Question: We hear so much these days about creative visualization and manifesting with the mind. Isn’t this the opposite of being present and in the moment? Swami Satchidananda: I don’t think they oppose each other. If you like, you can be in the present moment...
According to Erich Schiffmann, a much beloved Yoga master, Yoga is a way of moving into stillness in order to experience the truth of who you are. In this interview he talks about the practice of asana as the practice of meditation or inner listening. And, as he...
Gregory Kramer, Ph.D., offers participants in his Insight Dialogue workshops the opportunity to experience meditative awareness of what happens when we retreat into our habitually well-defended and lonely “constructed” selves. Through silent and guided meditation, and...
In this article, Swami Asokananda reflects upon the journey that took him from novice meditator to one of Integral Yoga’s master teachers. He shares the challenges and triumphs of having a regular meditation practice, as well as the insights and wisdom he gained on...
In this interview, Reverend Jaganath Carrera, an Integral Yoga master teacher and author of Inside the Yoga Sutras, explains how the heart of meditation can be understood through an unlocking of the term “nirodha,” which Patanjali uses in the second sutra of the Yoga...
According to Dr. Frawley, mantra repetition is perhaps the main method of the Yoga meditation. He regards mantras as asanas for the mind. He’s written an entire book on the subject (Mantra Yoga and Primal Sound) and, in this interview, he details the use of mantra as...
Question: What is the difference between meditating on something like a mantra and meditating on nothing at all, that is, on no particular mantra, thought or phrase? Will there be different results? Swami Satchidananda: No. But you have to teach me, how to meditate on...
The mission of the Prison Yoga Project —reducing it to simplest terms — is to help people shift unconscious behavioral patterns of reacting into conscious ways of responding by teaching individuals the skill of clearly witnessing their moment-to-moment experience....
Perhaps best known for her role as Serena Southerlyn on Law & Order, Elisabeth Röhm is also an advocate for human rights, health and education, serving as a Red Cross ambassador, among other service roles. She may be less renowned as a yogini, but in this...
You may be an experienced meditator. Even so I wouldn’t be surprised if many of you go through periods of a few days, weeks, or months, when for one reason or another you don’t get up in time to have a formal sitting. This is not unusual. And, you are not alone if you...
In this article, Integral Yoga master teacher Rev. Jaganath Carrera discusses sutras 1.27 through 1.29 of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. In these sutras, Sri Patanjali introduces us to the OM mantra and the practice of mantra japa, which he explains is a most effective...
INTRODUCTION Sadhana is purifying and steadying the mind and fixing it on the Lord. Without Sadhana you cannot attain the Sadhya or the object of meditation i.e., the Supreme Being, the abode of Immortality and Bliss. Japa is an important Sadhana. Make a resolve "I...
WHAT IS JAPA ? Repetition of any Mantra or Name of the Lord is known as Japa. Japa is an important Anga of Yoga. It is a spiritual food for the hungry soul. Japa is the rod in the hand of the blind Sadhakas (aspirants) to plod on the road to Realization. Japa is the...
Question: What is the difference between meditating on something like a mantra and meditating on nothing at all, that is, on no particular mantra, thought or phrase? Will there be different results? Swami Satchidananda: No. But you have to teach me, how to meditate on...
I am often asked, “What should I meditate upon?” The simplest thing is to repeat a mantra (a mystic sound). It is a very sound method. It is really simple, but at the same time, very powerful. It could be OM or AMEN or HARI OM or OM SHANTI—any mantra you like. If you...
Nada Yoga is the Yoga of sound and it includes practices using sound formulas and mantras. Mantra repetition itself is a Nada Yoga practice. Through repeating the mantra, you gradually develop that sound vibration within. After practicing for a long time, you will be...