Yoga Meditation Basic - I

Yoga meditation is a very popular method of meditation and this post will give you a clear perspective of yoga meditation.

Many people in the western world have traditionally associated meditation with yoga, which is the context within which many people practice it. The word yoga means “union” or “identification”, and comes from the same root as the verb “to yoke”. In very general terms, the word yoga can be applied to any systematic method geared towards attaining union” or “oneness” with true reality. It is particularly associated with the spiritual practice rooted in eastern philosophies. Thus, much of what has been discussed in my meditation post so far can be replaced within the practice of yoga.

However, the popular concept of yoga meditation is the practice of hatha yoga to gain control of the body, leading to raja yoga, to gain mastery of the mind. These aspects of yoga meditation are just two of a numbers of paths to union, or enlightenment, which ate practiced within the traditional philosophical frameworks of the Indian subcontinent. Most of these philosophies were developed by full-time meditators and sages known as “Rishis”. There are six categories of Indian philosophy (seven if you include Buddhism which is no longer practiced so much in India itself, but more so in adjoining countries). Yogic theory, as practiced today, stems mainly from two of six philosophies: the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and Vedanta which is based on ancient texts known as the Upanishads. Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras give detailed instructions for hatha and raja yoga, whilst Vedanta offers the philosophical backbone of jnana yoga, which is the yoga meditation of using the intellect to enquire and contemplate. Yoga meditation can also be connected to Buddhism, especially yoga tantra, which forms and aspect of the Tibetan Vahrayana Buddhist practice. However, much of what has been discovered and within yoga meditation has been imported into other traditions, albeit often with some changes in terminology.

Yoga meditation is a science of personal development. As stated earlier, it is incorporated into many eastern religion, but is equally valid within any world religion, or divorced from religion altogether. To quote a famous Indian yogi called Ramakrishna: “Through yoga a Hindu becomes a better Hindu, a Christian a better Christian, a Moslem a better Moslem, and a Jew a better Jew.” The Hindu religion in particular borrows heavily from the classical Indian philosophies, therefore the iconography associated with the popular concept of yoga is common to Hinduism, especially in view of the fact that most Indian yoga gurus tend to be Hindus. As result, the other sacred works of the Hindu, such as the Bhagavad Gita, have had a great influence on the shaping of yoga meditation.

You may either be attracted or put off by an association of religion with your preferred meditation practice. As such, you can choose to take the whole package, religion and all, or you can cut through the cultural and religious accoutrements and extract the philosophical and practical essence of yoga to enrich your meditation practice.

Next we are going to talk about yoga paths in yoga meditation.