Simple meditation techniques for profound changes in you.

Swami Satyananda Saraswati revolutionised yoga by making it simple, practical and scientific.

Here are some very simple meditation techniques that can be found in the numerous books he has written, like, Meditations from the Tantras, Yoga & Kriya, Sure Ways to Self-Realisation, Kundalini Tantra, ( all published by Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar).
The wonderful part is, you can devise and evolve your own techniques with a little bit of imagination & inventiveness. Moreover, you need very short time slots and can be done almost anywhere.

Before we go on to the techniques, just some hints on preparation, posture, etc.
Meditation can be done in any of the classic yogic poses, padma asana, sukhasana, vajra asana. But those who are not able to sit in these poses, they can sit in a chair, or even lie down in shavasana. What is important is that you are comfortable, relaxed and your spine and head are in a straight line. 

Breath awareness techniques:
1. Sitting quietly with eyes closed, merely watch each and every inhalation & exhalation. Observe the rhythm of your breath, is it wet or dry, fast or slow, soft or sharp, equal in both nostril or one is more open than the other. Is watching it bringing about change? If your mind wonders off, bring it back to the watching. You can do this anytime, anywhere for 10 to 20 breaths or for 3-5 minutes.
2. With eyes closed, watch every inhalation and exhalation at the nose tip. Apply same parameters like above to observe the breath at the nose tip. Do it for 3-5 minutes or 10 to 30 breaths.
3. With eyes closed, watch the passage of breath in your body from nose tip to lungs and lungs to nose tip as you inhale and exhale. Maybe read up on how every breath passes through the nostril to the lungs. For example, how the respiratory tract cleans, warms and moistens the air . From the nose to the nasal cavity, pharynx (throat), larynx, the upper part of the trachea (windpipe), lower part of the trachea, bronchi and the lungs ( which contains bronchioles and alveoli).


Body Awareness:
1. Eyes closed, become aware of your whole body from head to feet. Then systematically starting from the top of your head come down in slow deliberate steps to the different parts of the body to the tip of the the toes, at each part of the body become aware of that part and relax it. For example, start from  top of the head and then descend to scalp, forehead, both eyes, nostrils, cheeks, jaws, throat, shoulders, both arms, chest, stomach, hip, both legs. 
2. Chose any part of the body and internally with eyes closed examine it in detail. For example, the palm of your right hand. The colour texture of the skin of the inside of the palm, the lines on it, the skin on the outside of the palm, the shape of fingers and nail, the structure of the bones holding the palm together. Then shift to the left palm. 
3. You may look at your digestive system, the excretory system, the liver, heart, etc etc.

Visualization:
This is very important part of meditation as it also helps in all other techniques because most techniques involve keeping eyes closed. This is also fun practice.
1. With eyes closed try to visualise the most beautiful place you visited lately or any scene. Then recall each detail. For example, if you were on a beach at sunset, then visualise the the sun, the changing colour of the sun, the sky and the sea, as the sun went down, waves, the beach, the people on the beach, the sound of the waves, the sound of people, etc etc.
2. A book you have read. Try to recall what you have read with complete picturization  and every emotion and feeling the book evoked. Recall some profound sentences or aspects of the book and mull over it.
3.With eyes closed try to relive the happiest moment of your life or the most painful. Again evoking all the emotions, feelings, sensations, etc felt then.

Mantra chanting ( Jaap):
1. The simplest of mantra chanting or jaap is Om chanting. It can be synchronized with the breath in different ways, like, taking a deep inhale, then as you exhale, internally or audibly chant Om ( A-A-U-U-M-M). Or with every inhale and exhale Om.
2. Another simple mantra is So Hum. With every inhale, internally, mentally say the mantra So and as you exhale, the mantra Hum. 
OR one may chose any mantra from your religion like, Amen, Amin or Buddhist mantras.

These are all simple meditation techniques for which not much preparation or slots of free time is needed. In the daily rush of your work-a-day life you can practice these when commuting, taking short break in work, etc.

Kundalini Yoga: Latent Explosive Energy Within

Kundalini Yoga Kundalini simply means, kund (depth ) and alini (awakending/energy). It means the vast resource of energy within all of us lying deep within waiting to be awakened. In this age of science and rational thinking the intuitive knowledge of the universe within and without us is not for all to fathom and understand. The only thing any lay person will know about Kundalini yoga is the fallacious concept that it is to awaken the sexual prowess. In the age of branding and marketing it was promoted as such. Therefore, it got shrouded in mystery, awe and even fear and infamy. This is sad, because kundalini could be panacea for the ills of modern life which has put tremendous pressure on every inidivudal’s resource of every kind of energy, physical, mental and emotional. What is more, like everything in yoga, while giving you health, vigour and energy, it brings about a poise and balance in personality thereby veering you to live a wholesome life of peace, happiness amidst achievement. Seems like utopia , but for such a rewarding possibility the path though fun demands dedication and honesty of purpose. No quick fix, pop-a-pill methods here. There are and have been several examples of great men amidst us whose, one can say, kundalini was awakened. Gandhiji, Einstein are examples of people from everyday life. Gandhiji, who took diksha from Paramhansa Yogananda in Yoga Kriya in Wardha in 1935, was an example of an awakened soul. He commanded great power but shunned personal power, his energy confounded people, his mental prowess are legendary and his charisma spellbinding. These are the things that touch your life when your kundalini is aroused.  There are many ways to awaken the kundalini, the sexual path is just one of them. The many ways are, Hatha yoga, Raja yoga, Bhakti yoga, gyan yoga and the path of tantra. Kundalini means 'the Rising' in the language of modern science and refers to the activation of the vast dormant areas of the brain and thus the awakening of the great human potency. The neurological capacity of the human being is incalculable. According to recent findings each individual possesses around 10 billion brain cells, a single brain cell may be in contact with 25000 others giving rise to an astronomical number of associations. Each second the brain receives approximately 100 billion sensations and sends 5000 signals per second. In contrast to these vast potentialities, we are aware of only one millionth of our own cortical signalling. Vast areas of the brain remain wasted assets. With kundalini the awakening of these areas results in their complete activation allowing us to begin to communicate with and enjoy our own         higher consciousness. Care must be taken while treading this path of a seeker as when the Shakti climbs up the different chakras it is in a wild state and it can encounter the demonic aspects of consciousness. There is a concentration of energy, which needs to break through something which exists like a wall. In this way the Shakti which identifies with the pure nature has to smash through many different barriers in the process of her descent to the earthly plane. For all practises in yoga, the underlying and ultimate goal is self realisation or realising the supreme conscious state.  W hen this  goal is waylaid in the process of experiencing heady powers, then the goal is not only not reached, but the practitioner finally pays dearly. The spiritual arena is full of such examples of lives getting singed with their own prowess. This energy is confined to different chakras. A chakra is best described as a switch which turns on or opens up specific energy points of mind and body. Unlike other body organs they do not have a physical or gross existence. Therefore they cannot be located in a body on dissection. They are subtle pranic energy points. The only way to know their existence is to experience their presence through practise of kriya yoga or kundalini yoga. When a devoted practitioner under the guidance of a competent guru practices the awakening or switching on of these various chakras will experience the enormous change in the energy levels and experience harmony, peace, love and bliss. The word chakra literally means wheel, but in a yogic context the chakras are vortices of pranic energy at specific areas in the body which control the circulation of prana. On a physical level, chakras are associated with the major nerve plexuses and endocrine glands in the body. In most people these psychic centres lie dormant and inactive. Concernration on the chakras while performing yogic practices stimulates the flow of energy through the chakras and helps to activate them. This in turn awakens the dormant areas in the brain and the corresponding faculties in the psychic and mental bodies allowing one to experience higher planes of consciousness. There are seven major chakras located along the sushumna which flows through the centre of the spinal cord. Sushumna originates at the perineum and terminates at the top of the head. The chakras themselves are connected to a network of psychic channels called nadis. The chakras are usually depicted symbolically as lotus flowers each having a particular number of petals and a characteristic colour. The lotus symbolizes the 3 stages an aspirant must pass through in spiritual life; namely ignorance, aspiration and illumination.The petals of the lotus inscribed with the beej mantras represent the different manifestations of psychic energy connected with the chakras and the nadis or psychic channels. Within each chakra is a yantra comprised of the geometrical symbol of its associated element. Along with the yantra is a beej mantra. There is also a presiding deity along with the corresponding vahana which is an animal form. In rational, medical terms, each chakra is associated with the following : Mooladhara and Swadhishtan: Testosterone/ progesterone Manipur: Adrenal glands Anahata: Thymus gland Vishuddhi: Thyroid glands Ajna and sahasrara: Pitutury/pineal gland. The practice involves focussing one’s awareness on each of these chakras with their bij mantras and mentally visualising their symbolic representation. Therefore, Kundalini yoga or kriya yoga is a beautiful solution to the pressures of time and energy put on people today. The common refrain that one does not have the time to     practise yoga is fallacious. On the contrary the release of energy and elimination of stress adds more hours of fruitful work to your day thus making available that one hour for yoga. Finally, for those who want to release explosive energy, experience bliss, elevate their existence from the gross to subtle and know universal love, then kundalini yoga is the path of fun and discovery of a new you within you. Second Kundalini Workshop in Mumbai The fourth Kundalini workshopAdd caption The first Residential Kundalini Camp at Vapi, Gurjarat.