Many cultures, especially Hindu, regard the sun as the giver of life and a spiritual center. Honoring this spiritual force, many yogis start and end their day with sun salutation poses. I am one such yogi.
However, as with all facets of my personal yoga and meditation practice, I have customized this ritual to meet my own needs and desires. For me it’s not so much about honoring the sun as a spiritual guide, but honoring myself and my intentions for my day and for my life.
The benefits of meditation are many-fold, providing a way to get in touch with what’s going on in our lives as well as our bodies. The use of biofeedback has shown the medical community how the mind can control our physical reactions to pain and other stimuli. Yoga, through the practice of the asanas (poses) and pranayama (controlled breathing), offer its students a window into their interior thoughts and well-being by way of meditation.
Learning how to meditate may be just the coping mechanism you need in a stress-filled life without having to resort to prescription medications or destructive practices, such as drinking or over-eating. Meditation doesn’t involve special workout wear, a specific place or time; it just involves your active participation in a mindful practice that can offer a myriad of benefits, including better mental focus and clarity, decreased heart rate and blood pressure, and spiritual growth.
On the eightfold branches of Classical yoga, meditation, or dhyana, is the penultimate step to achieve samadhi, or self-realization. The practice of yoga ultimately allows the student to access the atman, or self, and in that manner come to know the brahman, or absolute reality. The word “yoga” literally means “union” in Sanskrit, and its practice joins the individual with the universal. By knowing yourself, you understand how the world relates to you, and meditation mediates this interaction.
is a natural pain and stress management technique developed by Mikao Usui and based on the principles of Buddhism and Shintoism. Reiki, from the Japanese words “rei” (spirit) and “ki” (energy), accesses the universal life force through the practitioner, who channels healing energy through the patient by the laying on of hands. The Shinto religion believes that energy (kami) flows from both animate and inanimate objects while the Buddhist tenets that Usui followed involved chakras, or energy sites, in the body that can be activated by practice, just as in yoga.