Marma Massage

Yoga and meditation are often thought of together. But how important is meditation to a yoga practice? Meditation is not only one of the five principles of yoga, but it enhances the other four.

Yoga is a series of postures created to improve strength, flexibility, and balance. All aspects of yoga progress with a clear, focused mind–a mind that is accustomed to tuning out distractions.

Meditation teaches the mind to do just that. By concentrating on one part of the body, we send blood flow to that area. Increased blood flow means the cells receive more oxygen and assist the physical benefits of yoga. Before taking a pose that requires balance, a yogi focuses the mind on one point. The ability to hold the pose depends on the yogi’s ability to meditate on that one point. 

Meanwhile, flexibility is inhibited by tight muscles. A consistent yoga meditation practice eases muscles and expands flexibility. Increased flexibility is not the only way meditation reduces our chance of injury.

Yoga is non-competitive and non-judgmental. Pushing your body to compete with your neighbor in a yoga class can cause injury. But our society is trained to compete and judge. Meditation eases the impulse. It allows us to live in the present. It allows us to feel and enjoy what our bodies can and should do. 

This leads us to our second yoga principle: relaxation. 

While relaxed muscles improve our flexibility, releasing tension stimulates the nervous system and allows us a better body awareness. Meditation changes our brainwaves to frequencies conducive to relaxation. Our brains are often filled with beta brainwaves, the lively, stressed out kind. Meditation replaces beta brainwaves with alpha, theta, delta, and gamma brainwaves, the brainwaves that appear in minds at ease. 

The third principle is breathing. 

Proper yoga breathing expands and warms the lungs. It allows us to control, ‘Prana’, or breath energy. It is vital to a complete yoga practice. And it is very difficult, if not impossible, to learn with a distracted mind. Meditation allows the practitioner to even out the breath and center it.

Diet is the fourth principal. 

How does meditation help dieting? By increasing a person’s stress threshold. While yoga postures ease us into new levels of balance and flexibility, meditation gently pushes our minds and nervous systems to endure more stress.

Although it is a falsehood that eating will cure stress, ‘comfort eating’ has become a part of our culture. Comfort foods are rarely natural, healthy options eaten in moderation.

Meditation chips away at the buildup of regrets and worries that are difficult to release. When we put our minds in the present moment, these dysfunctional obsessions fade away. We are comforted by ourselves. The false need for comfort food is removed. And we are finally able to incorporate a healthy diet into our yoga practice. 

The final principle is meditation and positive thinking. 

These principals are in no order. This principal could easily be listed first. But by listing it last most of the argument is already made. The importance of a consistent yoga meditation practice has been made.

While meditation encompasses the clearing and focus of the mind, it becomes the gateway for positive thinking. Even for the optimist, negative memories or fears exist. An optimist pays more attention to the positive.

Many think optimism is something we are born with. It can be taught and like most things, can be improved with practice. Meditation is an exercise in moving the negative thoughts out of the way and allowing positive thoughts to shine.