Mindfulness Meditation and Pain Management: Recent Findings!

by Ram

Branches by Melina Meza

This is part one of two articles that focus on some of the latest findings on meditation and its an amazing variety of neurological benefits. Dhyana or meditation is a state of being where the mind stops wandering, is calmer, and maintains a period of stillness. In this state of mind, an individual no longer possess bodily awareness, the sense organs are not distracted, and the stillness produces few or no thoughts at all (see Yoga Meditation Techniques). One of the original goals of meditation was to quiet the mind. Because our minds are typically busy with thoughts and emotions—many of which disturb our equanimity—quieting the mind and letting go of these daily dramas of life allows us to experience feelings of peace and contentment. Meditation also fosters feelings of compassion, which improve relationships with others. And you can also use meditation to cultivate feelings of gratitude that in turn fosters contentment (Honesty and Contentment in the Yoga Room). There are many different kinds of meditation. Some are designed to help us relax; others are meant to produce altered states of consciousness. 

Mindfulness meditation is one of the techniques where your mind is not only fully aware of the stillness but also keeps observing when your attention starts to wander from the object of the meditation (in most cases the object of meditation is the repetitious breath, flow of thoughts, emotions or feelings). And as you observe these objects with a sense of detachment, you will notice familiar patterns that may seem irrelevant to harbor and you may want to let go these patterns. Detachment or letting go of these patterns helps in cultivating equanimity in your daily life (Meditation and Equanimity). Thus, mindfulness meditation allows you to observe your habitual thought patterns and emotional responses and provides the opportunity to change them to more positive ones. Mindfulness meditation helps us become aware of what is already true at every moment, providing us with an opportunity to become more present with ourselves just as we are. This, in turn, helps us to overcome the unnecessary suffering that results from trying to escape the discomfort and pain that we experience in our daily lives.

Today’s discussion is about mindfulness meditation and its role in alleviating the acute pain response. Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage and is part of the body’s inherent protective mechanism to motivate the individual to pull out from a damaging situation and prevent further damage to the tissue, allow the damaged tissue to rest and heal, and avoid similar encounters. Thus, the phenomenon of pain is beneficial in a true sense when, for example, your back sustains a blow and the injured tissues need care and protection (Understanding Pain). 

Just like inflammation, the phenomenon of pain is generally transient, and recedes when the stimulus is removed or the damaged tissue has healed (How and Why Yoga Helps with Pain). When your body encounters an acute pain stimulus, your brain releases a large number of pain reducing chemicals called opioids. Opioids act by attaching to specific proteins called opioid receptors, which are found in the brain, spinal cord, gastrointestinal tract, and other organs in the body. The binding of the endogenous opioids to their specific receptors results in reduction of the perception of pain. However, there are certain abnormal pathological conditions where pain is a constant feature and persists for a long time (chronic pain). While in some chronic cases the levels of the endogenous opioids are not sufficient to alleviate the pain response, in most cases the body becomes insensitive to the body’s levels of opioids. Chronic pain that lasts beyond the expected period of healing can interfere with a person's quality of life and general functioning. Unfortunately, chronic pain brings with it other health issues including constant fear, worry, anxiety, depression, and memory deficits and turns out to be the most common reason for individuals to visit their physician (Techniques for Managing Pain with Yoga). 

One of the methods of pain management is the external administration of opioids like vicodin, morphine, codeine, or oxycontin. These external opioids not only blunt the pain response, they also produce a euphoric response since they also affect the brain regions involved in reward. Regular or long-term use or abuse of opioids can lead to physical dependence and, in most cases, addiction. Naloxone is a drug that works as an antidote to the opioids and is mainly used to reverse an opioid overdose. Naloxone works by blocking the analgesic (anti-pain) and the euphoric response of the opioids in the system. Naloxone only works if a person has opioids in their system; the medication doesn't work on other drugs. 

Now what does all this have to do with mindfulness meditation? Well, we know that meditation produces relaxation and the lovely blissful feelings that result from release of tension. The question is: does meditation trigger the release of endogenous opioids which in turn produces the pain relief and the pleasant effects thereafter? This was the premise of a new study Mindfulness-Meditation-Based Pain Relief Is Not Mediated by Endogenous Opioids in which the researchers set out to ask a simple question, “does mindfulness meditation (MM) produce pain relief and if yes, then does it do so through the release of endogenous opioids”? 

The double blind randomized study involved 78 healthy, pain-free people who were randomly assigned to receive different interventions. The first group was trained in mindfulness meditation for 20 minutes a day for four days. And the second group, which served as a control group, spent the same amount of time listening to a book read aloud. The scientists then exposed all the participants to a pain stimulus by placing a hot probe on the back of their legs. The group that practiced mindfulness meditation experienced significantly reduced pain intensity and pain unpleasantness than the control group. 

The next thing to determine was if the pain reduction in the mindfulness meditation group was due to release of endogenous opioids. One way to test this was to block the release of endogenous opioids (if any) by administering the drug Naloxone, which would then reverse the beneficial analgesic effects of mindfulness meditation. (A control group was given simple saline as a placebo.) To the surprise of the researchers, the meditators who received the drug Naloxone before being subjected to the hot probe continued to experience significantly reduced pain intensity and pain unpleasantness than the control group, suggesting that Naloxone administration failed to reverse the meditation-induced pain relief. There were also no significant differences in pain intensity or pain unpleasantness reductions between the meditation + naloxone and the meditation + saline groups.

The findings clearly demonstrate that mindfulness meditation eases pain through some distinct pathways that are independent of the endogenous opioid mechanisms, suggesting that meditation-based pain relief does not require the role of endogenous opioids. The researchers do not have a clear explanation of the effect of mindfulness meditation on the brain that results in the pain relief. But based on their past results, they believe that meditation activates several regions of the brain that are associated with emotion regulation, focus, and cognitive control. At the same time, meditation also down-regulates the thalamic activity that transmits painful information from and to the body. Thus, the global effect of mindfulness meditation helps to prevent pain and painful information from spreading throughout the brain and body. 

It remains to be determined whether mindfulness meditation would be helpful in the treatment of chronic pain and also be effective in overcoming opiate drug abuse. For now though, mindfulness meditation seems to be a very attractive technique for acute pain relief and for those seeking a non-opiate pain therapy. And, if this is the case, getting hooked on meditation would also be a perfect panacea for pain and other pathological systems some of which we described earlier (Meditation: Effects on Gene Expression). 

This reminds me of an anecdotal report of a senior monk who underwent a complicated surgery without the use of any anesthetics. His years of meditation practice helped him to tide over the pain during and after the surgery. But based on the above-mentioned scientific study, it is also clear that you don’t need to be a monk to reap the benefits of mindfulness meditation. 

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Meditation and Equanimity

by Nina

Of course most of us realize that while meditation is an excellent stress management tool this is not its original goal nor its only benefit. But because I wanted to explain something to people who are newer to yoga about the relationship between meditation and equanimity, I’ve been delving a bit deeper into this subject. In general here’s what I’ve come up with so far. 

One of original goals of meditation was to quiet the mind. Because our minds are typically busy with thoughts, many of which disturb our equanimity—regrets about the past, worries about the future, and dissatisfaction with the present—quieting your mind allows you to experience feelings of peace and contentment. Meditation also fosters feelings of compassion, which improve your relationships with others. And you can use meditation to cultivate feelings of gratitude, which allows you to be more content with what you have and what you don’t have. In addition, the process of meditating allows you to observe your habitual thought patterns and emotional responses, which is the first step in changing them to more positive ones. 

Here are my thoughts about these four different aspects of meditation. If you have any of your own you’d like to contribute, I’d love to hear from you! 

Quieting the Mind

In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali defines yoga as: 

1.2 “Yoga is the stilling of the changing states of mind.” —Edwin Bryant

Stilling the changing “states of mind”—also translated as the “whirls of consciousness”—means quieting the thoughts that cycle over and over in your mind. While not all our thoughts disturb our equanimity, when we are worried, anxious, sad, depressed, or even overly excited, we can be tormented by thoughts and emotions that whirl uncontrollably through us. What if I miss my deadline? What if the plane crashes? What if I can’t fall asleep tonight? If only my lover hadn’t left me. If only I wasn’t so helpless/afraid/overwhelmed. If only my parents had loved me more. I hate that person. I wish I had a different body. I suck at meditating. 

In classical yoga, quieting the mind is a necessary prerequisite for achieving the union with the divine that is yoga. But it is also recommended as the antidote to the kleshas, our reactions to life that disturb our equanimity and that are the source of our suffering. 

2.3 The five afflictions (klesas) which disturb the equilibrium of consciousness are: ignorance or lack of wisdom, ego, pride of the ego or the sense of ‘I,’ attachment to pleasure, aversion to pain, fear of death and clinging to life. —Edwin Bryant

The simple act of regular meditation quiets your mind, but you may find that certain techniques work more effectively for you than others, depending on your particular personality or even just your current circumstances. So you might wish to experiment with several different techniques, perhaps even keeping record of the state of your mind both before and after practice for several days in a row. See Yoga Meditation Techniques for information about how to meditate. See Thoughts About Quieting the Mind for more information about quieting the mind. 

Self-Study with Meditation 

By using our witness mind as we meditate, we can engage in self study (svadhyaya) to learn more about habitual thought patterns and emotional responses that we might not even be aware of. The witness mind is that part of our minds that allows us to observe ourselves in action while we are acting. The Sankrit word for witness is sākshī (saa-kshe), and it refers to the “pure awareness” that witnesses the world but does not get affected by it or involved with it. The term combines “sa,” which means “with,” and “aksha,” which means “senses or eyes.” So the sakshi is an awareness that can disengage from any identification with thoughts and observe them “with its own eyes.” Another meaning of the word aksha is “the center of a wheel.” When a wheel turns, the spokes revolve and the outer rim rotates, but the center—the hub of the wheel—is still. So the witness mind remains steady while events turn around it. 

In meditation, your witness mind observes when your attention has wandered from the object of your meditation—and to what. Rather than floating down the stream of your thoughts, you sit on the shore and impartially observe from a distance. And as you observe with detachment what’s happening within you—your sensations, thoughts, emotions, and feelings—you start to recognize patterns that you may later decide to change. Observing your habits can help you change the way you react to stress (see Changing the Brain's Stressful Habits). And it can help you in general to change your patterns of reactivity (see Meditation and Brain Strength). All of this will help you cultivate equanimity in your daily life. 

You can also use your witness mind during your asana practice by cultivating mindfulness. To do this, step back and tune into the constant judging and reacting to inner and outer experiences that constantly stream through your mind. Eventually you can use on your witness mind during any activity. 

See The Power of Svadhyaya (Self Study) for more information about self study. See Yoga Meditation Techniques for information about how to meditate. 

Compassion 

1.33 By cultivating an attitude of friendship toward those who are happy, compassion toward those in distress, joy toward those who are virtuous, and equanimity toward those who are nonvirtuous, lucidity arises in the mind. —trans. by Edwin Bryant 

In addition to quieting your mind and teaching you its workings, meditation provides interpersonal benefits. Scientists have shown that the practice of meditation increases compassion. And becoming more compassionate clearly fosters better relationships with people in your life as well as strangers who are suffering.

In general, a regular meditation practices seems to have this effect. Scientists who studied this phenomenon speculated that there are two possible explanations for this. The first is that because meditation improves your ability to pay attention, this might improve your ability to notice what’s going on with someone else (as opposed to being lost in your own thoughts). Another explanation is that meditation helps us to experience the interconnectedness of all beings. Interestingly, a study showed that when people meditated on "non-referentail" compassion, the regions of their brains responsible for planned action were activated, as if they were preparing to aid people in distress. So you may find yourself with an urge to help others—always a good thing, both for them and you.

A regular meditation practice of any kind will foster compassion but if you wish to work on this intentionally, you could: 

1. Choose a person for whom you wish to cultivate compassion and before meditating set the intention that your practice will dedicated to them. Then check in again by thinking of that person after you finish. 
2. Use the word “compassion” as a mantra. 
3. Practice the Loving Kindness Meditation, a structured meditation designed to help you open your heart and cultivate compassion towards people close to you as well as strangers. Or practice any other formal meditation designed to foster compassion. 

See Meditation and Compassion for more information about meditation and compassion. See Yoga Meditation Techniques for information about how to meditate. 

Gratitude

Meditating on gratitude can have a profound effect on your mood and state of mind. In fact, scientists have actually identified the biochemical explanations for this. Apparently feeling grateful activates the brain stem region that produces dopamine, your reward and pleasure center, and gratitude toward others increases activity in your social dopamine circuits, which makes social interactions more enjoyable. And even just trying to think of things you are grateful for forces you to focus on the positive aspects of your life, which boosts our serotonin levels, which increases happiness. 

To cultivate gratitude in your meditation practice, you can use the following techniques: 

1. Use the word “gratitude” as a mantra. 
2. Use one thing for which you are grateful as the object of your meditation, either as a mantra or an image. 
3. Set the intention that as you meditate you will notice things you are grateful for as they naturally arise in your mind. 
4. Practice any formal meditation practice designed to cultivate gratitude. 

Of course, when you are being harassed by negative thoughts, it often isn’t easy to find and focus on things you are grateful for. But apparently the effort of remembering to look for gratitude alone provides the benefits. And just like strengthening a muscle, a regular gratitude practice makes you stronger at being grateful over time. So you’ll be improving in your gratitude practice as you age! See The Biochemical Basis for a Gratitude Practice for more information on a gratitude practice. See Yoga Meditation Techniques for information about how to meditate. 

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Working with the Witness

by Beth

Layer of Earth by Kazoo Shiraga*

As we age, we change. Wrinkles and gray hair appear, muscles begin to lose mass, and our relationship to society can change. In some cultures aging earns us status as wise elders to be revered; in others we are ignored or seen as no longer having value. Also, we may begin thinking about end of life issues, seeing death as loss, something to fear, or as a natural transition to something else (the something else often depends on our culture, country, family or spiritual beliefs). However, no matter who we are or where we live, cultivating and enhancing awareness and the ability to witness “what is” will enable us move through our aging process with integrity.

A simple definition of awareness is: knowledge or perception of a situation or fact. Awareness is at the heart of any definition of yoga. Practicing this becomes especially important to anyone who has ever stepped foot on a yoga mat or sat on a meditation cushion. You can read about Nina’s experience with awareness in her post The Power of Svadhyaya (Self Study).

The science of yoga offers many tools to cultivate awareness. Working with the Witness is a good one to consider. The Witness is the aspect of self that allows us to see ourselves in action as we are acting. The kosha model of yoga psychology focuses on five levels of awareness and is my go to context for working with the Witness. I’ll list them all separately here to talk about them but they are all ultimately one interrelated system. The five levels are:

1. Physical Level (Annamayakosha). This is the level that we experience through all of our senses including sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. The ability to become aware of body sensations is a key step in activating the Relaxation Response and the healing process. This is the level that most people readily relate to and the level most focused on through yoga asana.

For me, working with the Witness helped me connect the dots between discomfort in backbends, such as Locust and Half Wheel, and headaches that followed a day or two after practicing. That awareness led to an appointment with a sports medicine doctor, who diagnosed me with spondylolisthesis. So I’ve been modifying my back bends and was delighted to read Shari’s post about spinal movements All About the Spine, which confirmed my experience. 

2. Breath-Energy Level (Pranamayakosha). Breath is the vehicle for the entry of oxygen and life energy, or prana, into the body. Learning to breathe effectively and efficiently is one of the most important lessons in yoga. When we are aware of our breath and how we breathe, we can better manage our moods and states of mind. This is key to managing stress and remaining calm no matter what is happening. 

3. Mental-Emotional Level (Manomayakosha). Mental awareness is based on what we perceive through our thoughts and feelings in two ways: 1) by analyzing and organizing our knowledge and experiences and 2) by intuition, hunch, inner voices, images, instant knowing, and fantasy. Emotional awareness helps us perceive and understand our habits, patterns and life lessons. 

By witnessing my periodic “blue funk days” while in the middle of them, I’ve discovered something interesting. When they lift—and so far they always do—I often experience intuitive flashes that result in writing ideas, home decoration projects, and themes for my yoga classes, or those AHA! moments that lead to new understandings. I’m now aware of them as they make their appearance and I’ve learned to “ride the emotional wave” instead of trying to cut it short. 

4. Wisdom-Witness Level (Vijnyanamayakosha). The Witness is the lamp that illuminates all aspects of ourselves (persona and shadow) for integration and acceptance. When we are able to witness our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors without judgment, we can cultivate and deepen our ability to recognize our patterns and consciously choose to make changes. 

5. Bliss Level (Anandamayakosha). This is unity consciousness, going with the flow of life whether positive or difficult. It is direct experience of the universal energy or connectedness that we can tap into through consistent practice, which we control, and grace, which we do not control. 

One tool to wake and work with the Witness is the body scan. The technique focuses on engaging and deepening awareness at all levels of being to promote healing (as opposed to curing, which may sometimes be a happy side effect). Depending on your needs and readiness, body scans will focus on some or all of the koshas. There are many techniques and ways to practice this, and you can learn to self-guide. 

Here is a short self-guided script that you can practice in any comfortable position. First, make an intention to witness whatever arises without judgment and then gradually move your awareness through your body, breath, and mind as you say the following to yourself:

I am aware of my feet, ankles, lower legs, knees, upper legs, hips, waist, belly, low back, rib cage, mid-back, chest, upper back, shoulders, neck, face and the top of my head. (Pause) 

From the top of my head awareness moves over my face, down my neck, out over my shoulders and down my arms to my hands and fingers. I welcome any sensations or information I receive. (Pause) 

I notice my breath and watch the inhalation and exhalation. The breath comes and goes naturally, not changing in any way. Where is the movement of the breath felt? In my belly, chest, throat, nostrils? (Pause)

I watch the ebb and flow, the rise and fall, the in and out of the natural, essential breathing process. I am totally aware of my breath and my breathing. (Pause) 

Now, I move my attention to the mind and my thoughts. Do they flow easily from one thing to another or are they fixed on one thing? (Pause) 

Are they focused on the past or do they center on the future? (Pause) 

Can I see each thought, simply rising and passing one by one? Can I be aware of thinking while I am thinking? (Pause) 

I am now calm, relaxed, and aware. I rest in myself, breathing slowly and deeply. (Pause and rest here as long as you like)

Personally, I find this useful for grounding during stressful times, and it works like a charm those fortunately rare nights when I have trouble falling asleep. With practice, you can lengthen or shorten your explorations. Or you can begin the practice with prepared recordings. A little research will turn up many options. Voice, pace, length, tone, and content vary. Most will allow you to sample your choice before you buy. Be sure to pick one that feels just right for you.

With practice we learn to become aware, or conscious, of ourselves on all levels of our being. We can then bring clear and focused attention to what we find; accept and integrate all aspects of the aging process, pleasant and not so pleasant, and if we chose make conscious changes that bring us into alignment with our individual lives. Working with the Witness helps us move through our aging process with strength, flexibility, balance, wisdom, and grace.

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A Balm for the Soul: Practicing Simple Breath Awareness

by Nina

The Boundary is Fuzzy by Marie Lossky

Well, well, well, we’ve been blogging here for over four years and now I’ve find that while we have often referred to simple breath awareness as a way to trigger the Relaxation Response (see The Relaxation Response and Yoga) and to practice meditation (see Yoga Meditation Techniques), we’ve never actually described how to practice it. So I thought today I would remedy that rather serious omission. After all, this is the practice that helps me get back to sleep when I’m awake in the middle of the night and makes my Savasana and Legs Up the Wall poses profound relaxation practices.

I’ll start by comparing simple breath awareness to pranayama (breath control). Simple breath awareness is a practice of observing your breath without changing it. With pranayama, you intentionally change your breathing patterns, by making your inhalations and/or exhalations longer, holding your breath, or by breathing in a special fashion (such as humming, alternating nostrils, and so on), which has a potentially stronger affect on your nervous system (see Pranayama: A Powerful Key to Your Nervous System). With simple breath awareness, you just watch your natural breathing patterns, which is both very effective and completely safe. 

Breath awareness can be used in two different ways. The first is as a stress management technique. Ten to 20 minutes of simple breath awareness will trigger the Relaxation Response, quieting both your nervous system and your mind. And even a few minutes of practice can help center you or head off a spike in your stress levels. The second is as a meditation technique.

Whether you are practicing for stress management or as a form of meditation, the way you practice will depend on your location and position. If you’re going to practice as meditation, see Yoga Meditation Techniques for options for location, position, and timings. See the end of this post for information on choosing a focus, as this applies to both forms. This post provides information about location and positions for stress management. At the end of the post, I’ll provide information on choosing a focus for both forms of practicing.

Choosing Your Location

You don’t need a special location to practice breath awareness. As long as there is a quiet spot for you to sit—whether on the floor, out in nature, or on a chair—you can practice. You can also practice breath awareness while you are doing your favorite restorative pose or even while you are in bed as a way to soothe yourself to sleep (or back to sleep if you are awake in the middle of the night).

And when you’re traveling or are stuck somewhere busy and noisy, such at your office or on a train or airplane (yes, I’ve done that), you can practice there, too. It’s more challenging to practice when there are distractions or you are in a public place, but it is still an effective way to calm yourself in the middle of a hectic day.

Choosing Your Position

The position you choose will depend on your location. You have the most options in a house, where you can practice in a yoga sitting pose, sitting on a chair, in a restorative pose, or lying in or on your bed. Obviously, if you are at work or some other public place, you may have to limit yourself to sitting on a chair.

Sitting. Our recommended positions for seated breath awareness are Seated Crossed Legs and Hero pose (although a few people are comfortable enough in Half Lotus or even Full Lotus to practice breath awareness in those poses). 

In his post Learning to Sit on the Floor, Baxter described how you can use props to get comfortable in these poses. 

For people who can’t get comfortable on the floor or if the current setting doesn’t allow it, sitting on a chair is always an option. But rather than leaning against the back of the chair and slumping, sit on the front edge of the chair with your feet flat on the floor (if you are short, you might need to put a prop under them or if your legs are long you might need to put some padding on the chair seat) and your spine in its natural curves and your head in line with your spine. Obviously someone with physical disabilities who is in a wheelchair can practice breath awareness in whatever position they are able to take, in whatever chair they happen to be.

Restorative yoga poses. You can practice breath awareness in any restorative yoga pose that you find comfortable, as well as in gentle supported inverted poses (see All About Supported Inversions), such as Legs Up the Wall pose. We especially recommend Reclined Cobbler’s pose and Supported Savasana, if those poses are comfortable for you. I, myself, have found the combination of Legs Up the Wall with breath awareness to be extremely powerful.

If you’re someone who tends to be anxious and lying on your back makes you feel vulnerable or if you can't lie on your back for any reason, Supported Child’s pose or a Side-Lying Savasana are good alternatives. Both will allow you to bring awareness to your breath in your back body, which can be more relaxing for anxious people. 

In bed. You can practice breath awareness under the covers in your bed, in your customary sleeping position. This is a good way to improve your sleep because you will fall asleep in more relaxed state or to get back to sleep if you wake in the middle of the night (see Yoga You Can Do In Bed). Depending on what’s most comfortable for you, practice either on your back with your head supported by a pillow or lying on your side, with a pillow between your legs.

Standing. If you just want to center yourself—or help head off a spike in stress—you can practice breath awareness any time and any where in Mountain pose (Tadasana). This position is best for a short session of breath awareness, as standing still for 10 to 20 minutes is very challenging. But it’s excellent for a quick fix!

Choosing Your Focus

So what does it mean to bring your awareness to your breath? There are actually many options as you explore either the quality of your breath or the way your breath moves in your body. Try out the various techniques listed below to find one that engages your attention and also that doesn’t make you feel anxious about your breathing. As you observe your breath, consciously refrain from changing it. You may notice, however, as time goes on, that your breathing patterns may change on their own because you are relaxing more and more.

Feeling your body respond to your breath. For beginners, probably the easiest way to observe the breath is to watch the dramatic way your body moves as your lungs expand and shrink. As you inhale and exhale, you can watch your belly rise and fall, your chest expand and shrink back, or your ribs move out to the sides and back again. In positions where you are lying on your side or are prone (like Child’s pose), an interesting option is to feel your back expand and fall back with your breath, and this may be more soothing for those who tend to be anxious.

Sound. If it is quiet enough, you can focus on listening to the internal sounds you hear as you breath in and out. 

Feeling your breath. The best way to “feel” your actual breath is to bring awareness to the nostrils, sensing the air flowing in and out of them. You can also notice the quality of the breath moving in and out of your lungs. Is it smooth or rough? Relaxed or forced? Is your exhalation or inhalation longer? Or are they the same? 

As you watch your breath, be sure to maintain a non-judgmental attitude about your ability to concentrate. If you want to trigger the Relaxation Response, continue practicing for 10 to 20 minutes. If you just want to center yourself, a shorter period of time will be effective, even for just one minute. If you practicing as a form of meditation, see Yoga Meditation Techniques.

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Yoga Meditation Techniques

by Nina

From Tantra Song by Jamme

I can’t even remember the first time I meditated—or who taught me to do it—though it was probably my very first yoga teacher back in the 80s. Because I’m pretty sure we just sat in a simple Seated Crossed Legs position on the floor and focused on our breath. Like it was no big deal. So, in a way, basic meditation is very simple. Sometimes a teacher will even just say, “Let’s sit for a few minutes.” 

But those basic techniques don’t work for everyone. First of all, not everyone can be comfortable sitting on the floor without support or even with support. And being in pain while you are sitting—or sitting in such a way that you might injure yourself because you are slumping or overstretching—is not conducive to regular, long-term practice. So it’s important for there to be different options for the meditation position you use. 

Second, not everyone is comfortable using his breath as the object of meditation. I have a student who instantly becomes anxious when he focuses on his breath. So he definitely needs to meditate on something else. And the rest of us will no doubt having breathing problems eventually, whether from a cold or allergy, so it’s good to have an alternative up your sleeve.

So I thought that today I’d write a bit about the options you have when you are meditating. And because the position you take and the object of meditation you choose will be influenced by the environment in which you’re practicing, let’s start by talking about location. I’ll then address position, mental focus, timing, and meditating.

Choose Your Location

You probably have an image of the perfect quiet, warm, clean environment in which you should meditate, but real life doesn’t always present that. If you can’t set up a separate space because you live in a small apartment or crowded family house, you shouldn’t let that stop you from practicing. As long as there is room for you to sit—whether on the floor or even on a chair—you can meditate.

So by all means, if you can set up a separate quiet space for your meditating practice, do that. But if not, just do the best you can. And when you’re traveling or are stuck somewhere busy and noisy, such as at an airport or even on an airplane (yes, I’ve done that), go ahead and practice there, too. It’s more challenging to practice when there are distractions or you are in a public place, but it is still practicing, and in fact it’s probably a more realistic way of learning to quiet your mind.

You might even choose to meditate somewhere challenging just for the experience of it. If you haven’t read Achieving Stillness in Turbulent Situations, I strongly recommend that you do. I, for one, was forever changed when I read that Ram’s grandfather took him to an Indian train station to meditate just to teach him to experience meditating in the most challenging environment possible. As Ram said:

"The goal of meditation is to be at ease, relaxed and at peace with our surroundings. It is important to not resist the disturbing/distracting influence that comes in the way of your meditation practice (in your case traffic or the cold environment). So do not try to ignore the influence or to block it out, for if you try, you will only meet with stiffer resistance, ending in frustration. Instead, simply let it be (“thathaasthu” in Sanskrit) and continue with your meditation. Everything is a part of meditation, all the influences including the noise, the thoughts, the emotions, and the resistance from the mind. Treat everything that arises in meditation the same way—let it be and just be there!"

Choose Your Position

Typically people meditate in a seated position on the floor. That’s simply because an upright, unsupported position allows you quiet your mind without falling asleep. For those who can’t sit for long periods of time without major discomfort, reclining is also an option if you’re in the right environment. And, finally, for short meditations, you can even meditate standing up. Obviously your environment affects your position choice, as sometimes your options are limited.

Seated Positions. Our recommended positions for seated meditation are Seated Crossed Legs and Hero pose (although a few people are comfortable enough in Half Lotus or even Full Lotus to meditate in those poses). In his post Learning to Sit on the Floor, Baxter described how you can use props to get comfortable in these poses. 

Seated Crossed Legs Pose

Hero Pose

For people who just can’t get comfortable on the floor—or who can’t get up and down from the floor—sitting on a chair is always an option. But rather than leaning against the back of the chair and slumping, sit on the front edge of the chair with your feet flat on the floor (if you are short, you might need to put a prop under them or if your legs are long you might need to put some padding on the chair seat) and your spine in its natural curves and your head in line with your spine. Obviously someone with physical disabilities who is in a wheelchair can meditate in whatever position they are able to take, in whatever chair they happen to be.

Reclining Positions. In his post Starting a Meditation Practice, Timothy said, “Although it may not be ideal, for those who can't sit comfortably, it is possible to meditate lying down. Yes, there is a greater tendency to get sleepy or zone out while supine, but we should not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” And Baxter invites students with body pain that makes it very difficult for them to keep their meditation focus to lay in supported Savasana.

So if you really can’t get comfortable sitting down (or maybe you sit down all day for your work and just can’t take it any longer), try a supine position. Because you want to avoid falling asleep, I feel that the best recelining position to meditate in would be a supported form of Savasana where your head and heart are higher than your legs (as opposed to being flat on the floor or having your legs higher than your heart). This will keep you a tiny bit stimulated and might help prevent you from falling asleep. 

But, as always, make sure the position is comfortable for you. If a bolster is too high for you, you can try a blanket folded into a long, thin rectangle instead. 

If you are someone like me who doesn’t fall asleep during the day, you could try meditating in any reclined or even inverted position, such as Legs Up the Wall or Supported Bridge pose with straight legs, that you find comfortable, though these may only work for shorter meditations. 

Standing Positions. When I went to see the exhibit “Yoga: The Art of Transformation” at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, I was surprised to see statues of ancient yogis meditating in Mountain pose. It makes sense, if you think about it. After all, Buddhists meditate while walking, so standing up to meditate is also an option if you have nowhere to sit or would just like to try something different. It is probably difficult to stand up for long periods of time, so I imagine that for us normal mortals this position would only be effective for a short meditation.

Choose Your Focus

Different yogic traditions have different focuses and techniques for meditation. So if you are already practicing mediation or following a certain tradition, you can simply continue using whatever technique you’ve been taught. However, if you are new to meditation or want to change things up, here are some suggestions:

Breath. The breath is often recommended for beginners because it is always accessible and has no religious associations. You can focus on any aspect of your breath, including the sound of your breath, the feel of your breath moving in and out of your nostrils, or the way your inhalations and exhalations affect your body (such as the rise and fall of your belly or the movement of your breast bone). For beginners, Timothy recommends the So Ham technique (see Starting a Meditation Practice). But meditating on your breath doesn’t work some people, and if you’re ill or in pain, it be better for you to take your mind off your body. 

Mantras. Although there are traditional Sanskirt mantras used for meditation, you can use any word or phrase in any language that has a positive meaning for you as a mantra. Baxter reports that he’s used both the word “Om” as well as his grandmother’s name, Genevieve!

Images. There are two ways to use an image as your focus. First, you can open your your eyes and focus on an actual image before you, such as a candle flame or an artwork. The following image, as is the one at the beginning of the post, is from a beautiful book called Tantra Song that contains a collection of amazing 17th Century Tantric images from Rajasthan designed for meditating on,. My purpose in sharing these is to emphasize that your stereotypes of what an object of meditation should be may be limiting your alternatives.

You can also meditate on an image you picture in your mind, as the image of a person or a natural setting that has meaning to you.

Length of Time

If you’re just starting a meditation practice, don’t get caught up in how long to do a practice. The important thing is to start a new habit. As with all yoga practices, a little bit every day will bring greater benefits than longer sessions done intermittently. Baxter recommends keeping it simple and doable, with just 5 or 10 minutes at first. Timothy even says he’d recommend trying to stay for 3-5 minutes initially. Set a timer of some sort so you don’t have to have thoughts about worrying how long you’ve been meditating. As your habit becomes established, you can gradually work up to 20 minutes or longer daily.

How to Meditate

After you have chosen your location, position, and mental focus, and have set your timer, simply:

1. Commit to remaining still. 
2. Focus on your chosen object of meditation. When you realize your mind is wandering (and it will wander), notice the thoughts you were having and then, without judgment, gently guide your focus back to the object. In yogic meditation you are not trying to make your mind empty, but instead are learning how to concentrate your focus (see Samyama: The Trinity of Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi). With sustained attention, you may slip into a meditative state. But because our minds tend to wander—even for experienced meditators—there may not be much (or even any) actual meditation in any particular session.
3. Stop when your timer goes off. After your practice session, refrain from judging how well it went. Instead, simply continue with your day. 

If this practice is difficult for you, try not to get discouraged. In Is Meditation an Essential Part of Yoga Practice?, Timothy wrote:

"My mind was very busy when I began, and it was extremely difficult for me to keep my attention from flitting from idea to idea. And it was hard to find comfort sitting in one place, without frequent position adjustments and fidgeting. Many people who try to meditate get discouraged at this point and give up. That, I believe, is a mistake. As with a lot of other areas of yoga, hanging in when things are challenging, even discouraging, can bring rewards."

Now he says that meditation is the most delicious part of his practice. In the meantime, consider that Dr. Herbert Benson’s studies of the Relaxation Response, which he performed on people practicing mantra meditation, showed that even when practitioners didn’t feel they aren’t doing a “good job” of meditating, they still gained the physiological benefits of lower blood pressure, slower heart rate, fewer stress hormones, and so on. (see The Relaxation Response and Yoga).

Other Posts About Meditation

Friday Q&A: What is Meditation? by Baxter

Samyama: The Trinity of Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi by Ram

Achieving Stillness in Turbulent Situations by Ram

Is Meditation an Essential Part of Practicing Yoga? by Timothy

Starting a Meditation Practice by Timothy

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