Meditation

Best Practices for Meditation

Set aside a special place for meditation, the space that your curate (soft lighting, candles, aroma therapy) will aid in relaxation.

Choose a time to meditate each day. An ideal time is either dawn or dusk. Using the same time and place each day conditions the mind.

Sit with a straight back, aligning the neck and head in a straight line, if needed you may rest against a wall or in a chair

Seated facing North or East is the ideal position.

Come to a comfortable seat, in the easy position with your legs crisscrossed or one leg in front of the other.

If your knees do not touch the ground, you may opt to put a blanket or block underneath your sacrum.

Place your hands on your knees with your palms facing up or in a specific mudra.

Bring your attention to your breathing; begin with deep breaths for 3-5 minutes, then let your breath return to normal but focusing on your inhalations and exhalations.

Begin to quiet the mind by focusing on a central thought or object. My personal favorite is grounding in the root chakra at the base of the spine and channeling the energy from the earth through the crown chakra at top of your head and reversing the energy with each inhale.

You may choose to focus by chanting a mantra or counting the beads on a mandala.

Allow the mind to withdraw but retain your awareness of duality.

The goal is to reach the level where you disappear and super consciousness will be attained.

Although this is a general outline of what works for me, this may not work for you. The idea is to reap the benefits of the practice and gain strength in it each day. It is quite honestly a practice and it is important to not judge oneself, to compare to a previous experience, or to a desired outcome but merely to just accept each practice for what it is a practice. Be diligent and patient, you will find what works for you. The best meditation practice is the one you do.

 So be gentle with yourself.