Meditation

There is no Yoga without the practice of Meditation.

Meditation is a practice where you give yourself space and time to simply ‘Be’.

Our minds today are subject to a constant bombardment of input, whether from the demands of our jobs, our relationships, the news broadcasts beaming the tragedies and endless cluttering of concerns about what needs to be achieved today, next week, next year ... The list of activities that pull our senses outwards is endless.

It is very rare that we take time to be with ourselves and enjoy a minute or two of silence and ‘not doing anything’. The two most common comments about Meditation are: 1 – ‘I don’t have time to meditate’ and 2 – ‘I have tried and it did not work.’

To develop a regular Meditation session does not require hours of your day. You will still be able to go to work, fulfil your obligations with your family and friends, enjoy watching tv and having a drink whenever you feel like.  The only difference - which will have a huge impact on your whole life - is that you will give yourself 10 to 20 minutes a day to be by yourself and tune into the closest friend you have, your breath.

For anyone that would like to meditate, the excuse that ‘I have no time’ simply does not apply. All you need is the ‘courage’ to tell the people living in your house that you are going to be by yourself for a while, turn your mobile off, sit and close your eyes.

Which takes us to the second most common comment, ‘I have tried and it did not work.’ The  practice of meditation is one of the single most simple gifts passed on to us by the ancient yogis. It is so simple that, once proper guidance is received, a lot people reply: ‘Is that it?’. All meditation requires of you is to create a space where you will not be disturbed for the time you decide to sit in an upright position (on a chair or on the floor), close your eyes and follow your breath. That is it. It is that simple.

I have heard the most strange ideas about what meditation is and how it should be practiced. Most of these ideas are spread by people repeating what they read or heard somewhere. The most common is that if you meditate you will be able to control your mind. If you are interested in controlling your mind, I suggest to you to start with some self-understanding work to find out what it is that you want to control and why. Meditation is not about control: it is about creating space for your senses to turn inward for a period of time.

Another common misunderstanding is that during meditation your thoughts will stop and your mind will go blank. This is not what meditation is about either. Your mind will continue to be the conduit of a series of thoughts as this is its job. And your job, as a meditator is to return to your breath each time you find yourself  following a thought. Meditation is the best practice in the world for you to learn that you need not be the slaves of your thoughts.

Meditation is fundamentally different from trance, positive thinking, hypnosis or guided relaxation, where you may learn to manipulate the mind and limit it to your own or other’s conceptions. Meditation is founded on clarity, expanded awareness and increased energy. All of these are consequences that will undoubtedly manifest themselves in your life if you practice.

‘When I started to practice meditation I thought that it had the power to to transform me into a different person, that all the parts of me that I did not like would simply disappear, that I would be always calm and happy and would no longer have disturbing thoughts.
None of this happened.
What did happen was the realization that there is nothing wrong with 'me', the aspects of my personality I did not like are the aspects I needed to understand, the 'not so perfectly calm' thoughts are now accepted as part of the flow of life and there is nothing I need to worry about.
The result is much more than 'I set up to achieve'.
This is the magic of Meditation, it will work and affect you in the areas you need the most.’ - Ma Prem Kali

Meditation is best taught directly from teacher to student, simply because the mind will receive the answers that are initially necessary to develop a regular practice. An initial guidance will simply take care of answering the mind’s doubts and addressing its questions. We are all different, and our issues as we decide to start Meditation will be different. The beauty and mystery of meditation is that once you commit yourself for a few weeks to a regular session of as little as 15 minutes a day, your system - body, mind and heart will want more of it.

‘Without leaving my house I know the whole universe.’ - Lao Tzu

Read more about some basic points for your meditation practice on
Meditation Guidance.