A Simple Guide to help Beginners for Meditation

1. Let’s Practice
Meditation
in 2014
By:
Praveen Gupta

2. Praveen Gupta ‐ Praveen discovered the inner
science of meditation through Osho Rajneesh in
1999 and since then devoted a considerable
amount of time experimenting with meditation.
Praveen considers meditation as his religion, and
expansion of consciousness as the supreme
purpose of human life.
Praveen started Rugby Meditation Centre in 2007
and is actively involved in spreading the science
of meditation to the wider community.
In
addition to leading some of the sessions at Rugby
Meditation Centre on Thursday evening, Praveen
also runs weekend meditation retreats and 8
weeks course on “Yoga Sutra ‐ The original
science of Yoga”
Praveen could be contacted through email at rugbymeditation@yahoo.co.uk or
on mobile 07875‐880159
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3. What is Meditation?
Meditation is a process of detaching yourself from your mind and
moving towards the state of no‐mind. For understanding, it can be
broken down in to three stages as below:
1st Stage: To quiet your mind by using
either a Mantra, your Breath or any
other object.
2nd Stage: Once your mind is quiet,
you move to the second stage of
observing or watching your mind
which includes thoughts, emotions and
feelings.
3rd Stage: After practicing the above
two stages for some time, the 3rd stage
will happen automatically when there is
no‐mind and you are in Meditation.
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4. What are the benefits of Meditation?
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5. Why should I practice meditation? (1)
There are two main reasons why millions of people around the world practice
meditation:
1) HEALTH BENEFITS:
One of the important outcome of various scientific studies conducted on
meditation over last 30 years is that it brings considerable relief from the ‘dis‐
ease of the 21st century’ –
Studies have shown that regular meditation offers deep, sustainable relaxation
to our body‐mind. As a result :
• Our body‐mind no longer overreact to stressful situations.
• The burden on heart, blood vessels, digestive system and other vital organs
is reduced.
• We feel less depressed and lose the bitter edge of oversensitivity.
• We sleep better.
• There is much less incentive to embrace addictive habits – be it smoking,
drinking, porn, drugs or binge eating.
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6. Why should I practice meditation? (2)
The second is for :
2) AWAKENING, SELF‐REALIZATION &
ENLIGHTENMENT:
Not all people start to practice meditation because of
its specific health benefits. Many take it up
meditation as a tool for enlightenment. The original
purpose of meditation was indeed to transcend this
body‐mind and merge back to infinite source. Simply
putting, it happens in three stages :
a) Awakening – Getting very close to your source.
Its like you can see the infinite ocean but still
some distance has to be travelled.
b) Self‐realization – You are almost there just a few
steps away from your source.
c) Enlightenment – This is the ultimate truth when
you are no longer exist as drop but merged in the
infinite ocean.
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7. How long and how often should I meditate for?
HOW LONG?
The best thing is to meditate for as long as you can without creating any
mental tension. It depends entirely on your capacity. Increasing your
meditation capacity is like developing a muscle. Today you may exercise
and become tired after five minutes. After two months, you may be able to
exercise for half an hour or even more, because you have developed your
muscles.
With my experience of running the group for 6 years, I suggest you start
with 20 minutes and then increase the duration in steps as you progress.
HOW OFTEN?
At least once a day either in the morning or in the late evening before going
to bed. Of course, you will make a faster progress if you do it both in the
morning and evening.
Tip : Most important thing is the continuity. Even a few days break destroys
the complete practice of months and you’ll be to back to square one.
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8. What posture is best for beginners?
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•
When meditating, it is important to keep the spine straight and erect, and to
keep the body relaxed. Some people like to meditate while laying down, but this
is not advisable. You may enter into a world of sleep which is not meditation.
Again, the cross legged posture is not necessary for proper meditation. Many
people meditate very well while they are seated in a chair.
OR
Any comfortable sitting posture is good for
beginners!
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9. Meditation Techniques
There are hundreds of meditation techniques but the following techniques
are easy to follow and particularly effective for beginners:
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•
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Mindfulness Meditation
Mantra Meditation
Self – Enquiry Meditation
Chakra Meditation
Isha Kriya Meditation
Yoga Nidra
OSHO Dynamic Meditation
You will get some details about these techniques in the following slides but
the best way to know any technique is to try it along with an experienced
meditator.
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10. Mindfulness Meditation
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is to bring one’s complete
attention to the present experience on a
moment‐to‐moment basis without any
judgment.
During the meditation, we usually take
breath as an anchor to cultivate
mindfulness.
What to expect in a typical Mindfulness Meditation Session?
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Introduction and description of the technique by the group leader.
Guided mental body scan to calm your mind.
Mindful awareness of breath.
Sitting silently with a mild focus between your eye‐brows.
A short feedback/Q&A session before closing the session.
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11. Mantra Meditation
What is Mantra?
The word mantra has two parts: ʺman,ʺ which
in Sanskrit means ʺmind,ʺ and ʺtra,ʺ which
means ʺinstrument.ʺ A mantra is therefore an
instrument of the mind. Repeating a mantra is a
powerful way to calm your mind. In the
beginners session we use the universal mantra
“OM”
What to expect in a typical Mantra Meditation Session?
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Introduction and description of the technique by the group leader.
Repeating the mantra OM for ~ 25 minutes, first vocally and then mentally.
Sitting silently with a mild focus between your eye‐brows. .
A short feedback/Q&A session before closing the session.
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12. Self‐Enquiry Meditation
What is Self‐ Enquiry?
Self‐ Enquiry is the constant attention to the
inner awareness of ʹIʹ or ʹI amʹ by asking the
question “Who am I?”. This self‐enquiry
facilitates redirecting attention from the objects
of thought and perception to the thinker and
perceiver of them.
What to expect in a typical Self‐ Enquiry Meditation Session?
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Introduction and description of the technique by the group leader.
Simply follow the voice of your group leader for a guided meditation with a
focus on self‐ enquiry, based on the philosophy of Advaita (non‐duality).
A short feedback/Q&A session before closing the session.
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13. Chakra Meditation
What is Chakra?
As per the science of Yoga, there are 7 major
energy centers in the human body called as
Chakras. These centers influence our emotional,
physical and energetic condition. When all our
chakras are working well and full of energy, this
is a major contributing factor to good health,
quality life and contended feelings.
What to expect in a typical Chakra Meditation Session?
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Introduction and description of the technique by the group leader.
Few rounds of mindful breathing .
Simply follow the voice of the group leader who will guide you to expand
your awareness on each chakra to balance and revitalize its energy.
A short feedback/Q&A session before closing the session.
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14. Isha Kriya Meditation
What is Isha Kriya?
Isha Kriya is a simple yet potent practice
where“Isha” refers to that which is the source of
creation and “kriya” literally means “internal
action.” The purpose of Isha Kriya is to help an
individual get in touch with the source of his
existence, to create life according to his own
wish and vision.
What to expect in a typical Isha Kriya Meditation Session?
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Introduction and description of the technique by the group leader.
Mentally repeat the phrase “I am not this body” with the inhalation and “I
am not even this mind” with the exhalation.
Utter a sound “Ah” by pushing your belly inside.
Sitting silently for few minutes with a mild focus between your eye‐brows.
A short feedback/Q&A session before closing the session
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15. Yoga Nidra
What is Yoga Nidra?
Yoga Nidra means yogic sleep. It is a state of
conscious deep sleep. In yoga nidra, we leave
the waking state, go past the dreaming state,
and go to deep sleep, yet remain awake.
While Yoga Nidra is used for deep relaxation,
it can also be used to deepen our resolutions in
sub‐conscious mind to give a positive
direction to our life.
What to expect in a typical Yoga Nidra Session?
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Introduction and description of the technique by the group leader.
Comfortably lie down on your back and simply follow the CD played by your group
leader.
A short feedback/Q&A session before closing the session.
Note : Please bring a shawl or light blanket with you.
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16. OSHO Dynamic Meditation
What is OSHO Dynamic Meditation?
This is a type of active meditation that
involves movement and catharsis followed
by silence. It was created and used by Indian
guru Shree Rajneesh, later known as Osho. He
believed that a meditation style that involved
physical activity and catharsis are more
practical for the modern world.
What to expect in a typical Dynamic Meditation Session?
The meditation will be for around 55 Min and consists of 5 stages, as given below.
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CHAOTIC BREATHING through Nose (5 Min)
EXPLODE ‐ JUST LET GO!! Express everything that needs to be thrown out. 10 Min).
Repeating a MANTRA (will be told) to shake and awaken your bio‐energy (10 Min)
Total STILLNESS and silence (15 Min) meditation
CELEBRATE your meditation with gentle music (15 Min) – COME PREPARED FOR
DANCE!!!
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17. Celebrities Practicing Meditation – Have I inspired you?
David Lynch: “I
guess people start
meditation for
many different
reasons, but each
person who starts
will get the benefit
they are looking
for, and many
other benefits as
well
George Harrison and others
Gwyneth Paltrow
Russell Brand: “ “I
begin each day with
a session of
meditation .It
changes
consciousness, it’s
really good if
you’ve had
addiction issues. It’s
highly
psychological, and
very beautiful, and
overwhelming, and
real, and trippy!”
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18. Links to further Meditation Resources – If you still need them!!
Description
Link to the Resource
Osho Meditation
http://www.osho.com/meditate
Isha Foundation
http://www.ishafoundation.org/?global
Deepak Chopra
https://www.deepakchopra.com/
Sri Chinmoy
http://www.srichinmoy.org/
Mindfulness Meditation http://www.mindfulnesscds.com/
Michael Paul Stephens
http://www.michaelpaulstephens.com/home.html
Transcendental
Meditation
http://uk.tm.org/home
I‐Rest (Yoga Nidra) by
Richard Miller
http://www.irest.us/
Relax Kids
http://www.relaxkids.com/tips/category/Meditati
on/14
Meditation Society of
Australia
http://meditation.org.au/index.asp?mobilecheck=t
rue
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19. Thank You
Details of weekly meditation group are as below:
Venue, Timings, Cost and Booking:
 Kailash Yoga Hall at Rugby Spiritual Centre: 5 Newbold Road, Rugby CV21 2LQ
 Every Thursday, 7:15pm until 8:15pm (kindly arrive by 7:05pm)
 £3 per session
 Booking by email to rugbymeditation@yahoo.co.uk or text at 07875‐880159
A typical meditation session begins with a brief introduction by each participant followed by a
description of the evening’s technique by the group leader, before practicing meditation for
around 30 minutes. There will be an opportunity to ask questions or provide feedback at the end
of session