Yoga is a deep mental and physical exercise that has immense potential. It is a form of body exercise that increases stamina and improves mental strength. The exercises are meant to control the mind, body, and soul and bring them in unison. It is the best form of exercise that relieves stress and tiredness from your whole system.
How does yoga help prepare the mind for meditation?
Yoga and meditation are correlated in many terms and it brings an integral connection between all the three realms of our body- mental, physical, and spiritual. There are positive effects on the brain and other parts of the body when yoga and meditation are found to coexist. It helps to open the hearts of the performer and allows the whole energy to flow in an upward direction. This upward direction means that there are higher chakras and consciousness that entail it.
Yoga techniques are useful in preparing the mind for meditation by realizing some energy flow. The basic techniques that are part of the yoga asanas help to energize the higher chakras and thus improve the intellect.
There are certain benefits yoga gives as a route to meditation:
- It helps to master your mind and brings self-consciousness. Thus uniting the body and the mind to do the meditative exercises.
- The body learns self-discipline when there is a yearning to do meditation along with yoga. This promotes control of the wandering mind when the body focuses on yoga postures without disturbance.
- It improves mood as the asanas are a good source of energy consumption. And happy hormones are released inside the body. The body learns self-analysis and deals with all five senses of the body in one go.
- It sharpens brain functioning as the brain learns to focus. The mind learns to meditate in an impactful way and prolongs the concentration power on any thought.
- It reduces anxiety as breathing techniques calm your body’s functioning and bring ample oxygen to the brain. It increases tolerance and helps to attain harmony between body, mind, and soul.
- It increases mindfulness as breathing techniques empower you to learn and practice meditation in a meaningful and undisturbed way.
- It controls breathing and enhances your ability to deal with outside burdens easily. It is difficult to sit in one pose for a prolonged time but it teaches the brain to find the state of stillness inside. In other words, it helps to teach discipline to control your feelings and train your mind.
What are some yoga poses and sequences that can help prepare the body and mind for meditation?
It is a well-known fact that meditation is the second step when one has mastered yoga techniques. Although meditation requires very little movement physically and psychologically, it needs superior training to practice meditation at high levels. The yogis have learned the way of meditation through many years of experience and practice. Also, a comfortable yoga pose is vital in getting a proper meditation experience. So, make sure that you sit in a simple and comfortable yoga pose for meditation purposes that is not creating any distraction itself.
There are some yoga poses and sequences that will create a sense of awareness about initiating meditation exercises. They help the body in releasing tension and make it at ease to perform meditating poses.
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Wide legged Child pose
It is the first and the easiest yoga pose to increase your stamina for meditation. Comfort is the first and most important thing in practicing meditation and an elongated spine is the second most important one. So, when the seated position is maintained for a long duration, the entire weight of the backrests on the spine is. On the yoga mat, let the body kneel down on the ground and stretch the upper body in the front with the hands flattened in front of the body. The child pose stretches the upper back and also stretches the arms, and further expands the spinal cord.
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Yogi squat
The yogi squat also called as primal squat initiates the hip opening. It is a yoga pose that determines the age of your knees and legs. An average person spends his entire time in a chair and experiences stiffness and knee pain throughout his life. But performing this yoga pose will allow your body to deep stretch the hips and the legs and also get set the body for meditation.
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Wide-legged forward fold
This yoga pose is a calming pose that stretches the hamstrings and your backbone. It is performed by stretching the legs wide apart and bending the body in the forward direction. It is a great pose that prepares for meditation as it quiets and soothes your nervous system. It also prepares the body for introspection. The body is relieved from neck and shoulder tension and looks forward to lengthier sitting poses.
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Spinal twist
It is another good pose that is practiced before starting to meditate as it has the capability to clear your mind. It contributes to increasing the spinal fluid and thus helps in meditation exercises. The body is laid down on a yoga mat and the left leg is folded and lifted to the right side so that your spine shows a twisted position. Hence, the spinal twist increases the flexible nature of the back, ribs, and hips. It thus detoxifies the organs and calms down the sympathetic nervous system.
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Reclined butterfly pose
It is a perfect pose to open hips and thighs to a greater extent. The flexibility of your inner thighs is to the test with this yoga pose that stimulates the heart and relieves the mind of stress and depression.
Conclusion
Yoga and meditation rejuvenate our body and brain. So, practice the yoga postures to prepare the body to start meditation. It will elevate the awareness sense in the body.
