Night Birds Swami Veda Bharati Disciple of Swami Rama of the Himalayas Bha : The Light of Knowledge  Rati : A lover who is absorbed in it Beginning Meditation

Raja Yoga Meditation systems, as taught by Himalayan Yogis  Diaphragmatic and uniform breathing  Correct posture.  Straight spine  No feeling of discomfort in the legs, back or neck  Shithili-karana, systematic relaxation  Relaxation of neuro-muscular system throughout a meditation session  Awareness of breathing  Using a mantra or a sacred word from whichever spiritual tradition First step to meditation is awareness of breathing

Beginning Meditation Diaphragmatic Breathing  Positions to practice Diaphragmatic breathing  Makarasana : The crocodile position ( practice for 5-15 minutes )  Lie on the stomach  Bring your awareness to the breathing process  Observe the flow of the breath  Let there be no jerks, no breaks in your breathing  Observe the gentle flow along with the rise and fall of the stomach and navel area  Take note of the breathing process  Resolve to breathe this way at all times  Shavasana : The corpse position  Turn over on your back in the shavasana position  Breathe and observe the rise and fall of the stomach and navel area  Place left palm on the chest and right palm on the stomach  Right palm should feel the rise and fall smoothly without jerks or breaks  Let uniform breathing develop. Length of inhalation and exhalation being equal Breathing should be relaxed to experience rejuvenation

Beginning Meditation Correct Posture  Technique to practice the posture. Straight spine is slightly “S” shaped curve  On the floor  Fold a blanket and make it into a neat and firm cushion  Place it under the sit bones with legs and knee on the floor  Straighten yourself  If any discomfort is felt in the back or neck, experiment with the height of the cushion  Experiment till you get optimum comfort  On the chair (Mitrasana)  Sit on the edge of a hard chair with feet on the ground  Sit with the spine straight  Let this become your natural position all the time Spine should be straight for sitting in meditation

Beginning Meditation Systematic Relaxation  Practice Shithili-karana after diaphragmatic breathing  The body sequence relaxation method  Lie in shavasana to relax the body  Continue breathing diaphragmatically  Take mental inventory of the body from forehead to toe  Ask each part of the body to relax as it is brought to mind following the sequence*. (Forehead to Toe)  Relax in the reverse order up the body. (Toe to Forehead)  Remember the sequence. Go over the body and relax each of these parts in this sequence.  Let the different parts go limp Cont/d… Relax.. Re-establish diaphragmatic breathing Forehead >>> Eyebrow >>> Eyes >>> Nostrils >>> Cheeks >>> Jaw >>> Corner of the mouth >>> Chin >>> Neck >>> Neck-joint >>> Shoulders >>> Shoulder-joints >>> Upper arms >>> Elbows >>> Lower arms >>> wrists >>> hands >>> fingers >>> fingertips Fingertips >>> Hands >>> Wrists >>> Lower arms >>> Elbows >>> Upper arms >>> Shoulder joints >>> Shoulders >>> Chest >>> Heart area >>> Stomach >>> Navel >>> Abdomen >>> Pelvis >>> Thigh joints >>> Thighs >>> Knees >>> Calf muscles >>> Ankles >>> Feet >>> Toes. *Sequence

Beginning Meditation Sit with Sit bones on a folded blanket and the spine straight Systematic Relaxation  Practice Shithili-karana after diaphragmatic breathing  Tension / relaxation method if the body still not relaxed  Lie in shavasana  When tensing, tense from the finger or toes upwards  Tense and relax the right leg left leg right leg left leg  Tense and relax both legs simultaneously. Repeat  Tense and relax the right leg and arm left leg and arm right leg and arm left leg and arm  Tense and relax the right arm left arm right arm left arm  Tense and relax both arms simultaneously. Repeat  Tense and relax all the limbs simultaneously  Lie in shavasana for a few minutes, then sit up for meditation

Beginning Meditation Breath awareness  Become aware of the breath flow. No break in the awareness  Let the breath flow smoothly and evenly. No jerks. No breaks. No sound. No gasping  Feel the flow and touch of the breath in the nostrils  No Pause between the breath  Awareness of inhalations should immediately merge with the awareness of exhalation and vice versa  If the mind wanders off, straighten the spine again  Relax quickly again  Re-establish diaphragmatic breathing  Continue with the awareness of the flow and touch of the breath in the nostrils Let the breath flow like a Taila-dharavat. Smooth stream of oil

Beginning Meditation Mantra / Sacred Word  To begin with use soham. “I am that”  Those in different religious tradition may use the word prescribed by their tradition  Exhaling, mentally remember “ham”  Inhaling, mentally remember “so”  No interruptions in the breath awareness  No interruptions in the awareness of the flow of the word as a thought  Slowly lengthen the time of being aware of the flow without interruptions  Remember, meditative state cannot be entered by fighting oneself.  Let it flow. Let it happen. Observe and experience Observe how the breath, the word and the mind are flowing together

Beginning Meditation Mantra – Diksha  Seek out someone to give you the first initiation. Personal mantra.  Mantra and meditation are assigned according to individual’s samskaras imprints in the unconscious gathered over lifetimes, spiritual needs and the adhikara, level of qualification  One may be taught on the path of  Internal sound - nada  Light - jyoti  Channeling energy - kundalini  Meditation on centre of consciousness – initiator mentally touches the chakra. Student may be assigned  Visualisation of certain diagram  Presence of Ishta Devata – deity  Other object Guru’s Grace  Merge mantra with the energy of the given chakra and penetrate through its central point – bindu-vedhana  Transmission of consciousness in a direct preceptor-student mutual presence

Beginning Meditation BACK UP

Beginning Meditation Diaphragmatic Breathing : Crocodile Position  Step by step process  Lie on your stomach  Cross your arms or put one hand on the other  Rest your forehead on the arms or on the hand. Do not bend your neck  Your toes touching, heels apart, ankles practically flat on the ground  Your shoulders flat. Armpit practically touching the ground  Bring your attention away from all places to the place where you are lying down  Be aware of only the space your body is occupying from head to toe  Become aware of the flow of the breath and observe the flow  Breathe gently, slowly, smoothly. No jerks, no breaks in your breathing  Bring your attention to the gentle rise and fall of your stomach and the navel area  Observe the movement with the gentle rhythm of your breathing.  Continue to observe the stomach and navel area, breathing rhythm.  By observing, learn to breathe correctly. You may lie in this position as long as you wish

Beginning Meditation Diaphragmatic Breathing : Corpse Position  Step by step process  Post makarasana, gently roll-over and lie on your back  Feet apart,  Arms separate from the body, along side the body  Back of the hand resting on the ground  Let the entire body relax using the body sequence relaxation method  Continue to breathe as you were breathing in a crocodile position  Observe the gentle rise and fall of the stomach and the navel area  Observe how that area slightly inflates as you inhale and contracts as you exhale  Place left palm in the center of your bosom and right on your stomach  Observe there is no movement under the left palm. The movement should be felt under the right palm  Observe your breath as you exhale and inhale. No jerks. No breaks Either of the two exercises or both for minutes, will change the texture and the tone of your life

Beginning Meditation 3 Minute Relaxation  Step by step process  Bring your attention to place where you are sitting  Be aware of the space your body is occupying from head to toe  Be aware of only this moment in time Quickly relax in the sequence: Forehead >>> Eyebrow >>> Eyes >>> Nostrils >>> Cheeks >>> Jaw >>> Corner of the mouth >>> Chin >>> Neck >>> Shoulders >>> Relax all the way down to finger tips Relax from finger tips to Shoulders >>> Chest >>> Stomach >>> Navel >>> Abdomen >>> abdomen >>> Thigh >>> Calves >>> Feet >>> Toes. Again relax all the organ from the Toes upwards  Bring your awareness to the breathing  Observe the gentle rise and fall of your stomach and navel area  Observe contraction and expansion of that area as you exhale and inhale  Feel the flow and touch of your breath in your nostrils  Count your breath 1 though 5 and 5 though 1. e.g. Exhale - count oooonnne in your mind, inhale – count twwooo in your mind  No break in your breathing. No break in counting 1 to 5 and 5 to 1. Maintain the count  Feel the flow and touch of the breath  Continue the practice for as long as you want and as frequently you want  Without breaking the count, gently open your eyes

Beginning Meditation Meditation with So-ham mantra  Step by step process  Be aware of yourself from head to toe  Draw around yourself, as it were, three circles of light  Resolve that neither the mind shall cross these circles nor will any thoughts and impressions would enter from outside  Remaining aware from head to toe, relax your limbs in few exhalations. Progressively relax your body with each exhalation  Maintain a resolve for one minute each that  No other thought will arise except for the awareness of the movement in the stomach and navel area with the rhythm of the breathing  No other thought except the awareness of the path of the breath from novel to nostrils and nostrils to navel. Feel the breath flow on this path  No intruding thought except the feel the breath in active nostril  No intruding thought except the feel the breath in passive nostril  No intruding thought except the feel the breath in both the nostrils  Exhale thinking the word haaammm, inhale thinking the word ssooo  No other thought for 2 min except sooo >>> haammm  No break between exhalation and inhalation  Feel the breath and observe for 2 min how the mind and word are flowing together  Mentally feel the spot between the nose-bridge and upper lip. Also feel the spot between the eyebrows  Inhale as if you are inhaling from the spot in front the nose-bridge and subtle energy flowing to the spot between the eyebrows. Exhale the same way.  Maintain the same stream of mind, word and the energy flow.  The flow between the two spots is known as Sushumna breath Cont/d…

Beginning Meditation Meditation with So-ham mantra  Step by step process  Using the center of the eyebrow as a gateway, enter the chamber of your mind.  Resolve there will be no thought for 15 seconds, 30 seconds. No exterior thought. Utter silence. Mind absolutely still without ripple  Enjoy stillness and silence for 30 seconds.  Come out through the gateway between eyebrows. For minute be in the Sushumna breath  Maintain the stream and continue in silence.  Only single ripple arising out of the lake of silence – soham in the breath  Every 3-5 minutes, renew the resolve to permit no other thought.  To practice this, repeat the entire process (segments / steps) May you receive the grace of the Himalayan Lineage