Blog number seven in the 8 Limbs of Yoga is here!
If you feel like this blog is a bit late, well you aren't wrong. Last week, between my full-time job, family stuff, and a much needed weekend trip, the blog had to take a backseat. But, we are back now and I really appreciate your patience.
This week's post explore Dhyana - a sense of contemplation and meditation.
As you may recall, the 6th Limb - Dharana - is like a "pre-meditation", in the sense that you have now learned how to zoom in on your meditative object or thought, and Dhyana is where you are actually in the process of meditating on said object or thought.
In Dhyana the meditator isn't focusing on the actual object or thought itself anymore, but is simply aware of only their own existence and the most basic existence of the object. During the process of Dhyana, one's self-awareness is awakened, and then, one can continue their journey into Samadhi (the 8th Limb).
Another key differences between Dharana and Dhyana is that Dharana consists of shorter moments or bursts of concentration, whereas Dhyana is held for a longer, continuous period of time.
Even if the path to Samadhi isn't in your personal journey, Dhyana and meditation have been shown, in a variety of studies over multiple decades, to reduce stress levels. Stress, when left unchecked, can lead to severe health issues, such as high blood pressure, obesity, headaches, chest pain, sleep disturbances, and heart disease. Stress can also exacerbate other medical conditions one may have.
The process in which to enter Dhyana is very similar to Dharana, but for an extended period of time, so you want to start out the same - by finding a comfortable sitting position in a safe, calm location. Find your focal point, whether that be a physical object or specific thought, and then begin to streamline your focus to that point. Start out with smaller time goals, maybe 3 to 5 minutes, and then increase as you master the prior timeline.
Next week will be our last post in this 8 Limbs of Yoga series, where we will discuss the end goal of Samadhi.
See you then!
- Charlene 🧡
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