Means of Dhyana
1. Asanas: While doing asanas, concentrate fully on those parts of the body which are stretched and influenced during a particular asana. This will increase your power of concentration. Asanas are the easy means of achieving concentration of mind. They impart not only physical vigour, but increase mental power also.
2. Pranayama: Mind and prana are deeply interrelated. There are two main causes of the instability of the mind, attachment and Prana(breath). Victory over one of these leads to the victory over the other. When the mind is connected with breathing, it sees the breath coming out and going in. It then gets concentrated on the process of breathing. Ultimately, it merges with the breath. All its waverings are then stopped, its fickleness disappears and it achieves a perfect state of stability. Pranayama is therefore the best and the easiest method of controlling the mind.
3. Thought Observation: Sit in dhyana. Let the thoughts come in your mind.Do not force any through to come nor prevent or suppress any. Be a spectator and observe your thoughts process.See how your mind wanders from one thought to another form one incident to another, from past memories to future planes. You have to just to observer all this is as if are some one different from your mind a separate entity or an out side observer. After a few days practice you will find that as soon you start this process the thought process of the mind slows down, stop wandering and it begins to be more stable.
4. Thoughts Creation:Sit in dhyana. Bring some thoughts or idea into your mind. Fix your mind on it for five to seven seconds and then remove this idea from your mind altogether. Bring another thought concentrate on it for five to seven seconds and then remove it. Repeat this process several times. Now stop all thoughts for a few seconds as if the mind is resting or it is on holiday. Keep it free from all thought for a few seconds . In this way practice dhyana for 10 to 12 minutes daily. After a few days practice you will have a better control on your mind.Thought creation is an effective method of mind control.
5.Thought Removal: Let any thought come into your mind. Then remove it. Let another thought come, remove this also. In the same way, go on removing the thoughts which naturally come into your mind. You have however not to force the thoughts to come nor have you to prevent them from coming. You have only to remove them. Whatever thoughts come, they are not to be allowed to stay, remove them. After 10-12 days practice, you will find your mind stable, peaceful and free from disturbance.
6.Trataka: Fixing unflinching sight on an object is Trataka. Sit in a comfortable posture. Place the picture of your deity before your eyes at a distance of about one metre, or place a white sheet of paper with a black or green circular mark. Eyes may otherwise be fixed on the tip of your nose. Watch any of the above objects without blinking your eyes till you get tears in them. Then close your eyes gently. Practice this several times for about ten minutes. Trataka not only cures several eye diseases it also helps in achieving greater concentration of mind.
7.Dhwani Yoga: Practise Dhwani Yoga several times. Perform with rhythm and melodiously. Listen to your sound with full attention. This can be done by silently pronouncing -OM- and listening to it. By this practice, the mind gets absorbed in the sound and thus attains concentration.
8.Ajapa-Jap: Recite a mantra in your mind without producing any sound. Then correlate the mantra with your breath, binding the mind and the breath in one chain. For example when reciting –OM- inhale with –OM- and exhale with –Mmm-. Similarly in –Soommm- inhale with –soow- and exhale with –haamm- and in –Omm namah sivaii-, inhale with - Omm namah -, and exhale with - sivaii -. You should completely concentrate on the brath and the mantra. When breath gets stabilized, mind will also get stabilized. When in grip of anger or disturbing thoughts, practice Ajapa-Jap. All your tension will disappear in a few minutes. This is one of the easiest ways of calming the turbulent mind.
9.Attention on Chakras: Seven subtle Chakras have been presumed by yoga in our body. Out o f these, five are in the spine, one in the forehead in the centre of the eyebrows and the seventh at the back of the head at Brahmarandhra. In Tantra Yoga, thedetailed characteristics of each Chakra have been given. These Chakras are located in the subtle body at important nerve centres. Concentration on these Chakras leads to the purification of the nerves and nerve fibres. Purification achieved through this process helps the body and the mind to grow in peace, and remove tension.
1.Mooladhara Chakra is supposed to be in the region of the coccyx (bone ending spinal column), slightly above the return.
2. Swadhishtana Chakra is supposed to be in the sacral region and occupies the area of five lower vertebrae of the spine.
3. Manipooraka Chakra occupies next five vertebrae from below after the first five occupied by the Swadhistana Chakra. It is thus located by the lumbar region, as may be seen in the figure given. From the front it is near the navel.
4. Anahata Chakra is in the upper spine and is also near the heart. It is supposed to occupy twelve of the vertebrae.
5.Vishuddhi Chakra is in the neck and occupies the remaining seven vertebrae of the vertebral column.
6. Agya Chakra is located in the centre of the two eyebrows. This also is the place of the divine light and the third eye. Sadhakas sometimes begin their sadhana by concentrating at this important point.
7. Sahasrara Chakra is at the back of the head at Brahmarandhra. This is the highest of all the subtle Chakras and is reached in the highest state of sadhana.
The literal meaning of -Chakra- is wheel. In Tantra Yoga, the chakras are represented usually by lotuses of different number of petals. While the lowest chakra (i.e, Mooladhara) is represented by a lotus of four petals the highest one (i.e, Shahasrara) is represented, as is obvious from its name, by al lotus of one thousand petals.
10. A Remarkable Practice: Sit in a comfortable posture and concentrate on breathing. Look at the outgoing and incoming breath. Fix your mind on the breathing process. Then pronounce –OM- slowly in a deep tone eleven times. Again sound –OM- within your mind five times, so that the sound resounds inside and does not come out. The attention remaining on the sound of –OM- . Then repeat the mantra by mixing it with the flow of breath, keeping the attention on the centre of the eyebrows. From this place, take your attention on your deity and have his darshana in your mind. Now make the mind free from all thoughts for one minute, so that it becomes completely empty. Treat the mind as if it is resting, as a person without work on a holiday, Bring the mind again to its full consciousness, take the attention to your deity and then to the centre of the eyebrows, and then to the mantra. Recite –OM- two times in your mind, and then practice Dhwani Yoga five times. Shift your attention back to breathing process and with this bring this remarkable Sadhana to an end.
Some Other Useful Yoga Aasans
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