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1

How to Stay Grounded for a Better Meditation Practice

Tom Von Deck is a meditation trainer, speaker and author of the Kindle bestseller, Oceanic Mind – The Deeper Meditation Training Course. He specializes in making meditation a much much easier and more customized process for busy people from all cultural, spiritual and non-spiritual backgrounds.

Tom began his meditation journey in the late 1980s at the age of twelve or so. He has studied with various teachers and within variety of traditions. He has extracted the golden essence of all spiritual, mind/body/spirit and stress reduction practices. Tom is now sharing this knowledge with all who wish to learn via guru-free instruction as a fellow traveler on this giant rock with a hot gooey center called Earth.

I’d like to welcome Tom to Mastery of Meditation, Yoga & Zen.

Meditation

How to Stay Grounded for a Better Meditation Practice

by guest author Tom Von Deck.

Do you know how to stay grounded? 

This is one of the many problems a lot of us have, especially in this modern world of rapid flux. Being un-grounded, in fact, can be the cause of even more problems. This includes colds and coughs and many other issues.

Groundedness dramatically enhances meditation. In this article, we’ll look at some ways to stay connected with our bodies and the world of form so that we can improve our practices.

Signs that you’re not staying grounded:

  • Spaciness and forgetfulness
  • Being accident prone
  • Easily losing things
  • Emotional overwhelm
  • Forgetting what someone just said
  • Finding difficulty concentrating in meditation
  • Coming up with ideas and not implementing them
  • Lack of body awareness or breath awareness
  • Noise and light sensitivity

Forgetting why you just walked into the supermarket and then trying not to look stupid by going to an isle and reading the labels on the pork rinds and shuffling around some Pringles cans and then leaving the store and driving away when you finally remember what you wanted after the second traffic light, and it was actually Pringles.

What does well grounded mean? Signs of groundedness:

  • You are less overwhelmed by annoyances
  • Body awareness
  • You have a feeling of purpose
  • You get upset less easily
  • You can get more done in less time
  • Better meditation!

One way to be more grounded is to take regular walks if you have the time. Try to feel your feet as much as possible. Pay attention to the breath. 

Use your senses as much as you can during the walk. “Take in” the trees, sounds of birds, smells of lawns and flowerbeds or whatever you notice. 

Hatha yoga, or almost anything you’ll learn in a western yoga studio, helps you to anchor yourself in body awareness. Take some classes if you haven’t already. Anmol provides lessons as well. 

Aromatherapy baths also help to anchor you in your body. Grounding essential oils include sandalwood, cedar, patchouli, frankincense and sage. 

Regular exercise is a great one. I’ve been running in place the equivalent of a mile every day, and both the body awareness and the simple routine of running is very grounding. 

Grounding meditations certainly help me at times. I’m thinking of the visualizations that you may find on YouTube. 

There were times not very long ago when meditation was very elusive to me, and this cleared it up with a 10-15 minute visualization I found on YouTube. Meditation became easy again. 

Now, I’m doing even more grounding activities in daily life and it’s getting even better.

A lot of these grounding meditations on YouTube are similar. They involve imagining roots growing from your feet into the ground and visualizing yourself receiving the Earth’s energy through those roots. 

Sitting under a tree can be very relaxing and grounding for many people. Try it barefoot for added sensation. Take some normal activities like exercise, eating and reading into the yard if you have one. 

Diaphragmatic breathing as often as possible will anchor you in the feeling of breath, and this can be grounding. Deep breathing also brings groundedness because breath is intimately related to awareness. When you’re less aware and present, your breathing is more shallow.

If the boss yells at you, your breathing may restrict itself. That’s because you do not want to feel the sensations associated with the scolding. Deep and calm breath means that you are open to life, sensation and feeling. These are essential components of groundedness. 

Diaphragmatic breathing, through the nose, is a very good way to breathe throughout the day so that you stay present and grounded. 

Put one hand on the belly and one on the chest. Breathe through the nose. Your chest shouldn’t move much. Your abdomen should inflate in all directions like a balloon. 

You may feel a gentle massage-like feeling in the lower back and groin. Breathe consciously like this as much as you can. 

The more you practice staying grounded, the easier it will be to meditate. Meditate smart, not hard. 

About Tom Von Deck

Tom Von Deck is a meditation trainer, corporate speaker and author of Oceanic Mind – The Deeper Meditation Training Course. Tom specializes in making meditation a much easier and more customized journey for busy and non-busy people from all backgrounds and paths. He runs a hub for free meditation training at DeeperMeditation.net. You can also find him on Facebook, Google+ and other sites. 

2

What is Meditation Really?

Here is another great article on meditation by guest author Tom Von Deck.  Previously Tom wrote about Managing Stress in the Workplace with Meditation, and today’s article is a deep dive into what is meditation fundamentally and what are the various types of meditation you can practice.   

Tom is a widely respected meditation teacher who also practices Kriya Yoga, Reiki, ThetaHealing, Qigong and more.  He is known for his expertise in workplace meditation training and is the author of Oceanic Mind.  You can find more information on meditation and his teachings on http://www.deepermeditation.net/.

If you would like to be a guest author on Master of Meditation and Yoga, please email me at anmol@anmolmehta.com.

Meditation Reality

What is Meditation, Really? Breaking It Down.

By

Tom Von Deck 

There are tons of different meditation techniques all over the internet. You’ve probably found some in books, videos and websites such as this one. It can be hard to determine which technique is right for you because they all seem so different. If you want to find the meditation technique that you are most compatible with, it’s important to understand all of its components.

So, what is meditation? Let’s break it down.

Some of the variables in meditation include:

  1. Object of focus
  2. Warm ups for preparing the mind and body for meditation
  3. The methods for integrating meditation into daily life

Object of Focus in Meditation:

An object of focus is what you are paying attention to during your meditation. It can be a word, a phrase, the breath, a visualized object, a camp fire, a body sensation and many other things. You can choose an object that is devotional such as the phrase Om Namah Shivaya, the Shiva mantra. Many people also choose secular objects like the silently repeated nonsensical word they learned in TM or the feeling of the breath as it enters and leaves the nostrils.

Meditation objects are usually repetitive like a mantra or constant like a visualization of a waterfall or tree. Some are roving like the body scan meditation in which you are calmly observing the sensations in one body part at a time.

Meditation is the art of falling in love. There is not one woman who is right for every man. There is also not one meditation object that is right for everyone. You need to have an object that you can fall in love with, relax into and merge with.

Concentration meditation works primarily with the object of focus. When the mind wanders, you simply bring the attention back to the object without judgment. However, most meditation techniques add another component. It’s called mindfulness, also known as insight or Vipassana.

Mindfulness is the art of being present with experience as it arises into consciousness. Thoughts, emotions and body sensations are all processes happening in the moment. When the mind gets distracted from the meditation object, you impartially take note of what’s going on. You can use the word “thinking” or “anger” if it helps you to register the experience better. It is as if you are the sky and these processes are the clouds. You are the vast ocean and they are the waves, just rising and falling.

After taking note, you bring your attention back to the object of focus.

The main benefit of mindfulness is equanimity. The ego pushes away uncomfortable experience and clings to comfortable experience. When uncomfortable, it restricts the breath so as not to feel something. Mindfulness trains you to gradually make friends with experience so that you are living life more fully and compassionately in all situations.

As you make friends with all of life’s experiences, you become more ocean-like. Calm observation of the processes happening within gradually awakens you to your true self, the place where true happiness exists. The Ocean is deep and still. A storm can only disturb the waves.

Meditation Warm-up Methods

Almost every meditation technique has some type of warm up strategy. In guided meditations, you’ve probably heard the words, “relax and take a few deep breaths.” This is a method for preparing the mind and body for a more profound meditation session. The activities you learn in yoga classes were designed to make meditation easier, regardless of the reasons people do yoga. In some Qigong practices, grounding practices such as body wiping and joint limbering are common. Some contemplative Christians read scripture to get in the mood. Buddhists may use lovingkindness prayers or visualizations.

There is a whole science to sequencing warm ups, and there are ways to design these strategies yourself using methods you are most compatible with. They vary in complexity. Some yoga classes may start off with stretching and more dynamic and physical exercises and then go into breathing exercises before a few minutes of deep relaxation at the end of class. Qigong sequences can also be complex, and there’s often a rhyme and reason to it. If you’re just reciting a prayer of gratitude, then it’s a lot simpler.

Integrating Meditation Into Your Life

An integration strategy is your plan for integrating meditation into daily life. There’s a reason Muslims pray five times per day as a group. Buddhist may try to pay attention to thoughts happening within and become that impartial observer throughout the day. An office worker may pray for peace during the 20 second elevator rides or during traffic stops. Some folks take stretch breaks and do office yoga to anchor themselves back in their bodies.

Calming, grounding and centering activities in small intervals add up to huge results. This is true even if you feel no immediate effects. The process occurs below the level of consciousness and creates a snowball effect. Eventually, you have a “quantum leap” of peace and increased energy. This makes it much easier to do your formal meditation practice. They go hand in hand as they both feed on each other. Find a few calming exercises to try for 30 seconds to 5 minutes out of each hour and/or during brief times of inactivity. It really works.

The “what is meditation” question is a very complex one because meditation is such a profound and multifaceted inner process. Hopefully this made it simpler to understand so that you can experiment much more consciously.

Tom Von Deck is a corporate meditation trainer, speaker and author of Oceanic Mind – The Deeper Meditation Training Course. He specializes in making meditation a much easier process for busy people from all backgrounds. Visit Tom’s website at www.deepermeditation.net or take a look at  Oceanic Mind on Kindle.

3

Visualization Yoga Technique for Aura Healing

Healing Your Aura

It has been some time since I published a technique to do aura healing.  Previously I wrote about 2 useful techniques for working on your aura and they are Eagle Pose for Powerful Aura and Yoga Criss-Cross for Aura Cleansing.  Today’s technique though is quite different from these 2 techniques as it has a very large visualization and mental component.  So for those who are artistic or visual in nature, this technique will be perfect for you :-).  

This technique is usually part of a set specifically designed to work on your aura, but of that set it is generally the key exercise.  I suggest doing these exercises independently as a mini set, or adding them to to end of a routine focused on energy and refinement.

Chakra Center Aura

Your aura, as per Kundalini Yoga, is the sum total power of your nervous system and it reflects the power of the prana or life force flowing through you.  The greater your aura the more magnetic and influential you can be, and those that have great presence and charisma are those who have a strong, bright aura.

When it comes to health, healing and working on yourself, it is important not to overlook the power and influence of your mind and this particular technique exploits that dimension.  Specifically, it uses the power of visualization to help you develop and energize your aura.

Yogic Breathing for Aura Purification:

As I explained above, auric power is a reflection of pranic power, so the more clear your channels the better the flow of prana (life force) and the brighter and clearer your aura.  So along with physical and mental exercises, breathing techniques are also excellent for healing your aura.  Below are 2 such techniques which are very useful for this.  

You can use these breathing exercises to create your own aura healing set.  Do them first and then do the aura healing technique.

Anuloma Viloma Pranayama

Bhaktrika Yoga Pranayama

More Yoga Exercises and Stretches:

In addition to the exercises and poses above, you will find more yoga techniques in the following 2 online collections – Free Hatha Yoga Galleries and Free Kundalini Yoga Exercises.  Also, you will find more useful breathing exercises in the Free Online Yoga Pranayama Collection

For Yoga and Meditation Certification Course Students:

For students enrolled in the Online Yoga Teacher Training and Certification Course or Online Meditation Certification Program, note that these poses are challenging to hold for extended periods of time.  So the best way to motivate your students to do these postures is to do them yourself along with the class.  This way you are leading by example and you are also working on healing and cleansing your own aura at the same time :-). 

Aura Healing Technique

Below please find details of how to practice this technique, along with illustrations, step-by-step instructions, benefits, cautions and practice tips.

Aura Healing Technique Illustrations

Aura Healing Visualization Right to Left
Aura Healing Right to Left – Illustration #1
Aura Healing - Left to Right
Aura Healing Left to Right – Illustration #2
Aura Healing - Both Arms
Aura Healing Visualization – Illustration #3

A. How to do Aura Healing:

  • Start by sitting up straight with your legs crossed.  Close your eyes.  If you cannot sit cross legged you may sit up on a chair.  It is important to keep you back straight though.  
  • Take 5 slow deep breaths and clear your mind of all worries, anxieties and fears.  Relax.  
  • Next lift your right arm straight up with palm facing in and fingers extended and left arm straight out to the side, with palm facing up and fingers extended, as shown in Illustration #1 above.
  • Now begin the Breath of Fire Breathing Exercise.  And while holding this position, visualize a waterfall emanating from your right palm, arching down and falling onto your left palm.  If you have trouble visualizing a waterfall, you can visualize a white, bright beam of light arcing between your right palm and left palm.  If you have trouble keeping up with Breath of Fire, switch to Long Deep Breathing instead.  Hold and continue to visualize for a duration that is comfortable for you. 
  • Next reverse the arm positions as shown in Illustration #2 above and again do the visualization along with the Breath of Fire.  Continue for an equal time.
  • Finally, extend both arms out to the sides, with palms facing up and fingers extended and visualize the waterfall or semicircle of light flowing between the 2 palms.  Remember to continue with the Breath of Fire.  
  • To end, lower your arms to your lap, switch to long deep breathing and for 5 slow breaths visualize yourself with a shinning bright white aura.  End with a smile.  

B. Duration:

  • Depending on your capacity, start with 15 seconds for each phase of this exercise and build up from there. You can do up to 3 minutes per phase.

C. Aura Healing Benefits:

  • Helps to heal, charge and energize your aura.
  • Increases your charisma and magnetism.
  • Makes you more influential and powerful.
  • Protects you from negative energies.
  • Improves your lung capacity and strengthens your shoulders.
  • Helps you develop your power of visualization and creativity.

D. Practice Tips for Aura Healing:

  • If you are new to doing Breath of Fire and are having trouble with it, this is not uncommon so don’t fret.  It takes time to get this breathing correct.  Exclusively practice Breath of Fire for 1-3 minutes daily and it will help you master it. In the meantime use long deep breathing for the aura healing technique.
  • If your arms get tired, you can lower them and place them in Cosmic Mudra, but continue to do the visualization and breathing.
  • Remember with regard to discomfort, that often the mind gives out first, so impose your spirit over your mind and go further than you think you can.

PS: If you enjoy this pose or any other article on Mastery of Meditation and Yoga, please do share them with your friends.  I appreciate your support.

4

Tips for Guided Meditation and Free Meditation Downloads

Guided Meditation Tips

Free Guided Meditations

Guided Meditation is a wonderful tool with many applications from simple relaxation and stress relief, to therapy for insomnia and other ailments.  In today’s guest post  Axel Gjertsen shares with us some excellent tips to enhance your guided meditation experience and get the most out of your session. You can get more great meditation tips, as well download free guided meditations from his wonderful website, Axel G.

If you would like to be a guest author on Mastery of Meditation and Yoga, please email me at anmol@anmolmehta.com.

How To Get The Most Out Of Guided Meditation

By Axel Gjertsen

In this post you’ll learn how to get the most possible out of your guided meditation practice.

I was first introduced to deep relaxation in middle school. Toward the end of the physical education classes, the teacher sometimes asked us to lie down on the floor. Then, she played a guided meditation.

It was a sweeping meditation and the instructions took us on a journey through the body. Each body part was given attention and we were reminded to relax the body and mind. We were also asked to give attention to the sensation of the body pressing against the floor.

I think almost all the students enjoyed the meditation sessions, it was so relaxing to lie down and mediate after the exercise.

Types Of Guided Meditations

Guided meditation is really easy to learn. It’s almost like having a private teacher. All you have to do is follow the voice instructions.

There are many kinds of guided meditations. The sweeping technique where you go from body part to body part is very popular. And it’s both relaxing and healing.

Tips for Guided Meditation

Normally, we avoid unpleasant sensations, but when you give attention to the body you’re bound to experience both pleasant and unpleasant sensations. I encourage you to embrace whatever comes up…

Other forms of guided meditation include chakra meditation, where you meditate on the main energy centers along the spine. There are also visualizations and techniques where you focus on the breath, called breathing meditation.

Guided Meditation Tips

One of the keys to succeeding with guided meditation is to remove as many distractions as possible. Let’s take a look at a handful of approaches.

Whenever you get distracted, you start to think and momentarily forget about the meditation all together. Your own thoughts or background noise may even make you frustrated or angry.

Be forgiving and patient with yourself. Try to accept every moment as it is.

It’s easy to see that distractions are a major obstacle to inner peace.  Moreover, voices are one of the most challenging distractions, since it’s difficult not to listen in on conversations.

So, opt to meditate in a quiet room and close the door. Yet, make sure there is sufficient air circulation wherever you practice.  Dimming the lights creates a calming ambiance.

Also make sure your body is comfortable. There is no need to meditate on the floor. A stool or chair is just as good.

Lying down on your back is an excellent way to relax your body and mind.  When the body is relaxed, the mind is naturally at ease. Regardless of your body posture, make sure you’re as comfortable as possible.

Another way to minimize distractions is by using headphones. That way, external sound is blocked from entering your ears while you meditate.

It’s very important not to try too hard. Just relax your body and mind.  All you have to do is give relaxed attention to the meditation. Trying too hard only causes physical and mental tension.

Keep in mind that meditating with closed eyes reduces distractions and makes it easier to concentrate.

For best results, meditate for about 10-15 minutes each time. The more sessions you do, the deeper the meditation takes you. Take the opportunity to stretch your legs between rounds.

It’s also true that the more you practice, the more you benefit from your meditation practice.

Good luck!

Axel Gjertsen is a former Buddhist monk and lives in Thailand. He runs axel  which is a personal development site with a focus on meditation. Here you can download his free guided meditations.

5

3 Best Third Eye Meditations

Third Eye Chakra Meditations

Meditations to Open Third Eye

If you read the intriguing comments in the Kundalini Awakening Symtoms artilce, you will find that the region which is almost always affected by Kundalini Rising is the Third Eye center.  This chakra (energy vortex) is situated in the center of forehead, just above eyebrows, and although it is so often a part of spiritual awakenings, the particular feelings and experiences which practitioners encounter there vary a great deal.

You will find in those reports, tingling in the Third Eye region, feeling pressure there, seeing colors, experiencing great expansion, pain, visions, etc, etc.  In my view all these are indications of the Third Eye opening, but the particular experiences are different for different people.  With regard to these physical and psychological experiences, I feel it is best to use them as a source of inspiration and motivation to deepen and expand your meditation and yoga practice.

Third Eye Meditations

The Third Eye is also of course the seat of intuition and wisdom, in the Kundalini Seven Chakra System, and so it is a particularly important center for those interested in spiritual evolution.  Finally, the Third Eye is also considered the key for unleasing psychic powers and abilities so for those interested in such matters, again opening this chakra is of particular significance.

So what are some good meditations for opening the Third Eye?  You will find lots of great Third Eye techniques on the website (just search the site using the search box in the top right sidebar), but in this article I want to suggest 3 particular Third Eye meditations for you to try.

3 Best Third Eye Meditations:

1. AUM Mantra Third Eye Meditation:

One of the most potent and popular Third Eye meditations is the AUM Mantra Meditation Technique.  This meditation uses the concept of the Beej Mantra or Seed Sound to stimulate and open the Third Eye Center.

The other components that make this meditation is so effective is the use of Shambavi Mudra, which is common to most Third Eye meditations and the use of Gyan Mudra.

Here is a video detailing how to practice this wonderful technique to open the Third Eye.

 

 

2. Gayatri Mantra Third Eye Meditation:

This particular meditation uses the most powerful Vedic Mantra, the Gayatri Mantra, and visualization to help balance and open the Third Eye chakra. The other components of this meditation are same as the AUM Mantra Meditation Technqiue.  Here is an article with full detail of this technique:  Gayatri Meditation for Opening Third Eye Chakra.

Here is a video of this meditation, which is particularly helpful in teaching how to correctly recite this mantra.

 

 

3. Lord Shiva Third Eye Meditation:

This Third Eye meditation is quite a bit more challenging than the above two. It is also more rare and comes from the school of Kundalini Yoga.  This meditation uses visualization, yoga numerology and yogic breathing to open the Third Eye.  You will find complete details in the following article: Chakra Meditation to Open Third Eye.

Here is a video detailing this technique:

 

 

Best Third Eye Meditations Summary:

The Third Eye is often the first chakra that is recommended to open when starting a serious Kundalini Yoga program.  This is because this center is important for intuition and inner guidance, so once it is engaged, one can become one’s own Guru.  But besides such profound benefits, these meditations are also excellent for simply building mental concentration and bestowing peace and tranquility.  So I hope you will give them a try and I look forward to hearing your feedback with regard to the Third Eye, so please do share that with us in the comments section below.

6

Powerful Seventh Chakra Kundalini Meditation YouTube Video

Crown Chakra Meditation

YouTube Chakra Kundalini Meditation Video

In the important article, How to Analyze and Balance Your Chakras, I indicated that you need to practice the Crown Chakra Meditation Technique if any of the following applies to you…

  1. You are not at all spiritually motivated.
  2. You have not experienced much in terms of spirituality or transcendence.
  3. You don’t see the poetry of life and nature.
  4. You are too materialistic and frivolous.

From the above list you can see that the crown chakra, which is the seventh chakra in the Kundalini Yoga Seven Chakra Model, is responsible for spirituality and bliss, and is therefore considered by many to be the most important Chakra.  Often, awakening kundalini and having her rise to this region, is considered the highest goal of kundalini yoga.

It is through the Seventh Chakra that often the great Oneness is experiences and great bliss is experienced.  You can read about many such experiences of other readers in the article Kundalini Awakening Symptoms.

Given the above great benefits of opening the Seventh Chakra, one might be tempted to simply devote oneself to this particular meditation technique, but that is certainly not recommended.  This is essentially because directly opening the chakra points, especially such a powerful one, can lead to premature kundalini awakening, making it difficult to handle the energy and experiences that follow.  So you should follow a measured approach when doing this meditation and complement this practice with lots of physical yoga and cleansing techniques to prepare the body well for intelligent kundalini awakening.

In this article I am going to present a video of the Seventh Chrakra meditation technique.  This video is uploaded to my YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/anmolmehtacom) and will become part of the Free Meditation Videos Collection here on Mastery of Meditation and Yoga.  It will also become part of the multi-media Guided Meditation Techniques E-book, which has chapters that include videos for different meditations.

For Yoga and Meditation Certification Program Students:

For students enrolled in the Online Yoga Teacher’s Training and Certification Program, this chakra meditation is part of the Seven Chakra Healing Kundalini Yoga Set, which is part of your syllabus (Yoga Training Manual –> Chapter 106, page 527).  I will be uploading the video to that article as well, so you will be able to access it easily. 

For Online Meditation Teacher’s Training Program students, this meditation is not included in the Meditation Training Manual, as it is not one that we teach very often.  You can though teach this meditation to an advanced class or teach it to your students to give them a taste for what chakra meditation feels like.

Seventh Chakra Meditation YouTube Video Contents:

  • The video gives an overview of Crown (Seventh) Chakra Meditation Technique.
  • It gives a step-by-step demonstration of the hand positions, breathing and visualization used for this meditation.
  • It guides you through practicing the technique.
  • It discusses the benefits of this meditation, along with other practice tips and cautions.
  • As mentioned above this meditation is also part of the Seven Chakra Healing Kundalini Yoga Set, which many have benefited from.

Seventh Chakra Meditation Video

DIRECT YOUTUBE LINK –> CHAKRA MEDITATION TECHNIQUE TO AWAKEN KUNDALINI

7

Potent Lord Shiva Kriya | Third Eye Meditation Video

Lord Shiva Meditation

Yoga Kriya Video

The best way to open the Third Eye Chakra is via giving it attention, as attention is considered the food for this chakra and one of the best meditations for doing this is Lord Shiva Kriya.  Lord Shiva Kriya is a Kundalini Yoga technique and it is designed to ensure that your maximum attention and focus is directed to the Third Eye region.

The Third Eye Chakra point is considered the seat of intuition and wisdom.  It is often cited as the source of psychic powers and opening this point is considered one of the most important aspects of yoga kriyas.  For more information on chakras and kriyas, please read the following articles: Kundalini Yoga Seven Chakra Model and Understanding Kundalini Yoga and Yoga Kriyas.

Lord Shiva Meditation

I detailed this particular meditation in the article, Chakra Meditation Technique to Open the Third Eye, so you will find many details regarding it in that article.  Here today what I would like to present to you in a video of how to do Lord Shiva Kriya.

Lord Shiva Kriya, uses pranayama, yoga numerology, mudras and visualization to help open the Third Eye, so it is a rather involved meditation.  This is why I think the video below will be particularly helpful in understanding how all these various components fit together to make this an effective technique.

This video will become part of the Free Meditation Videos Collection here on Mastery of Meditation and Yoga.  It will also become part of the mutli-media Guided Meditation Techniques E-book, which has chapters that include videos for different meditations.

Lord Shiva Kriya to Open Third Eye Video Contents:

  • The video gives an overview of Lord Shiva Kundalini Yoga Kriya.
  • It gives a step-by-step demonstration of the yoga mudras, pranayama and visualization used for this meditation.
  • It guides you through practicing the technique.
  • It discusses the benefits of this meditation, along with other practice tips.

Lord Shiva Third Eye Meditation Video

DIRECT YOUTUBE LINK –> LORD SHIVA MEDITATION TO OPEN THIRD EYE

8

Best Kundalini Yoga Meditation Video | Kirtan Kriya

Best Kundalini Yoga Meditation

Best Meditation Video

Kundalini Yoga has a huge number of excellent meditations, but from all these meditations, 2 are generally considered the best and most powerful.  These 2 are Sodarshan Chakra Kriya, which is detailed in the article Most Powerful Yoga Pranayama and Kirtan Kriya, detailed in the article Kundalini Yoga Highest Meditation.  For Sodarshan Chakra Kriya, I already have a video uploaded, but today I am happy to present to you a video of Kirtan Kriya.

This is the first video of the 2011 Free Online Yoga and Meditation Video Series and I am glad to kick off this set with such a profound and effective meditation technique.  Many more videos are coming online soon, so be on the lookout for those each week.

Kirtan Kriya

This video will become part of the Free Meditation Videos Collection here on Mastery of Meditation and Yoga.  It will also become part of the mutli-media Guided Meditation Techniques E-book, which has chapters that include videos for different meditations.  Other Kundalini Yoga Meditations for which you will also find videos include: Sat Kriya – Tantric Technique to Raise Sexual Energy, Wealth and Prosperity Meditation TechniqueMeditation for Relaxation, Sodarshan Chakra Kriya, mentioned above, and many others will be coming online shortly.

Kundalini Yoga Meditation Details:

As usual, in the video I will concentrate on giving a demonstration of the meditation, as most of the other details are in the chapter article already.  As Kirtan Kriya is quite involved and has many components, I think the video instruction will help make it more clear as to how to do this meditation correctly.  Below are some details as to what the video contains.

Kundalini Yoga Kirtan Kriya Mudras:

Mudras are hand, eye and body positions which complete certain circuits in the body to create a particular flow of energy.  By creating these flows, particular states of consciousness are invoked.  For this meditation, 4 different mudras are created in succession, while chanting the mantra.  How to pace this process is shown in the video.

Mantra Used for this Meditation:

The seed mantra SA TA NA MA is used for Kirtan Kriya.  This is where I feel an MP3 or video is particularly useful, as you can hear exactly how the mantra sounds are to be pronounced.  In this meditation, the mantra plays a big role, as it is chanted aloud, in a whisper and silently.  All this is demonstrated in the video.

Chakra Visualization for Kirtan Kriya:

As this meditation also involves visualizing the flow of the mantra thorough the chakras.  I explain how to go about doing this in the video.

Kirtan Kriya Meditation Technique Video Contents:

  • The video gives a brief overview of one of the best Kundalini Yoga meditations, Kirtan Kriya.
  • It gives a step-by-step demonstration of the yoga mudras, mantra and visualization to be used for this meditation.
  • It guides you through practicing the technique.
  • It discusses the benefits of this meditation, along with other details about the technique.

For Yoga Teacher’s Training and Certification Program Students:

For those enrolled in my Mastery of Yoga Teacher’s Training and Certification Program, this video will be automatically added to the original article on Kirtan Kriya, which is the meditation to be practiced in Week 6 of your syllabus.  As the Yoga Teacher’s Training E-manual has links to each article, the new video will be automatically available to you in the Kirtan Kriya article now as well.  For anyone interested in getting a Yoga Teacher’s Certification, please visit either of the 2 links below:

Yoga Instructor’s Certification Program

Yoga Teacher’s Training and Certification Program

Best Kundalini Yoga Meditation Video – Kirtan Kriya

DIRECT YOUTUBE LINK –> BEST KUNALINI YOGA MEDITATION TECHNIQUE


9

Baby Yoga Pose to Calm the Mind

Baby Yoga Position

Yoga to Relax the Mind

Don’t underestimate the value of Baby Pose, when it comes to your yoga practice.  A friend of mine once told me a funny story about his first yoga class.  He was a martial arts specialist and when he was invited to a yoga class by a female friend he jumped at the opportunity.  After all, he was single and yoga classes had lots of women who he thought he would be able to impress given his training in martial arts.

So off he went for his first yoga experience, full of pride and hope.  Once there, he soon learned that the sustained aspect of yoga postures was something he was completely unprepared for and he struggled mightily in trying to keep up with all the very unimpressed women in the class .  After the class, when asked which pose had been his favorite, “Baby Pose” he immediately replied.  Why?  Because this is the pose you take when you are tired and can’t keep up with the rest of the group, and it was the pose he spent most of the class in .

baby pose

So keep baby pose in mind when you are doing your yoga.  It, along with Corpse Pose, is an excellent pose to use to rest between exercises, or whenever you need a break.  Both poses help to calm the mind, soothe the nervous system and bestow great relaxation.  It is a great way to give the body a chance to integrate the work done by previous poses and recover for the ones to come.

Perhaps I should have added Baby Pose to the website sooner, but better late than never.  It will of course become part of the free online poses that are hosted here on Mastery of Meditation and Yoga.  You will find the complete indexes of yoga postures in the following 2 e-books, Free Online Hatha Yoga Galleries and Free Online Kundalini Yoga Exercises.  Also, this pose will be integrated into yoga sets, which are then used in the Free Online Meditation and Yoga Classes that are offered here.

Baby pose is also great to calm kids down when they are doing their yoga and so is already a part of the Kids Yoga Program here on Mastery of Yoga.  You will find those details here: Kids Yoga | A Comprehensive Guide to Teach Children Yoga.

Below please find details of how to practice Baby Yoga Pose, along with illustrations, step-by-step instructions, benefits and practice tips.

Baby Yoga Pose to Calm the Mind

Baby Yoga Pose Illustration



 

 

A. How to Do Baby Yoga Pose:

  • This is an easy pose to come into.  Simply sit back on your heels and close your eyes.
  • Then lean forward from the waist and bring your forehead to the floor.
  • Allow your arms to lie along the sides of your body, with your palms facing up.  Let your stomach, shoulders and mind relax.  This position is shown in Illustration #1 above.
  • Once you take this pose, you can commence Simple Yogic Breathing.  You can also use visualization while in this posture.  Once such variation is to visualize while light rising up your spine as you inhale and exploding in the top of your head as you exhale.
  • Stay in Baby Pose for as long as you like.

 

B. Duration of Baby Yoga Pose:

  • Open, but 1-3 minutes is effective to achieve relaxation between exercises.

C. Benefits:

  • Great for calming the mind and soothing the nervous system.
  • Helps the body rejuvenate and recover.
  • Helps activate the Third Eye Chakra.
  • Helps to raise the vibration of Sexual Energy.
  • Great for relaxation and stress relief.
  • Helps develop a humble and devotional attitude.

D. Practice Tips:

  • Remember to relax the mind when using this pose, that will make it much more effective.
  • Use your breath as a point of awareness to help you come into the moment and relax.
  • You can use Baby Pose in between your poses or at the end of a set to help you rejuvenate.
  • Baby Pose is great to do if you are an egomaniac.  It will help you become humble and soft.

More Great Tip and Techniques for Calming Your Mind

Deep Relaxation with Bhramari Yoga Breathing Technique

Relaxation Meditation Technique

How to Relax Your Mind

10

Potent Serpent Meditation for Awakening Kundalini Shakti

Kundalini Meditation

Awakening Kundalini Shakti

I had shared this wonderful meditation to raise Kundalini Shakti earlier this year in my monthly meditation newsletter and as it has been appreciated by many practitioners, I would like to share it with the rest of you on the blog today as well.

If you are familiar with Kundalini, you will no doubt be familiar with the use of the serpent to describe this energy and power.  Kundalini is often equated to a coiled serpent lying asleep at the base of spine, which, then with the practice of Kundalini Yoga, is awakened and made to rise up to the crown of the head.

In addition to this analogy, increased encounters with serpents are also often reported by those in the midst of a Kundalini Awakening.  These encounters don’t necessarily have to be with the real live snakes.  These reports generally indicate that there is just a greater presence of snakes in their lives all of sudden, in the form of pictures, dreams, conversations, TV shows, books, etc.

Kundalini Shakti

There are also the more incredible stories regarding snakes, especially cobras, and those with awakened Kundalini.  An example of this is the cobra that would often visit U.G. Krishnamurti at night at his house.  This cobra would hiss and bang at the door and in general make a lot of ruckus and not stop until he was taken for a night walk by UG himself.

So it should not be surprising that there are many Kundalini Yoga Meditations that focus on using the serpent to help awaken Kundalini.  Below I would like to detail one such potent meditation, for which I have to thank Swami Satyananda Saraswati for sharing it with the world.  Here are the details for the source of this meditation.

Book: Kundalini Tantra

Author: Swami Satyananda Saraswati

 

Serpent Meditation To Awaken Kundalini

 

To practice this meditation follow the step by step instructions below. Please do not overdo any Kundalini Meditation.  Start off slowly and then build up your time systematically over time.

1. Sit comfortably with your legs crossed. If you cannot sit with your legs crossed, then you may sit on a chair.

2. Have your spine straight, relax your stomach and then close your eyes.

3. Bring your attention to your breath and allow it naturally slow down. This may take a few minutes to happen.

4. Now bring your awareness to the base of your spine and visualize yourself breathing from there. As you inhale and exhale, visualize the breath coming into and leaving this area. Continue for a few minutes to establish your awareness there.

5. Once you feel concentrated enough, visualize a small black cylinder (lingam with the top cut off) at the base of spine.  And visualize a small baby red snake (not a cobra) coiled around this lingam looking up with the mouth open.

6. Once this picture is clear, visualize the serpent struggling to rise up the spine and straining in it’s effort to do so. As it struggles to rise, it makes an intense hissing sound.

7. When the serpent rises, visualize its mouth to be as wide as your body and as it rises, it’s body stretches up, but tail remains at the base of the spine coiled around the lingam.

8. This serpent’s body will often rise and then fall back during the meditation, but the lingam coiled by the tail will stay fixed. Continue the meditation in this way.

9. Success with this meditation is indicated by the eruption or great feeling of bliss, with the rising of the serpent.  It can also happen that the lingam and serpent will move to various chakras along the spine, and if that was to happen continue the visualization using this new location as the base.

Kundalini Serpent Meditation Summary

The meditation above incorporates many important aspects of Kundalini Tantra and Kriya Yoga and it’s practice can help in developing many of the important skills needed to practice such meditations. The meditation helps you develop the power of concentration, the power of visualization, chakra awareness, channel (nadi) awareness and refines your awareness.

In addition, it helps you develop the ability to bring your breath and prana into various parts of the body, allowing you to cleanses your chakra and nadi system. And finally, it gives you a taste of the power of Kundalini Shakti.

If you are new to such meditations, give yourself some time in mastering it.

One final note. Often when you do such meditations, you may not feel the affects right away, but as the meditation clears blockages in your chakras and opens up your energy pathways, at quiet times you may suddenly feel the effects of this kind of practice as energy is suddenly released and your mind opens up to new levels of consciousness.

For more Kundalini Yoga Meditations and Techniques, you can check out the following 3 free online e-books…