Yoga Music For Meditation Series – 12 Essential Tips To Attain A Successful Meditation Practice

a) About Meditation

1. Understand meditation! Meditation is the flow of continuous thought on one thing. Meditation is the keeping up of one idea alone like the continuous flow of oil. Yogins call this Dhyana. Bhaktas call this adoration.

Concentration is fixing the mind on a point or object, either internal (in the body) or external (on any outside object or image). Meditation follows concentration. In Dhyana all worldly thoughts are shut out from the mind. The mind is filled or saturated with Divine thoughts, with the Divine Glory, the Divine Presence.

(b) Finding The Place

2. Have a meditation room which you can lock off. Don’t allow anyone to enter this room to keep it holy. Burn incense in the mornings and evenings. Keep an icon of God or your Guru. Put your chair in front of this icon. Also it is good to keep spiritual books there such as the Yoga Sutras and other spiritual scriptures.

By meditating a lot in the room the beneficial vibrations from the meditation will saturate the ether of the room. After 6 months the atmosphere in the room will be filled with peace and purity. Whenever you feel agitated you can sit in the room repeating a mantra for half an hour and you will immediately feel a change within yourself.

Through practise you will feel the soothing spiritual influence on yourself. Nothing is akin to a strong spiritual sadhana which will create a sacred place within the walls of your home.

3. Intense meditation and solitude are two important ingredients for the realization of the Self. Having a place of pilgrimage, a place in the mountains, a lovely garden full of flowers, a holy temple, these are all places which help to raise the spirit and elevate the mind for contemplation, concentration and meditation. Go to these places when you find it necessary.

4. Find a cool place with a mild climate. This is a must for concentration. As salt melts in water so too will the Sattvic (pure) mind melt in the silence that is brought by meditation with the Absolute.

5. Get up at 4 in the morning as this is a very favourable time for spiritual contemplation and to practice devotion. In the morning the mind is calm and pure and refreshed from the sleep. It is like a blank piece of paper and free of worldly impressions.

The mind is easily moulded at this hour as the atmosphere is filled with light and purity. If you do not feel to take a bath or shower you can wash your hands, feet and your face with cold water. This suffices.

6. Find a part of the day or night where your mind is clear and you will not get disturbed. The mind is calmer and more malleable at this time.

7. Enjoy a good meditation on Sundays as this is a holiday and the mind is more at ease. Your meditations will also improve if you live solely on milk and fruit or if you fast a lot.

(d) Where To Concentrate

8. Keep your attention fixed in the area of the heart or in the middle of the forehead and keep your eyes shut.

9. The seat of your mind is Ajna Chakra at Trikuti. The mind can be easily controlled if you concentrate on Trikuti. Bhaktas (devotees) should concentrate on the heart. Yogins should concentrate on Ajna Chakra.

10. The crown of the head ( Sahasrara ) is another great place for concentration. Some Vedantins concentrate here. Some Yogins concentrate on the tip of the nose (Nasikagra Drishti). Stick to one center in concentration. Cling to it tenaciously.

Eg, if you concentrate on the heart area, stay with it and never change it. Your guru will find the place for you that you ought to focus upon if you are a devotional type. If not, you can find a place yourself.

(e) Yogic Diet

11. Try to uphold a Sattvic diet. Overloading the stomach with rice, vegetables and bread brings sleep and interferes with your Sadhana (spiritual practice). Lazy people cannot practice meditation. A diet of milk makes the body feel very light.

Doing this will enable you to sit in a yoga posture for hours easily and comfortably. If you feel tired and weak, you can take a little milk and rice or milk and barley or anything else you can find in a light diet. Those who give many lectures performing many intense spiritual actions should eat solid and substantial food though.

(f) Yoga Postures

12. Asana (yogic posture) steadies the body; Bandhas (contractions) and Mudras (attitudes) strengthen the mind; Pranayama (breath control) makes the body feel light; Nadi -suddhi (purification of the energy paths) produces steadiness of the mind. Having acquired these qualifications you now have to fix your mind on the Absolute. Then meditation will be easy and will make you actually make happy.

For meditation, concentration and Japa (verbal repetition of a mantra), Padmasana (the lotus position) or Siddhasana (the perfect position) are highly recommended. For your general health and to help you maintain Brahmacharya; Brahmacharyasana, Shirshasana, Sarvangasana, Matsyasana and Paschimottanasana are very useful.

Hans Havasi is a Systems Consultant at a major engineering company in Denmark, a yoga teacher and a musician in the group Ibis which makes tantric music for Goddesses. Together with his wife Mariah, Hans leads a yoga and tantra retreat and art center in the north of Copenhagen. Please click here to (http://www.squidoo.com/12TipsToAttainASuccessfulMeditation) read more about meditation or go here to (http://www.ibismusic.net) download free meditation music.

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