I’ve always known that a calm state of mind is good for you, but after having completed a 5-day advanced meditation course, I actually experienced it – for the first time in my life. I felt the energy pulsate around my body when I wasn’t caught up in the whirlwind of my thoughts, that inner silence brought out a physical vibrancy, you could see it on my face. You know, after you come back from a restful vacation (might have to stretch you memory to pre-2019 here), you come back glowing, happy, serene. That’s exactly what the Sayam meditation course taught me how to emulate from home, every single day, wouldn’t you want to be able to control your own peace of mind?
Based on the Patanjali Yoga Sutras the wisdom was deep and timeless, this knowledge dates back thousands of years (400 CE) but how is it still relevant to modern day? Advancements may have come in the form of technology, material comforts, automation- but the principles of the mind remain untouched by time.
It echoed the vastness of yoga, not merely just postures and stretching (asana), but as a way of living, abiding to a social code of conduct (yamas) personal ethics (niyamas) wherein you gain purity and integrity in your mental, physical and emotional dimensions. It brought together how movement in the body activates energy and this can be channeled through breathwork (pranayama) which lends itself to becoming mindful (pratyahara), to a specific location (dharana) with gentle attention (dyana) to experience a state of pure consciousness (samadhi).
Before you write this off as being ‘too spiritual’ let’s discuss some real life examples. Have you ever felt like you’re living in your head? From one desire to the next, chasing some elusive sense of fulfilment? Just before the course I had gotten into a heated argument with a dear friend, I felt like she didn’t understand me, that she was trying to prove she was always better than me, speak over me about all her success and I didn’t feel good enough in her company. The more I entertained these thoughts the more they would spew out of control, from feeling insecure about myself to projecting she was plotting against me. Has this ever happened to you? With a family member, partner, or a colleague at work perhaps?
During the course I realised, it was all in MY head, that I was giving permission for my mind to entertain these thoughts and this was adding fuel to the fire, making me even even worse about myself and utterly powerless by fating my state of contentment to someone else’s actions without them knowing it. How absurd is that? But, don’t we do this all the time? We blame or judge other people’s actions and stake our own peace of mind in the process. It’s like having a bag of precious jewels and putting it in some random persons bag and freaking out about not having the jewels with you! Isn’t our peace of mind so precious, it literally determines how we experience the whole world, and tying your own tranquility to what happens around you, which is totally out of your control, pretty much forgoes any inner harmony. So what do we do about this? How do we regain our sense of control over our own peace of mind?
This my friend, is the power of meditation, the process helps us discern who we really are so we don’t get caught up thinking we are damaged if our body/finances/social standing isn’t perfect, this is where the cycle of misery starts. When we can go beyond the body, we realise how boundless our energy really is, our perception changes when we no longer run after the every sensory stimulation as a way to feel alive, if happiness really comes from our sense pleasures then why would we ever have enough chocolate, music, sex, movies, perfume- there comes a point where we feel fried if we keep stimulating externally and long for some quiet to go within. It’s this drawing inward that the real satisfaction is derived, think about it, the warmest of hugs, the most delicious bite of cake, the most stunning of sunrises, what do you do when you take it in? There’s a moment when the mind stops it’s inner chatter and simply savours the joy, right? This is why in Vedic wisdom it is said to really experience bliss connect to the Self rather than the senses, in order to do this, we need to relax and calm down, it’s the rushed mind that keeps us hurriedly distracted from thoughts to emotions to physical experiences moving away from that peaceful state of mind.
To really embody this wisdom, it’s requires practice, not just intellectually understanding it, but coming back to embodiment of it each day. I have committed that each morning will be centred around a simple 20 minute self practice that I teach you how to structure in the online course, followed by calming breathing techniques and a guided meditation. It’s honestly the best way to welcome each day as you set your vibration high and clear your mind of any negative impressions. If you’re overwhelmed and don think you don’t have a say over how you feel, I challenge you to join me and notice how the amazing changes in just 3 weeks!
