Why Yoga Meditation Is All The Rage!

Have you ever had that longing for “something more”?

Most of us look outside of ourselves to fulfill that longing, and “that” which will fulfill us, always seems juuuuuuust out of reach.

It’s hard for us to imagine that simply by being and not doing, by being still instead of busy, we can achieve an incredible sense of peace, oneness, fulfillment and joy.

One way to achieve this state is by meditation – but meditation does not have to happen while you are sitting perfectly still in lotus. Not at all!

Moving meditation is a wonderful way to enhance the meditative experience because you become fully present with what your body is doing.

The benefits of moving meditation are many: because it’s physically oriented, you develop a heightened sense of balance and grounding, stress relief, awareness of what your body is telling you (through yoga, you can develop an intimate “conversation” with your body), and a sense of blissful relaxation that is rejuvenating and invigorating at the same time.

Yoga is a form of meditation that has been used for many thousands of years. It is originally a Hindu spiritual and ascetic practice of quieting the turbulence of thoughts that prevent us from experiencing that “something” we all seek. Yoga involves breath control, specific body positions and mindfulness.

You may be wondering if yoga meditation is right for you. Although yoga is, in modern times, seen primarily as a form of exercise, you don’t have to adopt complicated and strenuous poses in order to benefit from yoga meditation. You can start with a few simple poses or asanas, that will help draw your attention to your body and what is going on here and now.

The best ways to learn yoga are in a yoga class, but if that option isn’t available to you, you can learn using online video courses.

I recommend you find a course that works for you and as you practice, and then incorporate what you’ve learned into a home yoga meditation practice that uses LifeFlow as the background music.

TOP TIPS to keep in mind as you practice at home:

1. In every asana (pose), be mindful of your body’s connection to the earth. Actively engage those parts of your body that touch the floor, by pushing downward, keeping your fingers and toes splayed wide. This gives you a wonderful sense of grounding.
2. In every asana, be mindful of what your spine is doing. The intent is to extend, or lengthen, the spine – which is not only a wonderful way to combat the effects of excessive sitting (which compresses your spine) but it also assists with energy flow in the body. Imagine your spine lengthening as you create space between the vertebrae.
3. Be mindful of the transitions between asanas. Change is inevitable, it’s a part of life, and yet we spend so much time resisting change and trying to avoid it. It’s helpful to imagine the transitions between asanas as transitions in life. The asana that came before and the asana that comes after… neither are “good” or “bad” unless you make them so, in your mind… and it’s the same in life! Be aware of how your body moves, and how it makes the transitions between poses; focus on feeling a shift in balance, and feeling a contraction in certain muscles and a release in others.
4. Throughout your yoga meditation, check in frequently with your breath. Is it rhythmic? Deep? Your breath is an instant reflection of what’s going on in your mind. Under emotional stress, your breathing is often shallow and rapid; you can use the fluid motions of yoga to get your breath under control, bring your attention to the present, and release tension.

By meditating, you’re giving yourself some space. It’s not about getting rid of your thoughts but about not letting them control you – and yoga is a mind/body practice that calms the mind and repairs and restores the body on the cellular level by activating the parasympathetic nervous system.

Whether you’re feeling upset, anxious, overwhelmed or conflicted, this simple practice offers an efficient journey back to mindfulness.

When you practice yoga at home, you can enhance the experience using brainwave entrainment.

By helping your mind enter into a meditative state, you may find it easier to relax into the flow of yoga. Your thoughts can actually hinder your practice because you may think, “ugh, that pose was hard to do last time…” (which can actually signal your muscles to go only as far as they did last time, rather than relaxing and going a little deeper into the pose)… or you could be too distracted by what’s going on in your life to be as mindful as you could be in your practice… or you could be too tense and stressed to fully allow yourself to relax deeply into a pose.

The beauty of LifeFlow is that you don’t need to use headphones! You can listen over open speakers and receive the same benefits – which frees you up to practice yoga while you listen!

If you’re new to yoga, do take advantage of in-person or online classes; and then develop your own practice at home that incorporates LifeFlow, for amazing mind/body results!