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...
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...
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:...
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...
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)...
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...
Sample from the Spring 2011 issue of Integral Yoga Magazine. 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...
Sample from the Spring 2011 issue of Integral Yoga Magazine. 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...
Sample from the Spring 2011 issue of Integral Yoga Magazine. 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...
Sample from the Winter 2008 issue of Integral Yoga Magazine An Interview with Swami Vidyananda Swami Vidyananda’s workshops on Yoga and the emotions explore Integral Yoga techniques that bring greater harmony within oneself and to one’s relationships. These workshops...
By Michael Stone As a yogi, mainly in the Krishnamacharya lineage, and as a practitioner of Buddhist meditation for many years, Chip Hartranft’s work bridges the traditions of Yoga and Buddhism. His deep contemplation and study of the Yoga Sutras is evident in this...
Sri Swami Satchidananda recorded a self-inquiry process that he recommended as a meditation technique. Here is the process he gave: One wonderful meditation technique is self-analysis. It’s a process that leads you to identify with the inner Self, the Knower, rather...
In this interview, Prentiss Alter explains that japa (chanting or silent repetition of a mantra) essentially is a relationship. He explains four components of alignment that help guide the practitioner into relationship, communication and connection. That’s why, even...
There is a pretty Indian fable to the effect that if it rains when the star Svati is in the ascendant, and a drop of rain falls into an oyster, that drop becomes a pearl. The oysters know this, so they come to the surface when that star shines, and wait to catch the...
Meditation starts with concentration. Meditation actually begins when the mind is well-focused and it learns to become totally still. When the mind becomes completely still it seems to be losing itself. That is what you call transcending the mental state. All...