Yoga Music For Meditation Series – 12 Tips To Attain A Good Meditation Practice

by Hans Havasi

a) Understand Meditation

1. Understand meditation! Meditation is the flow of continuous thought on one thing. Meditation is the keeping up of one idea alone like the continuous flow of oil. Yogins call this Dhyana. Bhaktas call this adoration.

Concentration is to fix the mind on a point or an object, either internal as in the body or external (eg an image). Meditation is a natural outcome of concentration. In Dhyana the normal thoughts are closed of from the mind and the mind becomes saturated with Divine thoughts and presence.

(b) Find A Place

2. Have a separate meditation-room under lock and key. Do not allow anybody to enter the room. Keep it holy. Burn incense in the morning and evening. Keep an icon of God or your Guru. Place your chair in front of the picture. Also, keep some spiritual books such as the Yoga Sutras and other scriptures inside the room.

When you are in deep meditation the powerful vibrations produced will be lodged in the ether of the room. In six months time you will feel a lot of peace and purity within the atmosphere of the room. Whenever your mind is disturbed by worldly events, sit in the room and repeat a Mantra for half an hour; you will find that a change will take place within your mind immediately.

By practising this you will feel the calming spiritual influence it has on you. Nothing can compare to a spiritual practice and it will create a holy place in your home.

3. Intense meditation and solitude are two important ingredients for the realization of the Self. Having a place of pilgrimage, a place in the mountains, a lovely garden full of flowers, a holy temple, these are all places which help to raise the spirit and elevate the mind for contemplation, concentration and meditation. Go to these places when you find it necessary.

4. Find a cool place with a mild climate. This is a must for concentration. As salt melts in water so too will the Sattvic (pure) mind melt in the silence that is brought by meditation with the Absolute.

(c) Time

5. Get up at 4 in the morning as this is a very favourable time for spiritual contemplation and to practice devotion. In the morning the mind is calm and pure and refreshed from the sleep. It is like a blank piece of paper and free of worldly impressions.

It can be moulded very easily at this time. The atmosphere also is charged with more Sattva (purity, light) at this particular time. Wash your hands, feet and face with cold water if you find it difficult to take a bath. This will suffice.

6. Always choose the part of the day or night when your mind is clear and when you are least likely to be disturbed. The mind will be calmer and more malleable at this time.

7. Meditate on Sundays as the mind is more at ease on holidays. You will also find that your meditation improves if you only drink milk and eat fruit. Also fasting helps tremendously in the attainment of focused meditation.

(d) Where To Concentrate

8. Keep your attention fixed in the area of the heart or in the middle of the forehead and keep your eyes shut.

9. Your mind sits in Ajna Chakra in a place called Trikuti. Focusing on Trikuti easily controls the mind. Bhakti yogis should focus on the heart. Yogis should focus on Ajna.

10. Sahasrara at the crown of the head is another great place to focus. Vedantins concentrate here. Some yogis focus on the tip of their noses (a technique called Nasikagra Drishti). Stay with one place of focus and cling to it perseverantly.

Eg, if you concentrate on the heart area, stay with it and never change it. Your guru will find the place for you that you ought to focus upon if you are a devotional type. If not, you can find a place yourself.

(e) Yogic Diet

11. Keep your diet pure and light. To fill up the stomach with rice, bread and vegetables will make you very sleepy and will interfere with your sadhana. A diet of milk keeps the body light, pure and alert.

You can sit in one Asana for hours at a time with ease and comfort. If you feel weak, you can eat a little rice and milk or barley and milk or any aliments found in a light diet. Those who are in the field of service and who give lectures and perform other intense spiritual activities need solid, substantial food.

(f) Yoga Postures

12. Asana (yogic posture) steadies the body; Bandhas (contractions) and Mudras (attitudes) strengthen the mind; Pranayama (breath control) makes the body feel light; Nadi -suddhi (purification of the energy paths) produces steadiness of the mind. Having acquired these qualifications you now have to fix your mind on the Absolute. Then meditation will be easy and will make you actually make happy.

For meditation, concentration and Japa (verbal repetition of a mantra), Padmasana (the lotus position) or Siddhasana (the perfect position) are highly recommended. For your general health and to help you maintain Brahmacharya; Brahmacharyasana, Shirshasana, Sarvangasana, Matsyasana and Paschimottanasana are very useful.

About the Author:

Hans Havasi is a Systems Developer at a major engineering firm in Denmark, a yoga teacher and a musician in the group Ibis which makes tantra music for Goddesses. With his wife Mariah, Hans leads a yoga and tantric retreat and art center in the north of Copenhagen. Please click here to read more about yoga and tantra or go here to download free meditation music.

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