Meditation FAQ's

Answers to a few of your questions about meditation

What is "meditation"?

Meditation is a silent, usually seated practice, in which the meditator will spend a period of time often with their eyes closed. Definitions of meditation will vary and there are many approaches. In our meditations derived from yogic practice, we teach a comfortable posture, a breathing technique, the use of a mantra and other meditation techniques that enable you to become still, quiet, centred and able to derive benefit from your meditation.

What might I get from doing meditation?

First, it is a great way to relax and to become more relaxed in your life, as it teaches a way to consciously let go of tension, mental activity and any attitude you are carrying around. Not only can you use that in meditation but begin to apply it in life too.

Second, you can learn to gain more focus, as meditation teaches you to focus your mind.

Third, you can use meditation to develop a greater sense of well-being and enjoyment in your life, because meditation helps you develop a sense of peace and calm. In meditation, you can learn to connect more and more with that part of you that is always at peace. Meditators report many positive experiences but one of the most common is a growing feeling of inner contentment.

Fourth it follows from the last that for many practitioners, meditation helps them gain a greater degree of spiritual connectedness as they are able to make contact with that part of themselves in meditation.

What is yoga? And do we do movement and exercise in "Yogic Meditation"?

The meditation approach we use is drawn on that used by yogis in India, who practice "yoga". Yoga means "union" and also the practice leading to union. According to the classic definition in the Bhagavad Gita, yoga leads to evenness of mind, to the severing of of the union with pain, and to skill in action through detachment. The yogic tradition is a whole spiritual practice which is very diverse but strongly based on a silent, sitting meditation. It is only that in the West that a branch of yoga, Hatha Yoga, has taken root and thus many people associate it with physical exercise. In fact it is vastly more than that. Some people do do movement in a meditative state, eg walking. However, we won't be doing any exercise in our meditations!

It is a great complementary activity to Hatha Yoga. It is good to finish a Hatha Yoga session with a period of meditation.

I have great difficulty stopping my mind going all over the place. Will I be able to meditate?

This is a great reason to come and learn about meditation! Meditation teaches us how to manage our minds and gradually to let all that thinking go. The point that is often missed is that even while you are thinking you are still meditating. But you can change your relationship to it and discover a new place, a more peaceful one to be in. 

Will I have to share about my life in your classes?

We are focusing on the practice of meditation and the experiences people are having with it. Any sharing in the group is entirely voluntary and a person's silence is totally respected.

You don't try to convert me to anything?

As yoga practitioners we are all about total respect for diversity and one's own inherent right to pursue one's own path in life. We do talk about the spiritual and spirituality, meaning that we are all at essence spiritual beings, but this will mean different things to different people, such as a sense of being at-one with nature, a love of life, being conncted to others, or a sense of at-Oneness in and of Itself. I'm far more curious about what individuals make that mean for themselves. I do talk about the yogic path as it provides a spiritual practice that I have found to provide a universal benefit. But I believe people can take that and use it in their own ways. Thus I work with quite a few Christians and Jews for example and welcome people from all paths and none.

If I just come to one class, will that be enough?

You can certainly do that if we have room. However, to get the real benefit from the classes it is best to come regularly. I encourage people to practice between sessions, daily. It is the regular practice of meditation that makes the difference, as one gradually starts to experience a deeper, more still, more profound space within. That takes time and persistence. It also involves being aware of the subtle hurdles created by the ego. By coming to the classes you get help with what gets in the way and learn how to apply the techniques so that they work for you. Only by regular review do you get to know what those are. So, being committed plays a large part! Not surprisingly, yogis talk about the discipline of yoga, self-discipline in fact.

So, in doing meditation, I'm actually improving how I live my life?

Spot on!

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