Yoga meditation is the art and science

Yoga is a complete science of life that originated in India thousands of years ago. The Sanskrit meaning of Yoga is union which can be extended to imply union with God or Atman. Or in other words, it is the union between a person's own consciousness and the universal consciousness. Yoga encompasses the entire body, mind and spirit. The classical techniques of Yoga date back more than 5,000 years.

The ancient Indian scriptures perceived the physical body as a vehicle with the mind as driver and the soul as man's true identity. The physical body perishes in due course of time, the materialistic pleasures of the world are momentary but the human soul is permanent, it never dies. Yoga aims at integration with the soul which is the ultimate reality.

The scriptures say that the goal envisaged by Yoga can be reached through four different ways - Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga. All the different forms have their own advantages and characteristics.

Bhakti Yoga is the path of devotion and prayers. Yogis who practice Bhakti Yoga see the Divine in everyone and everything they encounter. Raja Yoga is the path focussing on meditation and contemplation. It is based on the eight limbs of Yoga which was discussed in the Yoga Sutra. Jnana Yoga is the path dealing with wisdom and knowledge. It emphasizes on reaching the goal through spiritual knowledge.

Karma Yoga believes that 'work is worship' and that past actions influence future course of action. Therefore, good deeds only can bestow happiness on human beings.

The aspect of Yoga that is most popular in present times and understood by the layman is "Hatha Yoga" or the Yoga of Postures. It is through Hatha Yoga that practitioners try to keep their mind and body fit and keep diseases at bay. And meditation forms an integral part of these practices. There are many different Yogic postures - some that can be easily done while some are difficult. All the Hatha yoga postures target different parts of the body.

Hatha Yoga lays special emphasis on breathing techniques as breath is believed to maintain a good balance between mind and body. The breathing techniques are based on the concept that breath is the source of life in the body. Yoga students gently increase their breath control to improve the health and the function of both body and mind.

It is here that Meditation also needs mention. Meditation usually refers to a state of extreme relaxation and concentration, in which the body is generally at rest and the mind quieted of surface thoughts. Just as Hatha Yogas aim at physical health, meditation in common parlance aims at mental health. Meditation is said to help in concentration of the mind and channelising the thought process towards positive things.

Meditation also negates negative thoughts and bitter memories that gets accumulated in the sub conscious mind over the years due to past experiences. Continuous meditation takes the mind deeper into the self and helps in self realization. Conclusively, it can be said the ultimate aim of Yoga and meditation is realization of the atman or self realization.

Art of Meditation

Meditation deals with Senses, Body, Breath, and Mind. There is an art in the process of observing, accepting, understanding, and training each of these various aspects of our being.

In observing the senses, one becomes increasingly mindful of the way the mind is drawn here and there by smell, taste, touch, sight and hearing. One comes to see the many ways in which the body cleanses and eliminates, the elegant force of our sensual drive on actions and artistic expression, the beautiful varieties of motion and dexterity of holding objects, and the awesome process of speech. To observe, accept, understand, and train these faculties is most definitely an art form.

In doing yoga postures, one learns with heightened awareness and concentration to let the body flow into the postures. This is an art.

With breathing practices, one may spend many minutes seeing how very smooth and slow one can make the breath, while eliminating jerkiness and pauses. This can bring calmness to the physical body and stillness to the mind. This too is an art.

Once one gets past the initial frustration with quieting the conscious mind, the mind is seen to be an awesome instrument, with many currents and cross-currents. Yet, the meditator comes to see that "who we are" is beyond this mind, and that the gentle examination of thoughts and emotions is an intriguing and joyful part of the journey to the center of consciousness. This exploration too is an art.

Science of Meditation

Yoga meditation science is complete in itself. It deals with all levels of ones being, and provides a vast array of detailed explanations and practices to go along with those concepts. Yoga meditation is a science, providing a blueprint for the architecture of consciousness, and a roadmap to the center of consciousness.

Highly useful among the texts on yoga science are the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, and the Upanishads, which are said to be the distillation, the "juice" of the Vedas, among the oldest teachings known to humanity. Seen through the eye of the yogi or the mystic, many of the books of the worlds religions are also guides in the science of yoga, of the wholeness of the inner journey.

The science of yoga meditation is taught in oral tradition by thousands of people around the world, as they have for thousands of years. Among those are a handful of enlightened ones, called by such names as saint, sage, seer, yogi, or master (of themselves). Preeminent among them are the sages of the Himalayas.

Music and Meditation

A professional musician will spend years studying the theory of music, and the methods of the past master musicians. However, the professional musician does not stop with only theory, but also spends many years in the practice of playing the instrument.

The professional musician practices the art and the science of music.

The professional musician does both the theory and practice, and therefore knows both of the joys in one, integrated whole of music.

The serious meditation student will also do both, learning the theory and the practices, and applying the theory in practice.


"Spiritual practices that involve the physical body, such as tai chi, qigong, and yoga are also increasingly being embraced in the Western World. . .will play an important role in the global awakening." Eckhart Tolle, The New Earth

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Namaste -

"I honor the place in you where Spirit lives.
I honor the place in you which is
of Love, of Truth, of Light, of Peace.

When you are in that place in you,
and I am in that place in me,
then we are One."