Yoga Meditation

Yoga Meditation

Published on June 11, 2011

This simple seated meditation focuses on the breath to calm the mind, body and emotions.

Sit in a comfortable position, either cross-legged on the floor or in a chair. Sit up tall with the spine straight, the shoulders relaxed and the chest open. Rest the hands on the knees with the palms facing up. Lightly touch the index finger to the thumb. Relax the face, jaw, and belly. Let the tongue rest on the roof of the mouth, just behind the front teeth. Allow the eyes to lightly close.

Breathe slowly, smoothly and deeply in and out through the nose. Let the inhale start in the belly and then rise gently up into the chest. As the breath slows and deepens, let go of any thoughts or distractions and allow the mind to focus on the breath. Feel the breath as it moves in and out of the body, feeling it move through the nose, throat, windpipe and lungs. Feel the body as it rises and falls with each breath. Bring as much of your awareness and attention to your body and breath as possible with each moment. As the thoughts return to the mind, let them go, and return the focus back to the body and breath.

Practice this meditation for 10-20 minutes. To end, gently let the eyes blink open, inhale the palms together in front of the heart, exhale and gently bow. Take a moment or two before moving on with the rest of your day.

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16 responses to “Yoga Meditation”

  1. Wishdom Avatar
    Wishdom

    Thank-you. I have learned more about meditation in these three paragraphs than I have from three indepth books about Yoga that I recently read. Many seem to speak of meditation as if we should instantly know what it is and how to do it, but rarely explain… how. I have been doing Yoga at home for over a year now, but only in the sense of postures,… a work out on my off days from weight-lifting. Lately I have felt there is more to it and have been exploring, which is why I am here on this sight. Again, thank-you.

  2. azile Avatar
    azile

    i’ll do this at home

  3. madriver40 Avatar
    madriver40

    I am just learning, today! I find this very informative and I can start my first session tonite. Thank you!

  4. arukia1948 Avatar
    arukia1948

    Its very good if a book is available I will be interested in buying

  5. chene48 Avatar
    chene48

    thank you! for the basic to relax!

  6. AsiaYoga12345 Avatar
    AsiaYoga12345

    WOW! I feel renewed. I feel like my headache, sleepiness, and stress just went away in that one minute!!! I’ll do it every day now :D

  7. dkfehr Avatar
    dkfehr

    I have needed a clear understanding about meditation and reading this…I gpt what I needed. Thank you!

  8. eric_b Avatar
    eric_b

    I am logged in as a premium member but can’t access this audio

  9. Timothy Avatar
    Timothy

    eric_b – please use our contact page to send a message to customer service. We need your email address to look up your account to see what the issue might be.

  10. nyamadzawo Avatar
    nyamadzawo

    May i have some beginers classes emailed to me.

  11. Timothy Avatar
    Timothy

    nyamadzawo – all of the classes are on the website, so I’m not sure why you need them emailed to you?

  12. gabewilliam Avatar
    gabewilliam

    Hello, for several years now I have been having many difficulties and was recently diagnosed with depression. One of my main struggles is that I never feel quite ‘here’. It is almost as though I am witnessing my life through frosted glass, or watching someone else’s life play out on a television screen. Some consequences of this are that my memory is very vague, time goes by very fast, and i do not notice things that I normally would. I find this very upsetting. I have read that meditation can make you feel more ‘in the present’, would you suggest that i begin meditating to make me feel more alive? Thankyou.

  13. Timothy Avatar
    Timothy

    gabe – It sounds like you need a strongly grounding practice, and as such I would not recommend meditation. Find a good alignment focused yoga class, or a tai chi or chi gong class would also be good.

  14. kozmijn Avatar
    kozmijn

    It is strange how many of us use the word meditation when usually westerners are not even close to the process of meditation. Maybe some of us can deal to manage to have a good concentration but meditation?
    I read so many articles with all kind of meditation experiences and honestly I find them all some kind of daydreaming moments.
    I practice this meditation for a while now and there were few moments when I felt the bliss of getting out of my concentration into expansion. The moment I realized this and I started to get emotional about it( be happy for my “success”), I came back.
    A lot of meaningful information about techniques on your site. I am glad I found it. Keep going in educationg people.

  15. Novicemeditatior Avatar
    Novicemeditatior

    I was “trying” to meditate earlyer and I got very relaxed and I kept repeating “in” when I breath in and “out” when I breath out, and I was in complete silence, but nothing happend. This is like my 10th time meditating and other times I’ve gotten like a “high” off it but I can’t get that again, help me

  16. Ziba SALEHI Avatar
    Ziba SALEHI

    Hi,
    As I have back pain newly my doctor tell me do some aquayoga inpool ,I want to ask you could you send me some practice to do in pool for back pain.

    Thanks,
    Ziba SALEHI

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Timothy Burgin Avatar
About the author
Timothy Burgin is a Kripalu & Pranakriya trained yoga instructor living and teaching in Asheville, NC. Timothy has studied and taught many styles of yoga and has completed a 500-hour Advanced Pranakriya Yoga training. Timothy has been serving as the Executive Director of YogaBasics.com since 2000. He has authored two yoga books and has written over 500 articles on the practice and philosophy of yoga. Timothy is also the creator of Japa Mala Beads and has been designing and importing mala beads since 2004.
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