga. These yoga fail to thin yogis. What to do if you start to itch? This is the wave – “Scratch”, and you start to itch. “Change your attitude” – and all you have to catch this wave and changed position, although there was no objective reason – nor wild pain or bone did not break. When this happens – it is the wave.Thoughts reflected in the body, and so I want to move. During yoga practice Hahta when we are absolutely motionless in the pose of 40 minutes starts, the first time in all the sway, and you’re still holding on still, to clean the toughest structures. Through the body, we can come to the same, ie, keeps the body motionless, and comes a flurry of thoughts, I want lots and lots of moving, still hold the body motionless, and all – the thoughts become less and less want to move. If you hold the body motionless, breathing slows, and no thought – samadhi. In principle, it is possible to achieve samadhi Hahta yoga, with one asana. You may know only one asana and by this asana achieve higher results. This is our right mind wants to twenty thousand and twenty thousand yogi postures, one does not stop all the surface to study, but nothing has been studied in depth. In principle, nothing prevents you to have one asana, meditation have one breath and one mantra “OM”, and all of you are ready to achieve enlightenment.
The fact that we want a lot of things at once, says that we have small children and want more toys break. Gave a toy – a broken, thrown, still want a toy, tired, instead of enjoying the one thing. Since we are still children – we want to play and we want to meditate on the central channel and on the malls, to present themselves to the goddess Kali or Durga, in some other way – just a little more, and then to think, how can it have time during the day. We have to go to work and throw a family, children, and just do yoga – it is certainly not an option.
There will be meditation on the central channel, on the chakras, the presentation of some images, but you must understand that if we are at least in part, can not use the instrument of his will, can not concentrate, even on the breath or stay long in the asana, mantra yoga long practice, what images, what the central channel, which chakras! This is the yoga of visualization, it is also meditation. But for a long time to focus on a certain way, you need to have at least some foundation. Therefore, do not chase immediately for some complicated things. There is breath, there is the tip of the nose, there is a point on the wall, any object. It is better to use the spirit of primitivism, especially to begin with, and then you can “distort” more difficult things to invent. But again, it all comes up our minds to go to some jungle and feel the most important thing is the essence.
Most importantly, the very essence – is to understand the nature of the images, the nature of thoughts. If you know the nature of all things, you can meditate, will be at least some sense of your visualizations, and if you do not know, did not realize the nature of these things, then you come up with these images, it will help, but not so much. Better to go in sequence. It would seem that all the most important thing is just, you end up with the most difficult. If you have this understanding, it will do the rest.
Exercise 2.
Meditation on the tip of the nose.
The tip of the nose – a very good object for meditation and concentration. You just have to look at your nose tip. A very useful and powerful exercise in yoga. If you have never practiced this technique, try. Since strong concentration, it is not up to thinking – to see the tip of the nose, and then he runs away somewhere. Thoughts themselves apart, one thought – to catch, catch the tip of the nose, somehow cling to grasp it. Very interesting experience – you see your nose, trying to see it and at some point feel that you thought you ran and suffered somewhere.
Question: Morgan desirable or undesirable?
Victoria: If you get no blinking, very good, because there is a linkage between the movement of the pupil and mysleobrazovaniem. If a person is asleep, really asleep, then through the lids can be seen as a back and forth running around thinking, a whole life boils eyeball jumps, it is said that a person superficial sleep, he dreams, this life is boiling, so vritis, even more than a day. And if you see that there is no movement of the pupil – people either dead or his state of samadhi, or in a deep sleep phase in the fourth state of consciousness. In this practice we fix the eyes on a single object. It is very difficult to fix his eyes motionless, because millions vritis that we are not aware. The pupil shows us that we are hard to keep sight.
There are other interesting techniques, when we stifle the pupil. There are special sticks that can be used to clamp the pupils. Stops the movement of the pupils, and they are happy to go somewhere to the left and right, and you gave them with your fingers and everything – thoughts become less and less, less and less, but it’s rough work.
So we sit down to chat, relax the body, face and begin to look at the tip of his nose.
If your eyes ache, or you feel tired, strong tension, you should stop the practice, at least a few seconds, relax, and then again to continue to avoid any very strong pressure.
Further, the practice of meditation on the tip of the nose.
Questions after practice.
Question: It turns out that we have two eyes watching, feeling that kind of looks like one, then another. This is normal?
Victoria: Yes, in the beginning we will then see one side of the nose, then the other, and it is very difficult to put it all together and see the tip of the nose. This suggests that it is not bad and not good. With practice you will be prepared to concentrate, to create a single image.
Practitioner: The nose starts to shiver and fade.
Victoria: It is very difficult to fix the gaze on the tip of the nose, if the first time you try this exercise, you can not expect everything to turn out right.
Practitioner: There was only one thought – this is the tip of the nose or not.
Victoria: Ie you’ve never seen the tip of his nose ?!
Practitioner: No, I look at it – like I see, and then he disappears. It is, as it were, give sight, so he appeared again, there was no other thoughts except – it’s the tip of the nose or not.
Victoria: The more you practice, the more clearly we will see the tip of the nose and the less will be moments when you can not see the tip of the nose, and then it will be very crisp, clear image. It is the matter of time.
Practitioner: A still breathing quickens!
Victoria: First quickens, then stops opposite.
Practitioner: When contemplating the fire sometimes tears flow.
Victoria: If you are a long time will not blink, then yes. If you watch and often blink, it is difficult to achieve tearing.
If you have used the mantra practice yoga, it is much easier to concentrate.
It is difficult to concentrate on the subject uninteresting – to show the will, and it is not difficult to concentrate on interesting subjects. The nose is an interesting thing, and the breath is not very much. With the breath we encounter frequently, and with no nose, although they close.
Practitioner: When I focus on the tip of the nose, it’s easier than ever to breath. During the concentration on the breath – it begins to jiggle, ache something.
Victoria: Because it is a work with a blunt instrument, body. We look at the body to focus on the gross body. Working with the breath more refined. The more we practice thins, so it is more difficult. We need to start with Hahta and Kriya Yoga.
Practitioner: Lying to me is much easier to concentrate. I do not feel the body, relax. Do we hinders our physical body during meditation practice?
Victoria: This actually factor plays an important role. If the body is a long time to maintain a fixed position, in this case, the body goes by the wayside, and we do their own stuff. And if it is not up to standard, it will be distracting. It is necessary to prepare the body, but it is difficult for us to sit when you can lie down. During practice should be as comfortable as possible.