Hari
OM
Monday is AUM-day; in search of meditation.
After
mentioning the physical benefits of attending to aasana and embarking upon
meditation, a small search was done online for some graphics to illustrate this
more. The one you see here is very apt.
There
is one bubble here which is often the greatest bone of contention when it comes
to meditation; the stilled mind. The
perennial complaint of the practitioner is "HHOOOOWWWWW???!!!!". Each
of you reading this now know this wail of despair, is it not? What keeps us
trying is not only that we at least gain some calming and relaxation, but that
we sense there is something worth making more effort for and, also, we have the
examples of those who have gone before us, all saying that it can be done.
Without
fail, all the masters berate their students; "do not try to run before you
can walk!" If you have not fully acquainted yourself with how limiting
your body is - and this includes the mind - how are you ever going to move
beyond it?
Check
yourself at this point; how has the week gone with only the aasana practice? If
you have attempted it each day, you will certainly will have realised how
attached you are to the body and how it rules a lot of your life. Sure, like
any vehicle, it requires our attention and will only give back the quality we
give it. This is not a one hundred percent given though. There are many folk who have not a day's
sickness then enter sudden death. There are those who live a 'clean and
healthy' life yet they must endure serious illness. As you advance through
vedanta you will come to understand the place of praarabdha in these matters.
What we are concerned with here is how to rise above the physical bondage.
If
meditation, for you, means only to have some time each day out of the 'rat
race', that is fine. However, if you discover benefits within these verges of
the race track, are you not more likely to want to stop more often, perhaps
find a few things you can carry with you even when back in the race?
The
sitting practice is of prime importance. Second to this is the breath. Anyone
who has attended any form of meditation/relaxation group will know that a lot
of emphasis is placed on the breathing cycle. If the aasana ensures optimal
relief and support for muscle and bone, then breath is that which optimises the
energy which feeds them and also the inner organs.
प्राण/praana**
is traditionally considered to be the connection between the mind and the body.
If , in our attempts to 'empty' we need at first some props to aid the process,
then the breathing is a great place to start.
This
was touched upon three weeks back; but here is a reprint of the relevant tract;
In aasana when spine is properly balanced, it is
as if there is a trigger for the diaphragm. It is a clue for settling. Keep shifting and making the minute
adjustments required to find that trigger. The breathing may not yet be deep
and prolonged, but it should definitely be from the solar plexus and the
shoulders should be straight, level and not in any way lifting to your ears!
The more tense you are, the first place of defence is the shoulder area; the
tighter the shoulders the more shallow will come your breath. It is a flight/fight response.
What are
you fighting or fleeing here? Take charge!
The more
settled and correct is aasana, the freer the lung will be and by now you ought
to be able to take longer lasting, deeper and fuller breaths. In doing this the whole chest should lift
outwards and lightly upwards - not the
shoulders… movement there should be absolutely minimal. Place your hands on
your tummy with middle fingers just touching each other. As you breath in they should separate. If
they don't you are not yet breathing to diaphragm.
SAADHANA;
Continue
alert in the practice of aasana, but now, as you become at home in it, pay
special and prolonged attention to your breathing, using the guide just given.
Remember at all times that YOU are not the body or the breath. YOU at all times are the witness, YOU are the
driver of this vehicle. Let these thoughts and this focus alone be your
practice for the week.
AT ALL
TIMES BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF.
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**the term
'praana' has perfunctorily been used for the most part to mean breath
only. As we deepen our study, it will
become clear that in fact it refers to 'life energy' and in fact has five
components. More on this next week.