MEDITATION – CONNECTING LAYERS OF OUR BEING
Mindfully embracing ourselves:
Finding our root cause during meditation
“Savasana”:
We rest on our backs with softly closed eyes, our breathing is relaxed and deep as it moves us from the inside. We sink deeper, becoming still. Allowing ourselves to let go of our mind, we simply can be. Pure bliss!
After some time the yoga teacher guides us back. Our hands united at our heart in Namasté, we surrender to the deep peace within us.
We roll up our mats and leave the yoga class – when now would be the perfect time to continue our insight with meditation.
What is meditation and how can it help us?
Meditation originates from the latin meditatio. This „REFLECTION, CONTEMPLATION, REASONING” is an integral part of the spiritual praxis of most religions and cultures. The common proposition: to calm and focus the mind.
Eastern cultures consider meditation a foundational exercise for MIND EXPANSION & CULTIVATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS. Overall objectives vary according to tradition, but can be enumerated as “silence”, “emptiness”, “oneness”, “being here and now” and “liberation from thought”. The separation between subject and object is being transcended.
Theoretically, this sounds truly magnificent – but how does this support us with coping with daily life and its challenges? Why is meditation one of the most valuable tools we can use on our path of mental and spiritual evolution?
Finding the still point
Be it in our own practice of yoga or in daily life: We are constantly subjected to changes of forms, situations or energies. By becoming still and going within, we allow our awareness to return to ourselves and, by breathing calmly, tap into the potential of opening up inner space. There, clarity about what is currently happening, resides. This “eye of the storm” TEACHES US ABOUT OUR CONSCIOUSNESS AND ITS WORKING BEYOND THE SEPARATION BETWEEN PEOPLE AND ENERGIES and how we can change for the highest good of everyone involved.
Learn to observe calmly subtle motions in ourselves
Our perception becomes highly fine-tuned by entering this calm, inner space. We can reach calm cognition regarding our retreat into certain mental or emotional patterns when encountering specific situations on the outside. CLARITY ABOUT DEEPER LAYERED CORRELATIONS start our transformation from within. As a consequence we are able to adapt constructively our own behavior to the given situation. By this, we can free ourselves from the closed loop we feel trapped in.
Mediating between different layers of our being
In the beginning, diving into our own being might be a bit scary. Suddenly there is this tremendous amount of thoughts and feelings that usually are being kept at bay during our rush through daily life. When we start to meditate, its often supportive to have a roadmap handy as we start to journey through our inner world. That’s how we find a clear structure where we actually are and what we are working on.
Not only our physical body is literally being organised by certain systems and their organs. Also in the subtle realms of our mental and emotional worlds exist specific archetypal structures. Put simply: As human beings we live in 3 interdependent realms that all constantly interact with each other:
THE CAUSAL WORLD is home to the essential causation for a motive, thought or idea that directs our action unto a certain path.
THE ASTRAL WORLD of our emotions that provide the necessary feeling or “drive” so we follow up on our dreams or thoughts on the physical plane. With the strong desire to do something, we usually move into action.
THE PHYSICAL, BODILY PLANE that serves as an instrument and connection between the two previously mentioned realms. Fertile ground and at the same time stage, it enables us to actually manifest our desire-filled thought forms and inspirations as tangible experiences.
As we sit down for meditation, we become able to direct our awareness in combination with a calm, conscious breath to certain centers in the physical body and observe what emotions or thoughts arise as we do so. OUR SPINE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT “SWITCHING BOARD” IN THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THOUGHTS, EMOTIONS AND THE BODY. An erect, physical “home base” – holding our spine in a straight, vertical, elongated position – constructs the foundation for a sincere, no-nonsense access to our own emotional states and mental concepts. We create space to observe them without judgement and find connections between physical symptoms, emotions and underlying thought patterns, thereby freeing potential for healing change.
Yin Yoga as gentle bridge between asana practice and meditation
The practice of Yin Yoga empowers us to cultivate courage for stillness. DURING OUR LONG HOLDING TIMES IN VARIOUS YIN YOGA ASANAS WE GRADUALLY LEARN TO LET GO OF OUR INNER RESTLESSNESS AND EMPOWER OURSELVES TO UNCONDITIONALLY EMBRACE OUR STATE OF BEING. We teach us to perceive from within and accept our physical, emotional or mental resistance gently in order to expand our horizons.
Meditation in daily life
Once we have successfully learned to direct our attention inward, and observe the workings of our thoughts and emotions from a healthy distance, we can meditate everywhere and at any given time. THE DOOR OPENS THROUGH MINDFULNESS AND CONSCIOUS AWARENESS OF OUR BREATH AND BODY.
If we get impatient and aggressive as we stand in line at the check out, we focus on the floor underneath our feet and breathe calmly into our belly.
In confrontational disputes in our relationships we can seize our calm breath to sort through our emotions and find clarity. We realize where we are still caught up in mental concepts that influence our relation in a negative way and are able to take back projections. Before prematurely voicing criticism we’re able to pause for a moment. We allow for some space “until the dust has settled” and then reconnect in clarity.
When too much in the head and thoughts are racing, our calm center or still point will allow us to come back to the here and the now again, focusing our mind on what is happening right in front of us. Be it dishes or hovering the floors: we reconnect with our breath and are in the body again: Awareness of the sounds of water as we turn the plates or the feeling of the vacuum cleaner gliding over the floor will quickly return us to the current moment. Our mind finds space to restructure and clear itself without us compulsively searching for a solution.
Again and again return patiently to your free inner empty space.
Sometimes you will have to throw out things consciously to find empty space, sometimes you find it spacious and light just by itself. Over time, attachment to “how well you are doing in YOUR meditation” can cease as the boundaries between you as a defined person and consciousness get more flexible or vanish. Same as with Asana practise: It´s all about frequency and consistency! Namasté, friend of all!
A WARM WELCOME!
Here is where I freely muse about all things yoga and my day to day experience with them. If you like what you feel as you read along, come and visit one of our yoga classes in Baden or book a private consultation with me. There are also tons of yoga videos on my YT channel! Glad you made your way to my contributions and happy to be of professional support!
TALK SOON!
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