Is Yoga a Form of Meditation?

Some of those who are familiar with yoga and meditation may have wondered whether yoga is also a form of meditation. You may just think of yoga as people on mats doing weird positions to increase flexibility. It is really much more than that. Johns Hopkins University has said how yoga is great for many things including stress, flexibility, pain relief, and strength. The west has focused more on the physical aspect of yoga training, but historically it was also a spiritual practice. It originated in India over 5000 years ago and became part of both Hinduism and Buddhism. Another major element to eastern religion is meditation. Meditation and yoga formed hand in hand and actually blended together.

Yoga certainly appears to also be a form of meditation, seeing as it emphasizes a focus on your breath, body, and the present moment. For some, the implementation of bodily movements from yoga may even help them to reach a deeper meditative state because there is more involvement and focus which deters the mind from wandering, which is a common issue with standard meditation.

What Is Meditation?

The word meditation is derived from the Latin word “meditari” which means “to ponder”, “to exercise the mind” or “to concentrate”. Although meditation has many forms, the most popular one is a practice of focusing one’s awareness on a single point of reference, such as the breath, a mantra, one’s body, or a concept. There is also mindfulness meditation which involves being aware of your surroundings and senses while being fixed on the present moment. Meditation is used for a variety of purposes, including relaxation, pain reduction, stress management, clearing the mind, improving concentration, and enhancing overall health.

How Yoga Can Be a Meditation

Yoga is an exercise in which you can get into a “meditative state” by breathing deeply, stretching, and calming the mind. Yoga is an excellent way to bring up your energies and in turn, your spirits. Yoga is an exercise and a practice that can be used to help you prepare yourself for meditation. If you’re not quite ready to sit down for a meditation, you can use yoga to help you get into a meditative state.

Yoga can also be used as a meditation in and of itself. If you have practiced mindfulness meditation, you know that you can be mindful while walking, eating, listening to music, etc. You don’t have to be sitting down with your eyes closed to do it. Yoga is commonly performed in relaxing environments or outside in nature. This is because yoga has a mental aspect as well of relaxation and connectedness with nature. Many poses are named after animals or have to do with things in nature. You are focused on how your body moves and controlling your breathing throughout. Yoga allows you to be fully present and escape from what is going on around you and regain control of your body and emotions.

Some Ideas to Get Started

If you want to make yoga more than just a stretching routine, there are a few things you can do to make it a meditation for you:

1. Set the environment: Part of real yoga is having an orderly and relaxed environment to do it in. Try having a very clean and orderly room or finding a place in nature to do your yoga practice. This gets you ready for a more meditative state.
2. Utilize phrases or mantras: Try to focus on a phrase that you want to manifest in your life and meditate on that. Make that intention the focus of your thoughts during the yoga.
3. Control your breathing: Make sure you are breathing deeply when you are going into the yoga poses and focusing on your breathing throughout.
4. Eliminate distractions: Have the phone on silent. Keep distracting people away. Do it in the morning before people wake up. Whatever works for you but allow yourself to be fully focused on your yoga meditation.

So is yoga a form of meditation? It certainly can be and was meant to be. You just have to make sure you are doing the right things physically and mentally to make it one. So take your yoga practice to the next level and try implementing meditative techniques to enjoy not only the physical, but the mental benefits as well.