I have struggled to figure this one out. Years ago when I really needed to sort myself out, I thought of meditation. Naturally, books were bought & read. Yet this didnt clear my understanding. The variety of methods of meditation - breath purifying, divine light, chakra, mantra, yantra, mala, soham ... endless!! It just confused me. I just get caught up in all this mumbo jumbo & there was np meditation being done. It was more like a struggle, a fight with the mind.
Confused & disheartened, i scrapped meditation from my practise, sticking to asana, pranayama & breath awareness. Little did i kno that this simple method is the most effective base for meditation. Breath awareness -just observing the natural way the breath comes in & goes out- is such a calming, relaxing practise. Its what comes most naturally, if you remain in a relaxed way. Thats meditation - simply keeping your mind on one thing. The key here is to remain an observer. If any emotion arises, watch it, dont get caught up in it. Let it pass & return to keeping mind on your chosen object. If other thoughts come, which they do, dont indulge them, dont talk to them, let them pass.
Meditation is moment to moment awareness of what the mind id doing. Your actually telling the mind to observe the breath & then you are watching the mind. If other thoughts come, you are aware that this or that thought has come. If emotions arise, acknowledge them. But do not dwell on them. Return to your task of watching the breath. Do all this without any tension. If the mind gets tense, confused or tired be aware that my mind is getting tired, relax with a slow long breath & resume breath awareness. You will be amazed how light your body will feel afterwards. Also, a sense of joy will arise. The body may tire if your not used to sitting straight. Plod on, your body learns real fast. like everything in life, train the body to sit upright for 10 minutes at a stretch. Daily asana practise works wonders - opens up the body making it supple & flexible.
All this easier said than done. Ask any practitioner, they all struggle to hold the mind in one spot. In yoga this is dhyana - the 7th step of Ashtanga Yoga. What can be done is create an area of focus. Like, if your watching the breath - observe the way the breath enters the nostril, how it feels, the pace, the tempreture, the areas within the nose, throat that the air touches. All this awareness takes us inward & focusses the mind, creating a roaming space for our mind. We have managed to limit the area the mind flutters around. This is dharana - 6th step of Ashtanga Yoga. This too requires a lot of discipling & training. The key is how often you practise. If youe serious about gaining control over your mind & your life, start with short spells - 10 m inutes of focussing. do it twice, thrice a day.Fix time where you parctise daily and do not miss it. The mind will gradually come around. Then, perhaps after couple of months,extend the time to 15 minutes. In this way, the mind will be disciplined. All the best , cheers!!
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