"Dharana", the sanskrit word for “concentration” is the sixth limb of the eight limbs of yoga. Once the mind is focused you can meditate, which is “dhyana” the seventh limb. Then comes “samadhi”, or “enlightenment”, the eighth limb. These three final limbs can also be thought of as “focus, flow, and let go”. (I think I first heard that from my teacher Sudhir Jonathan Foust). ⠀
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For there to be freedom in the mind there must first be focus. We can find that focus through mantra meditation.⠀
As I mentioned last week 98% of our thoughts are the same thoughts we thought yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that! Mantra meditation is a great way to insert a new thought into your daily thought carousel, and a great way to focus the mind for meditation.⠀
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So far I’ve shared the mantra “my roots run deep into the center of the living earth” and I will continue to share more. You also can make up your own phrase or just choose a word.
Some to get you started:
OM
I am that I am
I am enough
I am where I am meant to be
Peace
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In meditation you can choose many things to focus on: breath, sound, sensation, etc… no matter what you choose to focus on all you have to do is come back to your point of focus every time you realize you have wandered off into some fantasy or a rabbit hole of thoughts. In this case you will come back to your mantra. ⠀
You can repeat the mantra in your mind until you feel you’ve “dropped in” to a flow state and are ready to let go of it. You could also begin by repeating it out loud, then whisper it, then just repeat it in your head. ⠀
Try it out and see how it goes!⠀
Happy mantra-ing! ⠀