Meditation is a systematic method of connecting the self-consciousness to the supreme consciousness .It’s a science that you have to follow and practice regularly to achieve best results.
One basic way to start this off would be to sit in a relaxed and comfortable position, without any physical botheration. The next step would be to control and relax your breath. Both your body and breath are integral to successful meditation. The third stage would be to control the brain, to do which you’d need a controlled body and breath- thus making it a cycle of basic needs!
The process of successful meditation is 4 fold:
RELAX THE BODY: For achieving the calm of mind, it is essential for your body and breath to feel so. So, start off with a simple Shavasana. This will not only help you increase body awareness, but also bring the chaos of your mind to a near still. Once you are aware of each part of your body, it will be easy to shift focus on the mind and reign it for meditation.
COMFORT: For you to achieve the perfect meditative state, it is essential to keep your body in a comfortable stance. The posture you hold should not affect or distract your body or breath. There are a few asanas in Hatha Yoga that would help you do so.
During these asanas, ensure your spine is erect by aligning your back, neck and trunk in a straight line. This facilitates better energy flow. You could always use chairs, cushions etc. to achieve this.
RELAX THE BREATH: After aligning the body, it is time to work on the breath. Irregular or haphazard breathing is bound to distract you- something that you do not need while meditating. Thus it is integral to breathe in a controlled, yet comfortable manner.
Start this off by observing your breath for 5 to 10 minutes. This will calm your mind as well. Slowly, you will observe it shifts from its regular pattern to a smoother, soundless trail of breath- an aspect that is also working on calming the body now!
OBSERVE THE BREATH: After you have observed your breath for 10 minutes, it is time to notch it up!
Nostrils play a very important role in meditation and yoga. The right and left nostrils are considered to be the Eda and Pinga (Sun and Moon Nadi)- two of the most important elements in achieving complete heightened consciousness.
The first step towards this would be to inhale from the left and exhale from right, thus shifting awareness. Do not block your nostrils as in pranayama. This is called NadiSodhan. Once you are done with 5-10 minutes of this, shift to pranayama with the same observation technique. You’d soon notice the change in your mind patterns. A compelling practice of NadiShodhan and Nadhan Pranayama will be the final stage towards a controlled flow of thought and consciousness!