Meditation During Yoga

[SmartFixer_OceanJjb]

Hi!  I do Yoga lately, and I was convinced to meditate for solid 20 minutes every day after watching Leo's video.  I used to meditate here and there, whenever there's opportunity to meditate, but never set timer for solid time like 20 min before.  

Then I thought . . Meditation & Yoga . . takes too much time in a day.  <-- Does this sound like I'm not dedicated enough?    

What about, meditate while practicing Yoga?   2 good things at a time?  

Am I trying to be productive in wrong way?  Am I too greedy?  

While Yoga, I (we) work on flexibility, balance and strength.  That's all.  I don't think nothing else.  So isn't it perfect to combine in 1?  

I appreciate your opinions/comments who do Yoga.  

[Ludwig]

Yoga is meditation. Meditation is Yoga. Yoga means union - which is BEING one with what you are doing. What we normally consider meditation is actually just one of the eight limbs of Yoga (Dhyana). So yes, give all of yourself to the postures, become the breathing in each asana. Depending on what kind of yoga you are doing and the physical condition you are in, this may take time. So i suggest you make some extra time for some sitting practice. You will see as your sitting becomes more stable, as your mind becomes more focused and calm, this practice becomes YOU. It becomes the way you ARE on a cushion in a yoga class or in worldly life. 

I hope this helps. 

[SmartFixer_OceanJjb]

Thank you for your reply!  

I used to go to yoga class of a gym, butt ately  I don't because the instructors try to fit to all the students' level, so sometimes it's not challenging.  I want to do it with my pace, so lately I bought an app, Yoga Studio and I like doing Yoga at home by myself.  

I don't know what kind of yoga im doing.  

i read some articles about yoga as meditation.  many showed the picture of sitting pose.  What I understood was... while making yoga poses, density(?) of meditation is shallow, that's why we need to sit longer for meditation.  Did I understand correctly?  @Ludwig

[Ludwig]

10 hours ago, OceanJjb said:

Thank you for your reply!  

I used to go to yoga class of a gym, butt ately  I don't because the instructors try to fit to all the students' level, so sometimes it's not challenging.  I want to do it with my pace, so lately I bought an app, Yoga Studio and I like doing Yoga at home by myself.  

I don't know what kind of yoga im doing.  

i read some articles about yoga as meditation.  many showed the picture of sitting pose.  What I understood was... while making yoga poses, density(?) of meditation is shallow, that's why we need to sit longer for meditation.  Did I understand correctly?  @Ludwig

I'm not sure if i understand you correctly. What i meant was that it might be difficult to use dynamic yoga as meditation in the beginning because you have to focus on so many things at a time. So it's nice to do some extra meditation in a sitting posture where you can only concentrate on one thing at a time. The concentration and clearity you get with the sitting will soon be possible in movment. (e.g. yoga) And yoga stretching in turn makes it easier to sit longer times on a cushion.

[SmartFixer_OceanJjb]

@Ludwig  I read my quote in your post -- My English is awful.  Some are autocorrect problem, some are my grammar.  Sorry about that.  

I understood what you wrote:  In the beginning, I cannot focus meditation because I focus more for balance, poses, etc.  

I hope to be expert in Yoga eventually, a baby step at a time.  

Thank you for your comment again. 

[swanlights]

Meditating while doing yoga taught me how to be still and meditate without doing the postures. You can go into a meditative state and still get the benefits. The classes I attend sometimes followup with a long savasana, where you can meditate to your heart's content. It's been life changing for me <3. 

[Henri]

Do physical yoga exercises together with pranayama, the ujjayi breathing technique. Afterwards you can meditate and this will be easier also. 

[Nic]

I just met a "doctor" explaining to me that yoga is physical meditation, it is the body's, all the atom's meditation, it's a form of meditation, like 1000s of other mindfulness practices, just be. This one gives you good balance and breathing exercises that opens most probably channels and some chakras and gives you health. In contrast to mental meditation, the actual seating down and watching thoughts which has also its faculties.

Are you too greedy? Only your higher self has an answer to this, you are the only one that will have the experience, if it works for you, than it's just fine, it might not work for someone else. 

Yoga is the preparation for meditation... it's what you hear. From my experience it's depending on so many factors that it's impossible to say but... I had good meditation sessions without it too!

The thing is, the more you don't want to seat down and meditate, the more you actually need it. This is the ego's resistance. You have not made the gardening in your head and a plant grew out of control. It will never give up, it regrows and hide in every dark little corner of your unawareness. 

The ego will make you confuse rapidity with efficiency for a good reason. The ego will want you to fail it has no plan to loose its powers. It has the tendency to set the bar too high on purpose to make you fail at the end. Watch out for this massive trap!

In my opinion it depends on what you are looking for exactly, feeling good? Mindful yoga is fine. Enlightenment? Seating down is most of the time a must... 

[SmartFixer_OceanJjb]

On 3/20/2016 at 4:45 PM, Nic said:

The thing is, the more you don't want to seat down and meditate, the more you actually need it.

Gosh!  I agree with you!  Man!  You are So Right!  

On 3/20/2016 at 4:45 PM, Nic said:

In my opinion it depends on what you are looking for exactly, feeling good? Mindful yoga is fine. Enlightenment? Seating down is most of the time a must... 

I want to feel good & want to get enlighten, therefore I got to do everything.  Thank you for your reply.  

[Nic]

@OceanJjb  if I can give you an advice, do what you want with it, just don't chase enlightenement! Chase awareness instead! Awareness is the step before enlightenement. It will make you happy and it is humanly makable. This enlightenement stuff is for most of us a wishful thinking... Life circumstances will make you not get there. But hey I might also be wrong! Take care and have fun with yoga and meditation!

[SmartFixer_OceanJjb]

Awareness first . . . That's a fabulous advice!!  Thank you!!  Lately I'm dealing with a stupid problem and I know I'm nowhere near to work on enlightenment.  Thank you  @Nic  again and again!!  

[Nic]

11 minutes ago, OceanJjb said:

Lately I'm dealing with a stupid problem

Don't we all? 

take care!

[SmartFixer_OceanJjb]

38 minutes ago, Nic said:

Don't we all? 

Gosh!  You too?  Have a wonderful day!