yoga Archives | Ahimsa Meditation

Somewhat obscure beginnings of yoga span more than 5 millennia. The East Indian culture is considered as yoga’s cradle, with Patanjali as its founding father (Forfylow, 2011). Yoga was just one part of his philosophical system, which incorporated 6 ways of attaining unity of the body and mind. The word itself, “yoga”, can be roughly translated as “joining the mind and body in harmonious relaxation” (Fortylow, 2011, p.134). This article introduces how yoga and meditation complement your health and well-being.

Pillars of Yoga

Hatha yoga (and its many varieties) is by far the most popular type of yoga in the world. Although there are some differences, all styles of yoga have a set of common characteristics:

Breathwork – this aspect can be regarded as the backbone of all yoga styles. Each yoga exercise or posture starts with steady, concentrated breathing, after which various postures are practiced. The calming effect of breathing exercises has been noticed since yoga’s inception. Breathing exercises can have both energizing and calming effects. The so-called Ujjayi technique is believed to stimulate and energize, while Bhastrika breathing has a calming effect.

Postures are yoga’s “trademark”. Almost all individuals, even the ones who have barely even heard of yoga, know that yoga involves some kind of peculiar postures. The Sanskrit word for postures, asana, also means “flexibility, balance, circulation, and coordination”. There are many asanas in yoga, and each has its purpose- exercising a certain part of the body. Utilization of training tools, such as weights, is fairly uncommon in yoga, especially in its traditional forms.

Mindful Asanas

Postures, while being good for the body, also benefit the mind. The benefits aren’t confined to soothing and calming sensations that are so often associated with Eastern traditions. Just as breathing exercises can be invigorating, many yoga postures stimulate one’s energy. The classification relates specific postures with their respective effects on the mind.

This list shouldn’t be taken for granted, as some individuals might have different experiences with yoga postures:

1. Forwards bends= attaining the state of serenity, and calmness

2. Backbends and inversions= energizing and invigorating

3. Balancing postures= transferring bodily strength and poise into the mind

Yoga and Neurology

It’s easy to say “this breathing exercise is for that”, or “do this posture and you’ll feel this or that”. Scientists with rather diverse backgrounds aren’t satisfied with such statements. So they wanted to empirically test yoga’s effectiveness. They found that yoga has a plethora of health benefits, including “the mitigation of gene expression changes in response to social adversity; reduction in perceived loneliness; decreased inflammation; improved immune regulation; mental flourishing; and decreased all-cause mortality independent of other variables” (Sullivan et al. 2018).

Neuroscientists use a term that encompasses all these health benefits- eudaimonic well-being.

In other words, yoga affects (positively) both the mind and body.

Recently neuroscientists began making various theoretical models, hoping to find out how yoga changes the way we feel (Deshmukh, 2006).

Sullivan and colleagues tried to link yoga with some modern neurological theories, like PVT (Polyvagal theory). These researchers combined a thorough understanding of yoga- of which the concepts of 3 gunas (rajas/tamas/sattva) are the most important ones- and three important neural platforms. But let’s first explain the gunas. Gunas are qualities of Prakriti- material world. Purusha is the spirit that perceives these qualities.

About Gunas

So the the three gunas are:

1. Sattva is the state of calmness, serenity, and pleasure. Although it may seem that we should focus on this quality, it isn’t necessarily so. Yoga is the balance of all three gunas. You shouldn’t overemphasize one at the expense of the others. If one indulges in joy and pleasure excessively, the balance is lost.

2. Rajas is a turbulent, invigorating, and energizing state. Activity is rajas’ most important characteristic. Emotions like anger are also linked with rajas. Pain is as well. Just as we mustn’t overemphasize sattva, so we shouldn’t try to completely mitigate the rajas. Balance is the key.

3. Tamas is situated between sattva and rajas. It is neither positive nor negative. It’s indifferent and linked with inertia. When balanced with other gunas, tamas will bring stability.

As neurology developed, we’ve begun to find special neurological systems with numerous purposes. Of those, three systems are often mentioned as the most important- sympathetic nervous system (SNS), dorsal vagal complex (DVC), and ventral vagal complex (VVC). These systems are crucial for the integration of information received from the body’s periphery. We may even regard them as systems of neurons for the perception of Prakriti- the material world. A balanced integration of information coming from all three systems is crucial for psychological and physiological equilibrium.

Neurologists concluded that gunas are in fact systems of neurons (neural platforms). Sattva (joy, pleasure, etc.) has its basis in the ventral vagal complex (VVC). VVC, in turn, is crucial for interoception and relaxation, allowing the seamless interpretation of facial cues and prosody.

Not surprisingly, rajas is linked with the sympathetic nervous system. This system has a “stimulant” effect on the organism. It is about the so-called “fight or flight” actions. Overactivation of this system results in stress, fear, anxiety, and hostility.

Finally, tamas has its basis in the dorsal vagal complex. It is known to transmit sensations like stability, indifference, and inertia.

Yoga and Meditation: Mindful Integration

Just as all three neural platforms (or gunas) have to work together to attain the equilibrium, so is the combination of yoga postures, breathing exercises, and meditation the best “remedy” for both the body and mind. Sullivan and colleagues don’t think that by saying “yoga postures are for body and meditation is for the mind”, we tend to oversimplify an extremely complex phenomenon.

Meditation is a state of deepest contemplation. Evidently, it comes from the Latin word “meditationem”, which also means “to think, consider, reflect” (Online Etymology Dictionary, n.d). As of recently, it acquired a slightly different meaning that doesn’t incorporate much cognitive work, whereas psychological serenity is emphasized. In the traditional sense, meditation is the highest level of the body/mind integrity. It is the contemplation of the most important principles of life.

You can start your day by a basic concentration meditation (perfect meditation for beginners) or develop your vipassana meditation practice. You can follow it up by a sun salutation yoga sequence and get yourself fully ready for a brilliant day ahead.

If you do a more robust yoga practice like attending a class, it usually finishes with a corpse pose. Surely, it allows you not only to rest well after yoga session but also to meditate a little bit in a very relaxed way.

As you can see, the options are there, not it is your turn – try to establish a meditation routine and follow it up with a simple yet so effective yoga sequence. Your mind and body would thank you for that.

Enjoy!

References cited above:

Deshmukh, V.D. (2006). Neuroscience of Meditation. The Scientific World Journal. Vol. 6, pp. 2239-2253. Doi: 10.1100/tsw.2006.353
Forfylow, A. L. (2011). Integrating Yoga with Psychotherapy: A Complementary Treatment for Anxiety and Depression. Canadian Journal of Counseling and Psychotherapy. Vol. 45(2), pp. 132-150. Available at: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ930795.pdf
Online Etymology Dictionary (n.d.). Available at: https://www.etymonline.com/word/meditation
Sullivan, M.B., Erb, M., Schmalzl, L., Moonaz, S., Taylor, J.N. & Porges, S.W. (2018). Yoga Therapy and Polyvagal Theory: The Convergence of Traditional Wisdom and Contemporary Neuroscience for Self-Regulation and Resilience. Front.Hum.Neurosci. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00067/full

Different types of meditation

Concentration meditation on breathing is a foundation of meditation practice. However, there are a few more techniques or types of meditation you can add to it to make practice your own.

Daniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson in their amazing book “The Science of Meditation” suggested the following three different types of meditation: attentional (that’s what we suggested as our basic meditation practice), constructive (see our loving-kindness practice) and deconstructive (see our vipassana instructions or tailored practices to help with depression, PTSD and anxiety).

The following tools simply allow you to curiously attend to meditation practice depending on your need at the present moment. For example, for some fidgety types a movement meditation may be needed, for those who are too harsh on themselves – compassionate practice, and so on.

Madonna Gauding in her book “The Meditation Bible” suggested that all techniques could be somehow classified as focusing, thinking, visualizing or experiencing. Clearly, she means our concentration meditation on breathing as a good example of focusing practice, whereas thinking and experiencing are major characteristics of vipassana meditation. You can use a visualizing technique as an additional tool to your own meditation practice.

List of additional meditation techniques

Please have a look at our list of auxiliary meditation techniques and we welcome your feedback. What works for you? How do you combine different elements for yourself?

Body scan – you can incorporate this into your daily practice directly at the beginning of the meditation after you’ve settled your body and mind.

Meditation begins by asking us to rest our minds in our bodies, as we rest our bodies on a cushion. And to pay deliberate attention to, rather than ignore, the shifting sensations of the physical organism.

These sensations can be subtle, but by spending time with them we start to see two important things:

1) the inner experience is changing incessantly;

2) we are driven out of the present moment by our likes and dislikes (taken from “Advice not given” by Dr Mark Epstein).

Noting technique. Every time thoughts and feelings carry you away from breathing, it is beneficial to make a mental note about it. After that, you can non-judgmentally put a mark whether that was a feeling or thinking. Note whether it was positive, negative or neutral.

Movement meditation. You can be mindful not only when waiting and standing, but when walking or extending this practice over a more prolonged time. For that, you need to establish a space outside or a path and make time for an undisturbed waking practice.

Acceptance (of pain) and compassion – it starts from yourself and then extends to your family, friends, acquaintances, people you do not like or indifferent to and then the whole world.

Compassion to yourself is an incredibly valuable skill to train. Many people are resigned to the way they speak to themselves. We can take our stories seriously, but not to take them for granted. “Just because you think it, doesn’t make it true.” (Mark Epstein “Advice not given”)

Breathing anchor helps to train compassion

You realize that you are not your thoughts. They come and go and you don’t nee top push yourself for that.

Dr Epstein in the same book agreed with the above. ‘Meditation suggests that we stay with our raw material of a given experience longer than we used to, and question our secondary add-ons. One’s story never changes if it is simply ignored; it just lies in wait, ready to return with the vengeance. You can take responsibility for the way you are talking to yourself, not to give thoughts a free pass. When one learns to observe the addictive and self-perpetuating nature of many of our thoughts, their dominance diminishes. Refreshed by this discovery, the mind senses relief.’

Eating and drinking meditation – being completely present at the moment you need to fully experience the sensations, realise how you like them and simply be.

Yoga meditation – combines still poses and also vinyasa practice when you combine it with mindful movement.

Meditation techniques further develop your meditation practice

As you can see, this short list of additional meditation techniques is nothing extraordinary. Yet it offers you a possibility to approach meditation with a different standpoint or even from a beginner’s view. It’s very valuable as you will develop your practice your own way. It allows you to cultivate your mind how you need it yourself. No-one can do it for you. You will find simplicity and a lot of beauty in this practice and we welcome you to develop it.

Tag: yoga

Yoga And Meditation: Complementary Practices For A Healthier Life