i have been doing meditation for about 8 months i moved into a zen center, a more layed back kind, and we sit 3 times a week about to be 2 times a week, but about 2 weeks ago i decided i was going to do yoga and sit in the morning it has been going good i havent done it everyday but i try to do it everyday. i have missed a few here and there, when i first started sitting i could not sit for more than 5 minutes then i would move my body would hurt and i just couldnt focus on my breath. about 4 months ago i looked into some mantras and started doing a mantra when i sit. which helped me alot i could focus on the mantra instead of my thoughts. so my first question is saying the mantra while meditating will i still get the same affect as if i would just focus on my breath? and the second question i am very out of shape and not flexiable so i have just been doing yoga routine from my phone which is just called the baisc standing session or if i dont have enought time for that i will just do the sun saluations is that a good routine for beginners or should i do something else,i sit after i do yoga in the morining for 20 minutes. thank you for your time i hope i made this clear to understand
as for the mantras, i'd say do a mantra if you want to focus on improving your life by the mantra. for example "i am confident" if you want to feel that way. concentrating on the breath for me is more about awareness of all my bodily processes in general. i'd say do both, but some people would say stick to one and go with it for extended periods of time instead of flip flopping as for yoga, you should be mixing up your sets a lot more than just doing one. also it's a good idea to remember to do reversed versions of poses (i.e. cobra pose then into downward dog) i find that when i do the same set every day those specific muscles get overworked and i need to switch to different poses. just learn a bunch of poses and mix and match and you'll find balance also for meditation i recently found a pose that strengthens the erector spinae really well - lie down on your stomach with your hands on the ground straight out above your head, then lift one arm and the opposite leg and hold while you breathe a few good breaths. this one really helps your posture
Thank you for your response I appreciate it I will take your advice about the yoga. And I plan to stick with the mantra for now maybe when I get better at sitting I will do the breath my mantra is om shri ramaya namaha I just switched from om shanti shanti shanti again thank you
By all means try a mantra sometimes. You may not choose to do it every time. Following a yoga session with a seated meditation session is excellent. The yoga gets ready for meditation. You may find that after a good yoga session your posture will quite naturally be where it is most comfortable, healthy, and conducive to seated meditation.
also i like the vibrations of not chanting in english but maybe the meaning of the mantra would sink in a little more if you did it in your native language
yea we do the chanting before practise and i like some of them. at first i hated it but i rather enjoy them now i looked up what my mantra means on the internet from a couple of different places just in case one had it wrong.
oh yeah i didn't doubt for a second that you looked it up and knew the meaning of it. i just meant that on a subconscious level the meaning may get to you easier since your brain is making the connection between word and meaning more instantaneously with your native language than a foreign langauge - but i could be completely wrong though it's just a theory
oh ok i see what your saying. yea you might be right ill try saying a mantra in english for a little bit
Meditation is one of the Five Principles of Yoga. It is the practice by which there is constant observation of the mind. It requires you to focus your mind at one point and make your mind still in order to perceive the 'self'.
