Y OGA S HALA
PERUGIA
MEDITATION
For those who want to delve deeper into the aspects of internal yoga
(dharana | dhyana | samadhi)
Meditation is the absence of thought.
And you can't force yourself to get it.
It happens without our intervention.
We can only train the mind to stay in the present so that it can manifest.
​
The seventh branch of Yoga is meditation (dhyana), that is, the absence of thought. This condition arises, for most people, from training in constant concentration of the mind on a single object (ekagrata). Meditation is a condition that cannot be reached with an effort of will, it is rather a condition that occurs after a lot of preparation.
​
What we have power over is training the mind to remain stable, giving it "objects" of concentration (dharana): with the practice of Ashtanga Yoga we use movement, drishti, counting, breathing, so as to be as as possible present and aware of what we are doing. As if we were a farmer who takes care of and prepares the soil so that the seed that will be planted there can germinate and grow, transforming into a plant. We prepare the ground by making the body strong and the mind stable, to remain seated in a correct position for a long time: without particular discomfort to the body or with a mind subject to frequent distractions.
​
Sitting in meditation is not looking for peace, tranquility and joy even if, when this first step is taken, these can be born and grow in us.
EKAGRATA
concentration on a single object
​
It serves to bring the attention, i.e. the mental flow (usually discontinuous, fluctuating and in feverish movement), to a certain stability. We try to interrupt this flow and regain dominion over mental, sensorial and unconscious activity. We can, in fact, consider the mind as an ever-moving monkey, which follows every distraction and is deformed by any conditioning. Thanks to meditation, the individual stops being at the mercy of infinite distractions, passions, mental automatisms and all the dispersive and confused activity that characterizes our usual life, especially the mental one. Generally, attention is always dispersed and directed outwards, and we are often at the mercy of sensations, thoughts, fantasies and memories over which we believe we have no control whatsoever. The ekagrata is a first attempt to reduce mental dispersion, to not be dominated by psychic automatisms and to become masters of ourselves again.
Practicing formal sitting meditation regularly and learning to stop to train the mind to stay on the object of meditation is fundamental for deep observation (Vipasyana): thanks to this, in fact, the mind can grasp great intuitions and free itself from suffering and afflictions. During daily practice you can experience both aspects, "stopping" and "deep observation", from the beginning with different degrees of understanding and depth.
THICH NHAT HANH
The proposed meditations follow many of the teachings of the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Buddhist Master of Vietnam.
In this tradition the word "meditation" translates the Pali term bhavana which means to cultivate . Let us cultivate those positive aspects that are already present in us, inherent to our being human, but which are obscured and buried by forces of habit, cultures and ways of thinking that continually tend to take us away from the deepest aspiration of each of us: to be intact and free, fully present to ourselves, in harmony with other beings and with the world around us. In short, feeling the beauty and preciousness of the life that has been given to us, and the joy of living it fully.
Formal sitting meditation represents a fundamental practice tool for understanding and modifying our mind and also predisposes us to create, over time, the discipline and habits necessary to practice meditation in all the acts of our life.