The breath is one such influence, when it is used rightly. Not only does the breath reflect one's mental states: It also greatly affects them.
Take the breath as a reflection of thought and feeling. When a person is agitated, his breathing automatically speeds up. When he falls asleep, his breathing rhythm changes: two counts of exhalation, to one of inhalation. When he is deeply concentrated, he tends to hold his breath. When he is calm, his breathing becomes calm also.
The reverse also is true. By breathing agitatedly, one tends to create an agitated mental or emotional state. A photographer, when taking a photo demanding sensitivity and concentration, learns to hold his breath before clicking the camera shutter.
By calm, deep breathing, similarly, the mind and emotions grow calm also, releasing us from any turmoil that may have been seething within us. This is why the advice is so often given to people who are angry or upset, "First, take a deep breath, and count to ten."
A good practice when sitting to meditate is to do a few deep breathing exercise. Less sophisticated than many, but quite effective, is this:
Sit upright, and breathe deeply through the nostrils counting 1-12. Hold the breath 1-12. Then exhale, again to a count of 1-12. In this particular exercise, don't hold the breath out, but begin again immediately with another inhalation. Repeat this exercise six to twelve times.
Your posture during meditation is important. We've all seen photographs in advertisements of people "meditating" according to the Western notion of relaxation: a person reclining comfortably on a "Lazy Boy" chair, his feet up, his head tilted back on the headrest, his entire posture suggestive of a mood of abandonment. The yogis of India would smile at this passive attempt at relaxation. The fact is, while relaxation is essential to deep meditation, passivity is one of the pitfalls to true relaxation.
There are two directions the mind can take once it relaxes its grip on conscious thought processes. One is to sink toward subconsciousness. This is the direction taken when one's relaxation is passive. The other direction is to rise toward superconsciousness. Deep meditation is possible only in the intensely positive state of superconsciousness, or soul-awareness.
To attain this state of consciousness, it is important to sit upright with a straight spine. Traditionally, one does so sitting on the floor with the legs crossed, preferably in one of the yoga positions such as the half or full lotus pose, or siddhasana (the "perfect pose"), but Yogananda said that it is quite all right to sit on a straight-backed chair, with the feet flat on the floor.
Sit away from the back of the chair. Place your hands palms upward at the junction of the thighs and abdomen. Hold the shoulders back to help keep the spine straight. Hold the chin parallel to the ground.
Before the deep breathing exercise, relax the body. First, inhale; tense the whole body till it vibrates; then throw the breath out, and with it all tension. Repeat this process two or three times.
After the deep breathing, concentrate on relaxing more and more deeply - not physically only, but mentally and emotionally. Feel space in the body.
Look upward, concentrating your attention at the central point between the two eyebrows, the seat of spiritual vision. Offer up all thoughts and feelings in deep concentration at this point. Call mentally to God, "Reveal Thyself! Reveal Thyself!"
Gradually, you will feel His peace stealing over you, like a weightless waterfall.
PRACTICAL HINTS FOR MEDIATION
1. Regularity: Set aside the same time or times each day for your meditation. Recommended are dawn (just after awakening), twilight, high noon, and midnight. Another time is in the evening, just before bedtime. It's also easier to meditate on an empty stomach (2-3 hours after meals).
2. Exercise: If you have time, exercise a little before you meditate. Yoga postures are an excellent way to relax the body and mind before meditation. Paramhansa Yogananda's Energization Exercises are also highly recommended.
3. Location: Set aside a room, or small part of a room, just for meditation. Try to find as quiet a spot as possible; if this is difficult, try using foam earplugs or headphones to block out the noise. Be sure the room is not stuffy and a little on the cool side; a blanket or shawl to wrap up in is nice.
4. Sitting: Protect yourself from the downward pull of earth currents by sitting on some natural fiber, like a wool or silk blanket or piece of cloth placed on your meditation chair, bench, or cushion. Sit Erect! Whether you sit on a meditation bench, pillow or on a chair, keep your back straight, chest raised, head erect, eyes closed, and hands resting palms upturned in your lap, preferably at the juncture of the thighs and abdomen. Click here to find out more information on how to sit comfortably for meditation.
5. How long?: Do not set unrealistic goals for yourself. It is better to meditate 5-15 minutes and be very consistent with your practice, and then increase your time as you can. One longer meditation each week can be very helpful. It also helps to meditate with other people, especially with those who have been meditating longer than you. You'll find that group meditations will often help you to meditate longer than you normally would on your own.
6. Begin your meditation by saying a prayer either out loud or inwardly to God and the Masters, asking them to guide and help you. Do some chanting if you can, using a cassette tape of chants can be helpful. Then practice the breathing exercises to relax: Inhale, tense the whole body, then throw the breath out and relax (do this 2 or 3 times). Then do some measured breathing: inhale, hold, and exhale, then begin again. Do this 6-12 times. Choose a count that is comfortable for you; anywhere from 6-6-6-6 to 12-12-12, or higher. Afterwards, relax and breathe normally, and become aware of your breath.
7. You should feel more relaxed now. Remember to hold the body still. You can mentally check it from time to time to see that no part becomes tense again. Physical tension is a great deterrent to calm and deep meditations. Be very silent and relaxed, yet aware.
8. Meditate with joy, with devotion. Don't wait for God's joy to make you joyful, be joyful first yourself! Meditation will help you to remember, on ever deepening levels, of who and what you truly are. You are a child of God, and one with the Infinite Light.
Getting Comfortable for a Sitting Meditation
How to sit comfortably: One of the most important aspects of a sitting meditation is to be able to sit comfortably, without an aching back, or legs hurting or going to sleep. If you are in pain or great discomfort, the only thing you will be meditating on is that! Options for sitting are in a chair, or on a meditation bench, or on a pillow on the floor. Most westerners are not trained from birth to sit comfortably on a hard floor. So a chair is probably best for most of us, beginners or otherwise-and many very great meditators with many years experience use a chair or stool for their meditations. It is not a sign of lack of meditative ability if you are unable to sit in the lotus posture or any other floor sitting position.
Chair sitting: Get a fairly straight-backed chair and sit forward in the chair so that both feet are flat on the floor. If your feet do not touch the floor, get a shorter chair or place a pillow or two under your feet to raise them so that your thighs are parallel to the floor. Do not lean against the back of the chair! The idea is to sit with an upright, un-supported spine. However, if you are not used to sitting this way, or if you have weak neck/back muscles or injuries, there are ways to overcome this challenge. Get a firm pillow of some sort (the crescent shaped ones are very good for this) and put it between your back and the back of the chair. The feeling you want is that of support, but not leaning into it. Move the pillow around until you achieve this feeling. If you want to place a pillow in the seat of the chair, to cushion a too hard surface, that is fine. Meditate for short periods of time in the beginning and work up to longer amounts of time. This way your back muscles will strengthen gradually. Yoga stretches and other such exercises also strengthen your back muscles with time and regular practice.
Floor sitting: Meditation benches are a wonderful invention for making the legs feel comfortable and un-pressured and keeping the spine up-right. Finding the right size and height is important. Padding on the seat often helps. Adding small pillows under the knees or ankles might facilitate your comfort also. If you have never tried a bench, please be sure to experiment with one. Some people are more comfortable sitting cross-legged on a pillow. The crescent-shaped or round-plump pillows are designed to help with this position.
Experiment! Have a chair, lots of pillows, a bench and whatever else you want to try. When one position becomes tiresome, calmly switch to another. Eventually you'll find the best one for your body-type. Remember everybody's body is different.
A blanket or two: Many yogis recommend sitting on a wool rug, blanket, or piece of silk. Also the place you meditate should be a little on the cool side with a source of fresh air if possible. Thus another blanket or warm meditation shawl should be handy to wrap up in. The body does cool down a bit when you sit still for a while, so a wrap is often important to maintain an even body temperature. Get comfortable, but stay awake and ready!
Creating a Routine: Steps to Deep Meditation
1. Prayer. Sit upright, relax completely, and then offer a prayer to God. If you are not comfortable with the concept of God, then ask for guidance from your own higher self.
2. A Relaxation Technique for the Body. Inhale, tense the whole body, then throw the breath out and relax. Doing this three to six times will help rid the body of unconscious tensions. Now, consciously relax the various body parts, starting with your feet and working your way gradually to the head and brain. It may help you to visualize space or light filling each area as you relax it. Physical relaxation is the first step necessary for deep meditation.
3. Regular Breathing to Relax the Mind. The breath is intimately linked with the mind. By controlling and relaxing the breath, we influence the mind to become calm. Inhale slowly counting one to twelve, hold your breath for the same number of counts, then exhale for the same count. This is one round of "regular breathing." Do six to nine rounds. Your may either lengthen or shorten the number of counts according to what is comfortable, but keep the inhalation, retention and exhalation equal.
4. Concentrate Your Awareness. Concentrate at the point between the eyebrows and dismiss all thoughts from the mind. Don't think about the past, or worry about the future, but be completely centered in the here and now. As you begin your meditation, you will find it helpful to take a moment to consciously decide to leave all preoccupations behind. If you find that your mind stills wanders, gently bring it back to the point of concentration. Try to deepen your meditation until you become completely absorbed. Meditate with energy and enthusiasm, but stay focused and relaxed.
5. Meditation Techniques. Start with the Hong-Sau technique for five to ten minutes. Then you can practice one or more of the following techniques:
a. Chant Silently. Chants are usually simple prayers such as, "I want only Thee Lord, Thee, only Thee," set to music. Chanting is very important because, as well as providing a point of focus for the mind, it helps open the heart and develop devotion. As your chanting becomes more internalized, try to "get behind" the words, and silently, non-verbally, express the vibration of the chant. Paramhansa Yogananda often said, "Chanting is half the battle."
b. Repeat a Mantra. A mantra is a spiritualized word formula, often in Sanskrit. Mantras are normally chosen because of the inherent power in the sound of the words themselves as much as for their meaning. In both chanting and repeating a mantra you should try to concentrate totally on it, excluding all other thoughts from the mind and letting it carry you into a state of complete stillness.
c. Do a Visualization Exercise. One of the best practices is to try to clearly visualize the eyes of a master. You may want to start by looking at a photo or painting of a master who inspires you. Then close your eyes and try to see his or her image at the point between the eyebrows. As you visualize more and more clearly, try to commune with the consciousness behind the eyes. The eyes are the "windows of the soul," and the eyes of a self-realized master will help attune you to cosmic consciousness.
d. Call to God with Deep Devotion. Call to God in the simple language of your own heart, and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Let His light enter into you and transform you in whatever way He knows will be for your highest good. The best time to pray for yourself or others is when your mind is calm and your heart is pure. By praying for the world or for the welfare of others, you will inevitably be moving toward the goal of meditation: an expansion of your consciousness.
6. Enjoy the Results. Do only one or two techniques during a single sitting. The goal is to dive deep and become absorbed in the meditation experience. Don't fill your whole meditation time with techniques. It is very important to simply sit and enjoy the silence, or love, or joy that has been awakened through the practice of the techniques.
7. Concentrate Deeply on What You Are Experiencing. Try, through deep receptivity, to increase and expand the experience. If, for instance, you are experiencing a feeling of love, let your love continue to expand until it embraces the whole world and every person and living thing in it. Continue to expand beyond the personal, giving and receiving love, until you feel that you are floating in the universal ocean of love which sustains the universe.
8. Feel God's Response. Spend the last few minutes of your meditation trying to feel God's response in your heart. After the more active first phase of a meditation we should become receptive, since meditation is meant to be a dialogue with the Infinite. If we listen sensitively His response will come. We receive, not through the senses nor through the mind, but through intuition. The heart area is the center of intuition and it is important to end our meditation by concentrating here.
9. Transition. As you leave your meditation try to hold on to the feeling of peace and joy for as long as possible by bringing your meditative consciousness into your daily routine. If you will learn to do this, you will transform the quality of your life. You may want to take short mediation breaks during the day to recontact your inner center.
Meditation Keys for Beginners
by Swami Kriyananda
How long should you meditate? The first rule is, Don't be ruled by what others do. What works well for them may not work for you. Accept that in certain ways you are unique. Here are a few general guidelines:
Intensity of effort is far more important than the time spent in meditation.
Never meditate to the point of mental fatigue, strain, or boredom... If you feel joy in meditation, stop meditating when the joy begins to diminish. One rule for right eating is to leave the table a little hungry. Apply this rule to meditation. In that way, you'll always look forward to your next time for meditation.
On the other hand, make an effort to meditate a little longer at least once a week� Gradually you'll break the habit of thinking you can meditate only for short periods.
In longer meditations, imitate the ocean tides in their ebb and flow. Let periods of intense concentration alternate with periods of relaxed effort and peaceful receptivity. Like waves coming in to shore, high intensity will alternate with low intensity in long meditations, and there may be pauses when no waves come at all. Until you can transcend body-consciousness in superconsciousness, it is unlikely you'll be able to meditate deeply for very long. Think of your thoughts as dirt that has been stirred up in a glass. Stop stirring it, and it will gradually settle. The greatest difficulty, in long meditations especially, is physical tension. Make an extra effort to keep your whole body relaxed...
As a general guideline, I suggest you try to meditate at least half an hour twice a day-in the morning after you get up, and in the evening before going to bed. An hour and a half twice a day is better. But if you are a beginning meditator, more than one hour a day may be extreme. It is better to meditate a few minutes with deep concentration than a whole hour absentmindedly.
Moreover, I don't mind bargaining with you! For although five minutes, let's say, isn't much for anyone who has developed a taste for meditation, it may be all you feel you can spend in the beginning. So be it! Think of meditation, if you like, as daily spiritual hygiene. You brush your teeth, bathe, and brush your hair every day: Why not add to that routine five minutes of meditation?
You'll come to enjoy meditating, in time. Then you'll find yourself meditating longer because you want to, and not because someone is nagging you to do so. But if you think you're too busy, here's something to think about: You can always find the time for something you enjoy doing, can't you? In time, you'll wonder how you ever lived without meditating daily. And the answer, of course, will be: You didn't. What you did, that is, wasn't really living.
Be natural in your efforts. Make haste slowly, as the saying goes. Don't force yourself to meditate when you'd very much rather be doing something else.
At the same time, don't stop meditating altogether with the excuse that you have other things to do. Remember, there's only one direction to go that makes any lasting sense: toward your own Self, in superconsciousness. No substitute will ever work for you; it's never worked for anyone. No appointment is more important than your appointment with-not death: life.
Be a little stern with yourself. Success won't come to people who never try. Only bear in mind that tension is counterproductive. In meditation, concentrate first of all on relaxation.
Remember this also: The more you meditate, the more you'll want to meditate; but the less you meditate, the less you'll enjoy doing it.
Another rule: As soon as you sit for meditation, get "down to business." Don't dawdle, as if telling yourself, "Oh, I have a whole hour, so what's the rush?"
Be regular in your hours and practices of meditation... It is a good practice to meditate at the same hours every day. Routine conditions the mind. You'll find yourself wanting to meditate whenever those hours return. It will be much easier, then, to set all distractions aside.
As soon as you sit to meditate, pray for depth and for guidance in your meditation. Pray also for peace for all humanity. Don't isolate your sympathies from others; embrace all in your divine love.
We develop intuition by prolonging the peaceful aftereffects of the meditation techniques... After meditation, don't strip your mental gears by plunging hastily into outer activity. Try to carry the meditative peace into everything you do. To develop this habit, it may help to begin with outward activities that don't involve your mind too much. While doing them, chant inwardly to God.
As a focus for your devotion, you may find it helpful to set up an altar in your place of meditation. Include pictures on the altar, if you like, of saints, or of images of God, or of infinite light and space.
A helpful practice also, if it pleases you, is the burning of incense as a devotional offering. The sense of smell is closely related to the memory faculty. You may recall, for example, catching in some fleeting scent a reminder of some childhood episode that awakened a host of associated memories. Incense, when used regularly in meditation, will help to create meditative associations in your mind, and bring you more quickly, therefore, to inner calmness.
Above all in meditation, be happy! If you want to experience peace, meditate peacefully. If you want to know love, offer love first, yourself.
(Information courtesy) Ananda Online
KRIYA YOGA
Kriya Hatha Yoga: including "Asanas", physical postures of relaxation, "bandahs", muscular locks, and "mudras", gestures, all of which bring about greater health, peace and the awakening of the principal energy centers, the "chakras". Babaji has selected a particularly effective series of 18 postures, which are taught in stages and in pairs. One cares for the physical body not for its own sake but as a vehicle or temple of the Divine.
Kriya Kundalini Pranayama: the potential technique, is a powerful breathing exercise to awaken powerful latent energy and circulate it through the 7 principal chakras between the base of the spine and the crown of the head. It awakens their corresponding psychological states and makes one a dynamo on all five planes of existence.
Kriya Dhyana Yoga: meditation, the scientific art of mastering the mind: to cleanse the subconscious, develop concentration, mental clarity and vision, to awaken the intuitive and creative faculties, and bring about the breathless state of communion with God, "samadhi".
Kriya Mantra Yoga: the mental repetition of subtle sounds to awaken the intutition, the intellect and the chakras; the mantra becomes a substitute for the "I" centered mental chatter and facilitates the accumulation of great amounts of energy. The mantra also cleanses habitual subconscious tendencies.
Kriya Bhakti Yoga: devotional activities and service to awaken pure Divine universal love and spiritual bliss; it includes chanting and singing, ceremonies, pilgrimages, and worship. Gradually, all of one's activities become soaked with sweetness, as the "Beloved" is perceived in all.
Kriya Yoga brings about an integrated transformation of the individual in all five planes of existence: physical, vital, mental, intellectual and spiritual. Everyone can practice it and thus find happiness and peace.
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