Meditation through Yoga

Yoga today is being regarded as a very effective alternative to conventional medicine. It is known to work alone and in conjunction with regular treatment. This science is almost 5000 years old and it has developed over the ages to promote mental and physical health. Yoga meditation is fast gaining popularity in the world. There are people who have benefited a lot and there are those who have not but overall the success rate is very good. Yoga meditation practitioners have to learn the real meaning of this type of meditation so that they themselves are not misled and can attain actual goal oriented benefits.

Essentially yoga meditation means the ability to control the material senses and the mind. This is done by setting a focus on the energy that is within the body. From birth, as a child grows there are a lot of factors that are introduced into his mind like those of pride, desires, lust or ego. The individual’s mind is very restless with all these anxieties rumbling around in the head. The idea behind yoga meditation is to calm the mind by tapping into the energy inside the body. For this some basic principles of yoga need to be adhered to.

The first and most important thing is to find a place where there are no outside disturbances. You have to know the correct posture to adopt so it's best if you practice yoga meditation under a professional at least in the beginning till you are able to do it properly on your own. Once you have the place and the posture, then find a point on which to fix your mind.

With all this in place, start your meditation and try to control the mind, body and senses. A good posture is to hold your neck and head erect and stare at the tip of your nose steadily. Once the mind reaches a state of calm, then concentrate on the energy within and try to find a correlation with the whole cosmic creation.

It is said that this constant control over the mind, body and related activities helps the yogi’s mind to attain the highest goal possible in life and that is freeing oneself from one's material existence. A state of trance is reached when the mind is completely free of all material activities and thoughts in the mind. At this point, the self is said to have transcended the finite world into boundless transcendental happiness.

Yoga meditation is not easy nor is it simple. One has to be prepared physically and mentally for the conditioning that it is going to provide to your mind. It means freedom from material connections and one has to be strong-minded enough to go through with it.

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TODAYAcrylic Painting - 1-4 p.m. Garden and Arts Center, 4215 University Ave. Ages teen and older. $30 per session. 767-3724.T'ai Chi Chih - 6-7 p.m. YWCA, 3105 35th St. Suitable for all ages. 792-2723.Jazzercise - 8:45 and 4:30 p.m.

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BY LIZA STROUT - Asanas. Pranayama. Savasamas. You don’t need to know the definitions of these Sanskrit words that are associated with yoga to enjoy the benefits of the ancient art.