Total enlightenment! Well it’s about time!

But what is it, this feeling of completeness, this experience of wholeness? What does it mean?

The first 7 limbs of yoga are hugely beneficial. By incorporating them into our everyday lives we might notice improvements in health and wellbeing, in our relationships with others, in our work.  But all 7 limbs are firmly rooted in Maya, in the unreality of our perceptions (for more on Maya click here!). By themselves the first 7 limbs make yoga worth all the effort, but the ultimate goal, the raison d’etre of yoga is not all about better breathing, toned muscles and a stronger upper body, it’s about finding union and unleashing our true selves!

Woah! That’s huge. I don’t know about you readers, but even thinking about that possibility is rather nerve wracking. And there’s the thing. In many ways we are scared of letting go of who we are right now, or rather who we perceive ourselves to be right now. It’s OK to be a little freaked out by the concept, but really we shouldn’t worry. Most of us are not anywhere close enough to enlightenment to have to panic just yet, and when it does happen, it will happen slowly, bit by bit as we peel away layers of Kleishas (obstacles) and samskaras (positive and negative judgements) that currently rule our lives. Enlightenment will happen, but maybe not in this lifetime.

So rather than looking at the concept of Samadhi as some unfathomable goal that will never be reached in this lifetime, I prefer to look at is as a sum of the other 7 limbs of yoga. When everything is in perfect flow and we allow ourselves to be completely in the moment, a sense of bliss, a sense of peace, a sense of freedom can wash over us. That to me is Samadhi, even if it only lasts for a second or two. Samadhi is about finding a place of peaceful freedom in each day, a sense of satisfaction and bliss from ordinary life. When we can find that we have found our goal.

But like all goals we must keep striving. Just because we glimpse it one day does not necessarily mean we will glimpse it another day. We must be mindful, aware and conscious of our yogic path to continue to enjoy this sense of whole.

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Readers, I hope you have enjoyed this series of posts on the 8 limbs of yoga. I hope you have found ways to incorporate some of Patanjali’s teachings into your everyday lives and found a place of non-attachment, of letting go, maybe even of momentary bliss.

As always I welcome your feedback with open arms as well as any other ideas about what to post on Tuesdays now this is over!

For previous weeks click here.

When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a lamp in a windless place
– Bhagavad Gita

A long time ago Tara Fraser told me that meditation is like sleep. You can surround yourself with the right circumstances for it, but it won’t necessarily come.

So true. And unlike sleep I’m not sure if dhyana, or meditation, has ever truly come to me.

What is mediation?  Well I can tell you one thing that it’s not.  It’s not about being able to sit in lotus position!  You laugh, but realising that was a massive breakthrough for me.   It seems obvious now but there is no point sitting in lotus for mediation unless you are comfortable in lotus.  You are never going to find a place of meditation if you are using every muscle in your body to stay in position.  Conversely having a dodgy right hip and knowing that lotus will never come in this lifetime does not mean that you cannot meditate.  As long as the spine is straight and not slouched you can meditate.   Some people sit in a simple cross-legged pose with their back against the wall.  I sit on the edge of a chair with my feet firmly planted into the ground.

Meditation isn’t about what you look like on the outside, but what is going on inside.

And what should be going on inside?  Well Kimberly Wilson says that there “…is no goal.  Really.  The point is to slow down, be still and focus within.  Some sessions will be blissful, while others will feel like absolute torture….  The key is to continually return to your meditation cushion, to develop a consistent practice.”*

Consistent practice is key, because the road to meditation is a long, slow one for most of us, peppered with potholes.

So far we have brought the senses inward (pratyahara) and begun to focus the mind (dhrana).  Now in dhyana we are begining to work through the layers of consciousness, past the subconscious and the unconscious minds into the place where we find our true selves, our Atman.  And our thoughts and egos accompany us on that journey, constantly trying to interrupt and judge.

In her CD “Meditations for Balance and Joy”, yoga teacher Cyndi Lee says to be aware of any time you notice these thoughts springing up, label them “thinking” and put them to one side.  It is important not to judge the thoughts.  It doesn’t matter if they are good or bad, positive or negative, they are still thoughts and need to just be labelled as such and forgotten about.  There will be a lot of “thinking” labels before the meditation session is out!

There are many many different meditation techniques from Buddhist to Christian, from meditating on the breath to meditating on an object or mandala.  They key is to find one that sits with you and practice, practice, practice.  Just ten minutes a day can seem like an age at first, and is probably all you need.  Follow Sogyal Rinpoche’s advice: “You just sit quietly, your body still, your speech silent, your mind at ease, and allow thoughts to come and go, without letting them play havoc on you”.

Ultimately for me, I’m not sure sitting still is working.  Not just yet.  I’m with Desikachar when it comes to this.  He’s not convinced us westerners can sit still.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, after all we all live quite sedentary lives.  I don’t know if you’ve ever tried meditation in the KHYF tradition, but it’s quite different from sitting still.  It involves a combination of slow movement, pranayama and chanting and it is only through this mindful moving that I am able to to truly be present and allow myself slowly to travel through the stages of consciousness.  I haven’t made it all the way yet, but maybe one day.

What different types of mediation have you tried?  What works for you?

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* Tranquilista (p. 8 )

desabhandascittasya dhrana

Concentrantion locks consciousness on a single area – Yoga Sutra 3.1

Missed the first 5 limbs?  Click here.

And this is where it gets complicated.  Because I’m writing about theory rather than practice.  Because I’m not convinced I’ll get much further than limb 5 in this lifetime.  I guess that’s why we call this yoga practice!

Let’s think about the white rabbit.  You know the fellow, from Alice in Wonderland.  Always rushing about checking his watch convinced he’s late for something, something important.  Something so important in fact that it never happens.

Recognise any aspects of the white rabbit in yourself?  I do.  There are never enough hours in my day.  Never enough time to get everything done.  The only person who sets these ridiculous limits, this mysterious “everything” that must get done every day, is me.  Well that ego part of myself anyway.  Because sometimes when the “everything” doesn’t get done, the sky doesn’t fall in after all and the universe remains much unaffected.

In the west, most of us have grown up surrounded by the flash and the neon, the smoke and the mirrors of modern life.  TV, music, radio, books, theatre, newspapers, magazines, endless advertising.  Most of that isn’t a bad thing.  I for one do not want to live in a world without fiction (film, book or TV based).  But it can mean we are pretty hopeless at concentrating on anything for longer than about 3 nanoseconds before our brains go off on a tangent.  Be honest now, how many times during savasana or meditation in your yoga class have you started mentally preparing the evening meal, or tomorrow’s to do list?  Show of hands please.  Yup, thought so!

So asking the average westerner like myself to sit down and begin a practice of dharana (concentration) would be pretty hopeless.  You might as well give me a pen and paper and I’ll write the to do list.  We have to work on being in the present moment in other ways.

And this is where once again we bring asana back into the equation (I told you in many ways it’s one of the most important aspects of this westernised practice we call yoga!).  Our bodies by their very nature are in the present moment all the time.  It is our minds that travel all over the place.  So when we come onto our mats and hold a posture, we have to bring the body and mind together (and this isn’t something we do that often during a normal day).  As the mind stays with the body and with the posture, so the practice of concentration begins.  Ever noticed how life slows down just a little when you’re on your mat?  Ever noticed how you can start to feel just a little bit more at one with the world?  That’s dharana, right there.

But being in the present moment, being mindful, doesn’t have to wait until the next time you are on your mat.  Stay with the present moment next time you’re stuck in a traffic jam, or a seemingly endless and slow moving queue.  Practice when you clean your teeth.  Practice mindful eating (click here for an exercise in that).  Noticing when your mind is racing, noticing when the present moment is running away from you is the hardest part.  Once you’ve noticed that pull yourself back and just be.

At first it will be only just for a moment before you lose it again, but it is there.  The practice of dharana, like everything, starts with baby steps.

Concentration must be applied stage by stage – Yoga Sutra 3.6