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Yoga and Meditation

Yoga and meditation go hand in hand. Yoga is practiced to reach that level of physical flexibility and mental calmness. There are various postures that improves your physical capacity whereas certain postures take care of your mind too.

Yoga on the whole takes care of your holistic improvement. People believe in this form of exercise as it has effective results in all the cases. Hope you find this article on yoga and meditation useful.

Yoga

Yoga is a way of life. It is an art that has been referred to in the 'Puranas' and the 'Upanishads'. However the entire credit goes to Patanjali for his work on yoga in 'Yoga Sutra' written around 2000 years back. However, he has divided the yoga into eight basic principles and it has been followed likewise ever since. The basic text for the reference on yoga is the 'Yoga Sutra'.

Eight disciplines of yoga

The disciplines are as follows:

Yamas (related to self-control)
Niyamas (observances)
Asanas (the exercising postures)
Pranayama (controlling the prana or life through breath)
Pratyahara (Withdrawing the senses)
Dharana (contemplation)
Dhyana (meditation)
Samadhi (super-conscious state)

Meditation

Meditation is one of the eight principles of yoga. Dhyana or meditation, is the practice of constant contemplation and observation of the mind. The process to meditate is by concentration on any external point while emptying the mind of any thought. However, you can perceive only yourself while your mind meditates. This helps you to attain higher sense of purpose and will power. You also gain a clarity of mind, a sense of wisdom and higher ability to concentrate. Thus yoga and meditation are intrinsically related to each other.

Postures of meditation

Check out the best poses for meditation.

Padmasana or full lotus posture:

This is the perfect posture for meditation if you are able to perform the right pose. For the lotus pose you have to sit straight and be completely relaxed. Sit on the floor in a cross legged posture. Hold your left foot with both your hands and place he right feet over the left groin. This is called the lotus posture.

Ardha Padmasana or the half lotus posture:

In this case only one leg is folded under the other thigh. This posture is a warm up session before you proceed to the full lotus form.

Burmese posture of meditation:

This is a simple one. You have to be cautious while doing a Burmese pose as you might get a cramp with wrong folds. In this pose the legs are not crossed. The knees are spread and stay down. The heels are brought together by folding the legs and the feet are pulled towards the pelvis. Hen place your cupped hands on the thighs or the heels. You need a good cushion to sit on for this posture. You can also use a folded blanket or a rug for the same. This prevents any kind of pain in your ankles or your posterior as it exerts some pressure while you practice Burmese posture.

Egyptian posture of meditation:

This is called practicing meditation while sitting on a chair. This must allow you to sit upright and support your back and head. You can place a cushion at the back for a better posture. Keep your hands on your thighs by limply making a cup of your palms, the thumbs touching and wrists at the top.