Meditation techniques

There are many ways to make the mind precise and to stop it from its non-stop thinking. The mind should be the servant and not the master. Similarly, an individual should control his or her thoughts and not be controlled by the thoughts. The process of mediation is the process by which all thoughts which come into our mind get deleted and you are once again in a position to choose the subject of your thought. These meditation techniques will take some time but will take you into Dharna (object based meditation), which will increase your ability to concentrate.

Exercise 1

Exercise 1

• Place a lighted candle at arm’s length on a table in front of you at eye level
• Make sure there is no draft and the flame is steady
• Sit in any meditative asana with the back straight
• Close your eyes and relax the body
• Then open your eyes and gaze steadily at the tip of the wick
• Try not to blink or move your eyeballs
• When the eyes get tired, close them and try to visualise the after-image of the candle flame in your mind
• After a minute, open your eyes and continue to gaze at the flame
• Repeat this cycle twice or thrice
• Practise for a total of two minutes, slowly going up to ten minutes
• As you are finishing, close your eyes and watch the dark space in front of your eyes. Be aware of and just watch any thoughts that come up
• Then open your eyes and blow out the candle.

Exercise 2

Exercise 2

• Sit as in padmasana, the eyes closed, the body relaxed
• Inhale. As you exhale, chant ‘Om’ emphasising the ‘M’ sound for as long as you can draw the breath out. Listen to the sound vibration of ‘Om’ in the body as you chant.