Dhyana: the perfect state of meditationIf you've already had some yoga practice, you'll know that yoga classes often consist of four components that appear repeatedly in varying proportions. These are the physical exercises (asanas), the breathing exercises, the deep relaxation in shavasana, and the meditation (dhyana). These components affect our body, mind, and soul and are the foundation for yoga's holistic effect on our well-being. In this article, you'll learn interesting facts about dhyana meditation.
Meditation as part of the eightfold path
Dhyana often plays the smallest role in a traditional yoga class. This is because it's a practice that beginners find difficult to master, and even advanced practitioners can only master with considerable practice. The right conditions, such as a completely quiet environment, are also essential, making Dhyana difficult to implement in a yoga class.
A look at the eight-limbed path of meditation, as described in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, demonstrates how demanding Dhyana meditation is. Of the eight stages a person must master to achieve enlightenment, Dhyana ranks seventh, after Yamas (outward-facing posture), Niyamas (inward-facing posture), Asanas, Pranayama , withdrawal of the senses (Pratyahara), and concentration (Dharana). After Dhyana comes only Samadhi, freedom, so you can see how important Dhyana is in this posture on the path to enlightenment.
Experience the state of happiness
In Dhyana, a yogi experiences a state of bliss that can hardly be described in words to those who have never experienced it. It is a state of consciousness unattainable by someone who has not engaged in meditation or practiced it. The state is neither waking nor sleeping nor a dream world, and is thus a step on the path to enlightenment, the goal of many yogis.
Learn the stages of meditation
To at least get closer to the Dhyana experience, many yoga teachers offer meditation sequences in their classes. Sometimes yoga studios also offer special meditation classes, which can provide a particularly good framework for engaging in such experiences.
It starts with small exercises that often only last five minutes. For many people who do yoga to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it is already difficult to sit in silence for five minutes. The first step in meditation techniques is to let any thoughts that come into your head pass by during these minutes without judging them. The thought that a sitting position is not 100 percent comfortable. The thought that the person sitting next to you in yoga class might open their eyes and be watching you. The thought of the stress you bring with you to yoga class or that awaits you after yoga class. You switch all of this off. This is something you can only learn gradually. Your yoga teacher will help you with this by showing you breathing techniques or using counting as a meditation aid.
Shakra meditation as a path
Meditation, in which you concentrate on your shakras, can also be part of the path to Dhyana. This is a form of meditation in which you can withdraw from external influences and connect with the energies of your body.
Dhyana itself is closely linked to a deity. It is a kind of devotion, a state of contemplation, the purest form of meditation that takes you beyond the boundaries of the real world into the spiritual. You concentrate on the power of a deity you have chosen for Dhyana. This could be Krishna or Shiva, for example, who fills your imagination and allows no other thoughts to enter your mind.
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