Hello and Welcome to our 30-day meditation challenge.
This is Olivia with Karma Yoga.
For the next 30-days, we'll learn about meditation through a 15-minute practice and mini-dharma talk each day. Meditation is an ancient practice with a long history.
It can be said that we practice Yoga in order to prepare our bodies and minds for meditation practice. Alongside our Yoga Challenge, we'll be using the Yamas and Niyamas as a framework for our 30 day meditation challenge.
The Yamas and Niyamas are two of the 8 Limbs of Yoga, compiled and written by a sage in India by the name of Patanjali about 3000 years ago. His works have been used as foundational frameworks for many spiritual teachers and schools after. So, why are we studying this? The goal of yoga is freedom and unity; "moksha" and "yoga". Moksha means liberation from suffering, or enlightenment.
Yoga means "to yoke" or union, union with the divine, or all that is. Yoga is not the only path to liberation and unity, of course, but it is a well-trodden one.
In our 30-day meditation challenge, we will be focusing on the Pratyahara, Dharana and Dhyana limbs of the 8 Limbs of Yoga; sense withdrawal, focused concentration and meditative absorption, commonly practiced as meditation.
If you've been curious to start meditation practice, then this challenge is for you!
Through the lenses of the Yamas and Niyamas - or, the vows and duties of a yoga student - we'll spend 3 days learning related concepts in daily life and on the cushion, before moving onto the next.
By the end of our 30 day challenge, you'll hopefully come away with a few nuggets of knowledge and some fun ways to move your mind. Thank you for listening, and hope to see you on the cushion!
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