If my grandmother instantly fell asleep after physically hard work, and a sound sleep was the only way to recover, today insomnia is a constant companion of city dwellers. If our ancestors’ motivation for activity was based on the word “must”, now it is difficult to pull ourselves out of the clinging clutches of the telephone. And the simple understanding that we are killing our most valuable, irreplaceable resource – time or health – does not affect our behavior. Habits turn out to be stronger than awareness and will, and tension itself generates insomnia.

Tension can only be compensated by relaxation

Sleep and natural trance (“suspension” in thoughtlessness) are universal relaxation mechanisms. At all times in cultures other ways of relaxation have appeared. From health- and personality-destroying ones like alcohol and drugs, to inspiring ones like music or yoga! And all of these cultural phenomena rely on the need for relaxation, and their diversity depends on the emergence of new social difficulties.

No wonder yoga was pulled from the archives of culture, dressed up in fancy clothes and became a great tool for solving modern problems. There was a demand. Asanas compensate for hypodynamia, and relaxation techniques compensate for tension. Meditation practices support the “crumbling” will and attention, and ideology creates mental strongholds.

But the market has mixed up all the concepts

Meditation is now called anything!
A pleasant and not so pleasant voice in headphones suggests flying into space – meditation!
To wash your face with a cash flow – meditation!
To lie in yoga nidra – meditation!
Sing mantras – meditation!
To sleep under the Tibetan bowls – meditation!
Breathe through one nostril – meditation!

The teachers of authentic yoga are not yet giving up on their struggle for truth. But the army of consumers eating up all the products under the trend of “meditation” is frustrated by the mismatch of expectation and reality, wondering why “it doesn’t work.”

I will leave the teaching of authentic meditation and the clarification of the higher meanings of this process to Yoga Gurus (not instructors). In turn, as a hypnologist, I will clarify why what is presented on the Internet as meditation is not meditation.

Meditation

Meditation is a self-contained practice whose utilitarian purpose is the development of volitional attention management skills such as concentration, retention, switchability, and control. There’s already a tension in that definition, isn’t there? As a result of such regular practice, attention becomes more and more easily subjected to your self, perception becomes clear, crisp, precise.

A simple meditation algorithm:

• Find a comfortable sitting position.
• Remove tension in the body.
• Choose 1 object to focus attention on: the sensation of air in the nostrils, the movement of the abdomen, the movement of the chest, an external object (a candle, or a point on the wall).
• Hold attention on the object. If you find your attention slipping into thinking, feeling, or emotion, bring it back to the object with cold persistence.
• Come out of meditation.

Developing this skill up to 30 minutes is a good result. And then it is worth increasing the difficulty of the objects, which is well demonstrated in Yoga and Buddhism.

People who practice meditation become more conscious and reflective. In fact, once the object of meditation becomes emotional experiences and deep cognitions, which sometimes leads to psychic self-healing and quick results in psychotherapy.

Meditation is also necessary, for example, if you find that you have become increasingly distracted by social media, habits are getting deeper and deeper, and willpower resources are insufficient. But the practice of meditation itself is a complex process that consumes a lot of mental energy in the brain. I have to say that there is never a lot of this energy. Metaphorically speaking, its volume is limited and given out for 1 day of life, and its generation occurs at night during quality sleep. Perhaps your distractions and procrastination are related to emotional burnout, apathy, poor motivation, lack of sleep, chronic stress, neurosis. And if you do the REAL meditation, then your brain will not let you siphon out the last drops of energy and will sabotage the process, simply drowning you in a half-dream.

Therefore, only a person in a resource can do REAL meditation. A depleted psyche will not support your initiative. Hence the failure of practitioners. And, by the way, if this process is accompanied by a voice, then it is already a guided meditation, the task of which is to learn the algorithm in order to further implement the meditation on your own.

Relaxation

What do you do when you’re “not in a resource”? Restore it!

Relax!

Yoga has a huge arsenal of practices for relaxation: Yoga Nidra and its many forms, Classic Shavasana, Shavasana with visualizations. By the way, what the market offers is “Shavasana with visualization”. In hypnotherapy, such practices with vocal accompaniment are called “resource trances. Their purpose is to relax easily and change the emotional background with the help of imagination.
These practices will not help to work through the underlying problems of insecurity, failure, and ineffectiveness. You need heavy suits and immersive psychotherapy.
Unlike Resource trances, deep mental relaxation practices, Yoga Nidra and Classical Shavasana work differently. They have a positive effect on the neurophysiological processes of the brain, and are therapeutic for depression, neurosis, insomnia, panic attacks, and chronic stress.

So if you practice what’s called “meditation,” know this:

• If you are lying down, you feel good, you are half asleep, and your voice is controlling dynamic images, perhaps music is playing – this is relaxation.
• If you are sitting and your attention is controlled by the voice, it is either guided meditation, an imagination exercise, or relaxation for the purpose of resting and shifting attention.
• If you sit, make a strong willed effort, and do everything yourself, it is REAL meditation.

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In the meditation below, you will learn to listen to the messages of your heart. You will begin to clear all that is blocking your heart so that you can experience the radiant spirit that is your true nature.

How to meditate on the heart

Here are simple steps for connecting with the energy of the heart:

1. Sit comfortably and close your eyes.
2. let go of all thoughts and all events of the world around you.
3. Focus your attention on your spiritual heart center, the center of your chest, and be aware of your heart as a kind of space. At its core, the heart is a pure void filled with peace and subtle light. This light may appear white, gold, light pink, or blue. But don’t stress trying to detect it. All you need to feel is all that is already there.
4. Breathe freely and feel the breath flowing into your heart. You may want to visualize a soft pastel light or a coolness that fills your chest.
5. Allow the breath to flow and ask your heart what it wants to say. Don’t formulate it in the form of a command – just set the intention that you want your heart to express itself.
6. For the next 5-10 minutes, just sit and listen. Your heart will begin to let go of the emotions, memories, fears, dreams, and desires that have long been stored inside. And you will notice that you are listening to it.
7. You may have a rush of strong emotion-positive or negative-or some long-standing memory will surface. Your breathing may change. You may begin to sigh, breathe heavily, or feel the tears rolling in. Allow things to happen. If your thoughts start to wander, or if you notice that you’re falling asleep, don’t worry. Just bring your attention back to your heart center.

The message of the heart is absolutely

Whether your heart’s message is one of sadness or fear, joy or pleasure, the message is always exactly what you need to hear now. If voices of anxiety, anger, or doubt begin to emerge, let them speak and then let them go, easily and effortlessly. You learn to stay with your heart to hear its spiritual message – this is meditation. You allow repressed feelings to manifest – that is purification. Listening to your heart without judgment-this is mindfulness.

By practicing this meditation several times a day, you will begin to see your heart for what it is – silence, peace, a warm glow, a soft light. Even if you see it for only a short time at first, you will find that your life begins to change. You will begin to feel a sudden wave of joy and well-being come over you. And you will begin to walk through life more joyfully.

These are all signs that the tension that most people have in their heart center area is beginning to diminish. There is less fear and tightness that are keeping your spirit from shining. You will feel more and more filled with light. And that is the flow of love.

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And while circumstances in the world are not always up to us, our inner freedom of action is solely in our power. And in this troubling time, it is important to support ourselves with yoga and meditation.

Meditation is a mental cleansing practice that requires solitude and concentration. Just what you need while on lockdown.

Why meditate? The same reason you unplug your computer – so it doesn’t overheat and wear out too quickly.

Our brain is a control center that runs 24 hours a day, even while we sleep. It continuously performs a huge number of operations, both consciously (thought out) by us and unconsciously. In times of stress, the system is severely overloaded and overheated. And meditation is the best way to prevent fatal wear and tear.

The hardest part of the art of meditation is stopping the incessant flow of thoughts in your head. But if you know its consistent technique and follow it – it is quite possible, just by accustoming and training your brain to relax.

The stages of meditation, which should be mastered in this sequence:

• Pratyahara
• Dharana
• Dhyana

Pratyahara – disconnection from external objects. Not hearing, not seeing, not feeling. Or rather, not following your thoughts about feelings. Basically, shavasana, which we do at the end of every yoga practice, is pratyahara.

Dharana is immersion and concentration within ourselves. Many people ask, “How can you be relaxed and still be concentrated?”

Such a question arises because, for us reasoned beings, any concentration is primarily related to the workings of the mind. That’s why it doesn’t sink into our minds that it’s possible to concentrate and be relaxed. But if you have mastered the first stage of meditation pratyahara and your mind is calm, then concentration without the involvement of the mind is quite possible.

Dhyana is contemplation and total stillness of the mind. When all psycho-emotional states stop inside and amazing, incomparable peace comes. Such a complete feeling of merging with the universe.

The techniques of pure meditation described above are not easy for women. We are creatures who live first and foremost by emotions and feelings. And this is normal, this is our nature. Therefore, it is better to begin practicing meditation-visualization for the beautiful half of humanity. It is based on our imagination.

Here is a very simple example of the healing meditation-visualization

Close your eyes and breathe. Imagine that you are breathing in sunlight, which fills your body more and more each time. The sunlight inside you fills every cell and heals you. Direct your attention to areas of your body that are bothering you, maybe hurting or tense. Breathe this way until you fill your vessel, your body, with the healing energy of the sun in its entirety. Keep it in you.

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In contemporary Western culture, the concept of meditate can be interpreted in many different ways. For example, we might say that we meditate on this or that, implying the usual reflections associated with choices. Watching a serious movie or a powerful production may put us in a meditative state–in other words, in reflection on the themes and issues raised by the work.

In the context of yoga, meditation, or dhyana, has a more specific definition and means “pure consciousness. It is the seventh stage of the eight-step yogic path, following dharana, the art of concentration, and preceding samadhi, the state of ultimate liberation or enlightenment, the last stage. These three stages-dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (ecstasy)-are inseparable and together constitute samyama, the inner practice of yoga. Accordingly, the first four steps–yama, niyama, asana, and pranayama–are considered external disciplines. The fifth step, pratyahara: the distraction of the senses from external objects and directing them inward. This distraction is a result of the practice of the first four stages and is the link between the external and internal practices. When we are stable physically and mentally, we are aware of our feelings, but at the same time we are not attached to them. Without this ability-observing but not being attached-it’s impossible to meditate. Although you have to be able to concentrate in order to meditate, meditation is more than concentration. It eventually evolves into a state of limitless awareness.

When we concentrate, we direct our mind to what appears to us to be an object separate from us. We become familiar with that object and make contact with it. However, for the process to turn into meditation, we must “immerse” ourselves in that object, begin to communicate with it. The result of this immersion is a profound realization that there is no difference between us (the subject) and that which we are concentrating on or meditating on (the object). This realization leads us to samadhi, spiritual realization.

To better understand this, think about how a relationship develops. First, we get to know the person, which means we make contact. Then we begin to spend time together, listen to each other, share our experiences, and thus develop our relationship. The next step is merging with that person in the form of friendship, partnership or marriage. “You” and “I” become “we.

According to the Yoga Sutras, pain and suffering come from the mistaken sense that we are separate from the world. The realization that this is not true can come spontaneously, without effort. Yet many of us need guidance. Patanjali’s eight-step system gives us the foundation we need.

Ways to meditate

Just as there are different styles of yoga, there are many ways to meditate. The first stage of meditation is to concentrate on a particular object or, in other words, to establish a point of focus with eyes closed or open. Repeating a certain phrase to yourself, saying a prayer or mantra out loud, visualizing an image of a deity, or focusing your gaze on an object such as a candle flame are all common recommended focus points. Observing the breath or counting the inhales and exhales, as well as watching the sensations that arise in the body, can all be the object of meditation as well. Let’s take a closer look at each option.

Use of Sound

In mantra yoga, a particular sound, a mantra or affirmation, is used as the object of meditation. The word “mantra” comes from the root “man,” which means “to think,” and the suffix “tra” is used to denote a tool or medium. Thus mantra is a tool of thought. It also means “protecting him who receives it. Traditionally, you can only get a mantra from a teacher, someone who knows you and knows what you need. The process of repeating the mantra is called japa, which means “repeating out loud.” Just as concentrated prayer and affirmation must be filled with intention and feeling, mantra meditation requires the practitioner to be consciously engaged. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental Meditation includes the practice of meditation with mantra.

Ritual chants, a longer version of mantra yoga, are an effective way to immerse oneself in meditation. Ritual chants are longer than mantras and include both rhythm and melody. Western traditions use ritual chants and hymns to praise God, feel spiritualized, and achieve spiritual awakening. Going back to Vedic times, Indian ritual chants derive from the traditional belief that sound has creative power and the ability to immerse us in an expanded state of consciousness. The Rishis, the ancient prophets, taught that all things are manifestations of the primal sound Om. Reflected in the manifested universe, the Om sound is the seed of all sounds. Ritual chanting in Sanskrit, when done regularly and with proper pronunciation, creates an effect on both the spiritual and bodily level.
Most beginners find the use of a mantra a very effective and relatively easy way to meditate. Ritualistic chanting, on the other hand, discourages many. If you feel uncomfortable trying to sing solo, use CDs as accompaniment or go to group classes where students repeat the lines of the chant after the teacher. Sanskrit hymns are considered the most powerful, but a meaningful prayer, or affirmation, in any language will be just as effective.

Using Images

Visualization is another good way to meditate, one of those that beginners find easy. Traditionally, the meditator visualizes a deity, striving to make the image as vivid and detailed as possible. But actually, any object is fine. Some people visualize objects from nature like flowers or the ocean, while others meditate on the chakras, the energy centers of the body. When you do this type of meditation, you focus on the area or organ corresponding to a particular chakra, imagining the color corresponding to the chakra.

Focusing the gaze

Another use of imagery is to focus your gaze on an object. In yoga, this focus is called drishti, which means ‘view’, ‘gaze’ or ‘staring in one direction’. Again, the object of focus here can be almost anything. The most common is a candle flame. Other options include a flower in a vase, a figurine, or an image of a deity.

The technique can be performed with the eyes fully open or half-closed, making the gaze soft and unfocused. In many asanas, there are certain points on which the gaze should be focused. Ashtanga yoga places particular importance on the practice of drishti.

Breath

One of the objects of focus is the breath. You can count the inhalations and exhalations during pranayama. But first of all, meditation on the breath involves simply observing its flow, without trying to control it. In this case, the breath becomes the mainstay of meditation. You notice every nuance of it and every sensation it causes: how the air moves inside the belly and chest, how it enters and exits through the nose, what its quality and temperature are, etc. Although you are aware of all these details, you do not dwell on them or evaluate them in any way, remaining unattached to what you are observing. What is revealed to you is neither good nor bad, you simply allow yourself to be with the breath from moment to moment.

Observing the breath is the basic technique used during the Buddhist practice of vipassana. The word “vipassana,” which literally translates as “seeing clearly” or “looking deep,” has a broader meaning–“the place to which the heart is attached”–and reflects the premise that thought is born in our heart.

Physical sensations

The practice of meditation with observation of physical sensations involves the same close attention to detail that is necessary in observing the breath. Here you will go deep inside every sensation that catches your attention, such as examining how hot or cold your palms are, observing the extension of your spine or the feeling of softness in your lower body. Observing a particular emotion or feeling of discomfort in an area is also possible. Whatever you choose, it should remain a point of focus throughout the practice.

Meditation poses

Sitting Pose

Despite the fact that it is possible to meditate by doing anything and in any position, the sitting pose is the most recommended. There are several classic positions, but the basic one is, of course, Sukhasana (a simple cross-legged pose). Flexible people often prefer Padmasana (Lotus pose).

Sitting on a chair is also possible. This position is just as effective and certainly no less spiritual and is often the best option for the beginner. The main thing is that your spine should be extended and you should feel stable and comfortable – these two conditions are necessary not only for meditation, but also when performing any asana. To feel as comfortable as possible while sitting on the floor, place a pillow or folded blanket under your pelvis and point your knees gently toward the floor. This will help maintain a natural lumbar curve. Some people prefer to sit on their knees in “Japanese style” – you can buy a special wooden bench for this position. Relax your hands and put them on your hips or knees, palms up or down – as you prefer. Pull your shoulders back and down and gently lift your chest. Keep your neck long and your chin slightly down. Depending on the technique, your eyes may be open or closed. Breathe naturally and freely.

Walking

Meditation in motion, strongly recommended by many teachers, can be a very pleasant variant of practice. The difficulty with this technique is that you have to walk slowly and deliberately – each step becomes the focal point. The direction of movement, distance and place may be random. Relax your hands, let them move naturally and freely; coordinate your breathing with your steps. For example, you can breathe in for three steps and exhale for the next three. If breathing on the count causes difficulty or discomfort, breathe at a free rhythm. Though it is possible to practice meditation in movement anywhere, it is better to choose places in which it is pleasant to walk. Remember, the point is not to walk anywhere, but to fully engage in the process of walking.

Standing posture

Standing meditation can be a very effective practice. It is often recommended for students who seek physical, mental and spiritual strength through the practice. Spread your feet about the width of the pelvis or shoulders. Knees are soft. Drop your arms loosely along your torso. Make sure your whole body is properly aligned: shoulders back and down, chest open, neck long, head centered, chin parallel to the floor. Leave your eyes open or close them gently.

Horizontal Position

Although lying pose is associated primarily with relaxation, Shavasana can also be used for meditation. Lie on your back with your hands on either side of your body, palms up. Bring your heels together, then allow your feet to “spread” apart, relaxing them completely. Eyes may be either open or closed, but many people prefer not to close their eyes – it’s easier to maintain a conscious state. Meditating in the supine position allows for maximum relaxation, but requires more attention to maintain a focused state. The first step in the meditation process is to use the technique to help the practitioner to remain focused and relaxed.

The benefits of meditation

Research has confirmed what ancient yogis have long known: during meditation, significant physiological and psychological changes occur, causing real changes in brain chemistry and in the internal processes of the body.

Here’s how it works. A device called an electroencephalograph (EEG) records mental activity. When the mind is awake, constantly moving from one thought to another, the EEG produces sharp, fast lines corresponding to betta waves. When the mind calms down through meditation, the EEG shows softer, slower waves-alpha waves. As meditation deepens, brain activity decreases even more, and the EEG registers even softer activity, called theta waves. Studies have shown that meditators have decreased sweating, slowed breathing, accompanied by a decrease in the release of metabolic waste into the bloodstream. Lowering blood pressure and strengthening the immune system are delayed effects of meditation identified by scientists.

The health benefits of meditation are a consequence of the mental and physical effects of the process. First, meditation teaches us how to cope with stress. Reducing stress, in turn, entails better health overall: both physically and emotionally. On a deeper level, meditation improves the quality of life by developing awareness and a taste for life.

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