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Ease Your Way Into Yoga and Meditation
by Dada Vedaprajinananda copyright, 2005
Many people buy books on yoga and meditation, but never get into the
regular practice of these methods. It is not only true for yoga, there
must be millions of self-help and self-instruction manuals of all types
gathering dust on shelves around the world. So if you are in this
position, don’t feel bad, you are not alone!
But it is not enough to feel content knowing that others, like you, are
also hesitating in doing things that will improve their lives. It is
possible to break out of the procrastination phase and actually start
doing something. It is all a question of attitude and approach.
What should be our attitude? We should remember the words of a Chinese
sage who said that “the journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.”
Instead of thinking how hard it will be to reach the end of the journey,
start with the single step. And keep taking those single steps until you
arrive at your destination.
Remember the old fable of the tortoise and the hare? The hare got off to a
quick start in a race with the slow moving tortoise, but he lost his sense
of urgency and, after a while, went to sleep. The tortoise just plodded
along until he reached the finish line and was the unexpected victor in
the race.
I have seen some yoga students get off to a quick start and they began by
practicing everything for a while and then lose interest and fade away
like the sleeping hare. The best students are those who start off slowly
but keep continuing for a long time.
So what does this mean for you? Open your instruction book, whether it is
for yoga or for language learning or anything else that will improve your
life, and commit yourself to a few minutes of reading and practice each
day.
In the case of yoga, do one exercise. It will take only a few minutes. You
can surely do it. For meditation, sit for a few minutes in silence, and
don’t worry about the results. Once you do it for a few days, gradually
add a bit more. Do another yoga exercise and extend the time of your
meditation to a few more minutes.
For meditation, it is best to build up to 30 minutes per session. 30
minutes? Yes, 30 minutes, because the longer you sit the deeper you will
go. But if you are not ready don’t try to sit for 30 minutes right from
the start. Do a few minutes but do it regularly and extend the time
gradually.
So, your attitude should be to take everything one step at a time and to
start practicing, today itself, keep practicing and keep adding a bit to
the practice on a day-by-day basis. Continue in this slow but steady pace,
and you will, like the tortoise, win the race.
Dada Vedaprajinananda has been practicing and teaching yoga for the past
35 years. He has taught around the world, is the author of “The Wisdom of
Yoga”, “Yoga Weight Loss Secrets” and numerous magazine articles. You can
read more of his articles at his website: http://www.YogaWeightLossSecrets.com
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