Last time we talked about how meditation practice can be like a shower for the mind. Today we'll be talking about how meditation relates to 2 of other 8 Limbs of Yoga: Yoga: Asana and Pranayama.
In the 8 Limbs, physical postures known as Asana - and breath exercises known as Pranayama - are combined and practiced to strengthen and prepare the body for extended periods of meditation - which are the other 3 Limbs of Yoga: Pratyahara - sense withdrawal; Dharana - focused concenration; and Dhyana - meditative absorption. All of these in total lead toward the 8th Limb of Yoga: Samadhi - bliss or enlightenment.
We will cover all 7 of these limbs in both our Yoga and Meditation challenges - but the 8th Limb of enlightenment, we'll leave to each of you on your own.
So, how does yoga help with meditation? Meditation can be like an endurance sport - in some traditions there are 10-day and 40-day silent meditation retreats, with 10-hours a day of meditation. That is a lot of time to spend seated, and can take quite a toll on the body. For this reason, exercises such as yoga - which help energize and rinse the lymphatic system along with strengthening our spines, can help us stay healthy in long sits.
What we're looking for is a posture that is conducive to a neutral and aware mind. For body scan meditations, we want to find an easy seat with a long, neutral spine. Neutral spine, neutral mind. In a seat, we can look at our body for cues to our mental state. For example, if we are meditating - perhaps a little too vigorously - and the spine is very erect and the face and fists are clenched in very hard concentration - that's a physical clue that perhaps we've lost equanimity and our minds are grasping. Or on the other side, if we are meditating - and begin to fall asleep - we will quickly jolt awake as our body begins to fall.
The easy seat is an important clue to our state of mind. We want to be alert and aware, but also at ease and equanimous. Neutral, observing and non-judgmental. Easy enough, and a tall order at the same time.
Share this post