Raja Hatha yoga meditation

Article by Beyond-meditation

Raja yoga meditation is the real path of achieving success in yoga and establishing equilateral relationship between our mind, body and soul. Body is externally appearing, mind resides inside it and our spirit is in the deepest core. Soul has three subcategories and there are: consciousness, intellect and sub consciousness. Thoughts originate in our subconscious and flow into the conscious mind, during this phenomenon, feelings and emotions are created as byproducts. Feeling binds our thoughts. Intellect acts like a controller, so allows only positive and friendly thoughts to play in our mind and affect our body accordingly. Raja Yoga meditation is so highly practiced because it drives to the destination of enlightenment and directs control and mastery of the mind. This approach makes Raja Yoga an extremely challenging and difficult practice to involve in. Raja yoga aims to control the body and breathe to stabilize our prana that in turn calms the mind. Raja Yoga is often quoted as classical yoga or Hatha Raja yoga as it was the oldest system of yoga which finally developed into scientific and systematic culture. “Raja yoga” is initiated by Patanjali, who learn yoga for enlightenment in the fresh environment of Himalayas. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali break down the practice of Raja yogic meditation into eight limbs or sub-practices. The first four limbs are referred to as the external limbs and the remaining four are named as internal. Four external limbs are: Yama, Niyama, Asana and Pranayama. Yama and Niyama are the yogic laws of right conduct and lifestyle. Yama includes truth speaking, feeling of non-violence, love and respects for others, honesty and non-covetousness. Niyama is for developing positive self-encouraged activities, and includes discipline, purity, contentment, self-study as well as devotion to supernatural being. According to raja yoga Vivekananda, the third limb, Asana means simply finding our comfortable yet stable sitting position before performing yoga practice. Forth limb of yoga is Pranayama, the science of yogic breathing. Patanjali suggests the Raja yogi to observe and slow the breath down to the point where one cannot distinguish between the inhalation and the exhalation. After preparing for external yoga, one proceeds towards the practice of internal limbs of yoga: Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi. Pratyahara is the drawing of the mind’s concentration away from the external senses to the inner sensations. When the mind draws inwards, Dharana is used to focus our mind on a single object, which is often breathing. This time the practice becomes challenging, keeping the mind focused and preventing attachment with thoughts. When one acquires the ability to focus the mind only on breathing to the point of being totally absorbed in it, then next limb called Dhyana or meditation begins. Finally, the uninterrupted practice of Dhyana leads to the last limb, Samadhi. Enlightenment, this means ultimate bliss or renunciation. At this stage of raja yoga meditation, yogi is completely free from all types of cosmic attachments.

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