The Power of Meditation
What is Meditation? Settling the surface mind is meditation. Living in the present is meditation. Relaxing deeply is meditation. When you are really happy, reposing in love, you are meditating. Meditation is that space when the thoughts have subsided, and the mind is in complete rest.
Why do we Meditate?
When we are tense, or when we cannot concentrate on the activity at hand, it is usually because too many thoughts are passing through our mind. When the mind settles down, it lets go of tension and stress and centers itself in the present moment. Daily practice of meditation enables you to gain an increased ability to focus and concentrate, as well as clarity of mind and expanded awareness. Meditation also removes past impressions, and provides relaxation and deep rest. The rest you gain in effortless meditation is deeper than the deepest sleep.
The Key to Meditating
Often meditation is associated with effort — an effort to not think. When a person sits to meditate, there may be so many thoughts to begin with. The key to reducing these thoughts and reaching the underlying meditative state is through the breath. Through specific, natural breathing techniques, it’s possible to quiet the mind of thoughts, preparing it to slip easily into meditation.
Sudarshan Kriya Takes You to Meditation
The Sudarshan Kriya breathing technique, brought out by Art of Living Foundation Founder His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, incorporates specific natural rhythms of breath that release stress, detoxify the body, and center the mind in the present moment, naturally bringing it to a meditative state. Quieting the mind and dissolving deep into meditation, this technique brings joy, peace, and a sense of belonging to oneself and others.
Sahaj Samadhi Meditation
Sudarshan Kriya leaves you in a state of meditation and helps you live it throughout the day. A specific technique called Sahaj Samadhi Meditation expands the conscious mind, and lets you dwell in that state, further culturing the nervous system to support that clarity, bliss, and awareness in daily activity. Sahaj Samadhi means “natural enlightenment,” and is an effortless technique that expands the awareness and releases the stress that limits awareness and joy. While easy to learn and practice, it requires its own short course and individual instruction session to learn. It is the delicate art of not-doing. It brings a wholeness to life, and, together with Sudarshan Kriya, helps a person know who they really are, beyond their passing thoughts and feelings.
It is in every person’s faculty to experience the benefits of a regular meditation practice and the Sudarshan Kriya breathing technique. Breath and meditation is the body’s natural way to quiet the mind of thoughts, experience deep rest and energize and heal the entire system.
