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...
Questions & Answers on Meditation with Swami Satchidananda
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...
Prison Yoga Project
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....
Yoga, Creativity and Active Surrender
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...
How To Have a Successful Meditation Practice
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...
The Mystic OM
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...
Japa Yoga Sadhana
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 Yoga?
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...
Questions & Answers on Mantra and Meditation
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...
Mantra Meditation
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...
Listening to the Sound Within
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...
Integrating the Yoga Pathways of Meditation & Devotion
Our whole experience of life is based on the stories we tell ourselves about what occurs. These stories begin with our mind’s interpretation of what it perceives. Swami Vivekananda describes this like an oyster making a pearl. A parasite gets inside the shell, and...
The Neuroscience of Meditation and Enlightenment
An Interview with David Perlmutter, MD and Alberto Villoldo, PhD Neuroscientist David Perlmutter and medical anthropologist and shaman Alberto Villoldo have come together to explore the technology of meditation and enlightenment in their new book, Power Up Your Brain:...
Inside the Yoga Sutras: The Subtle Mechanics of Meditation
An Interview with Reverend Jaganath Carrera In this interview, Reverend Jaganath, 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...
Mantra Meditation
An Interview with Dr. David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri) According to Dr. Frawley, mantra is perhaps the main method of the Yoga of technique. He regards mantras as asanas for the mind. He’s written an entire book on the subject (Mantra Yoga and Primal Sound)...
Make Your Meditation Yummy
By Swami VidyanandA With over four decades of regular sadhana, Swami Vidyananda has great wisdom and practical advice for those who want to develop a steady practice. She has meditated deeply on Sri Gurudev’s teachings on sadhana, applied them and discovered the depth...