FALL INTO DHYANA

You have probably heard the word Dhyana. When I was young, I had a habit of dropping things a lot and my mother would say, “do it with Dhyana” which is equivalent to saying, "pay attention". I have been using this word with my own children as well. Although they speak very little Hindi, they do understand some important instructional words including Dhyana. This week, as I did my weekly yoga class with my 16year old son, I decided to talk about Dhyana with him which is an integral part of yoga philosophy.

When I was completing my yoga teacher training about 12 years ago and studied the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali, I realized that this beautiful word, Dhyana is actually the 7th limb of the 8 limb system of Yoga explained by Rishi Patanjali. Dharana comes before Dhyana and means focusing on an object. The sustained focus for a long time is Dhyana or meditation. Maharishi Patanjali offered a systematic and meticulous way for the physical body to reach Dharana and Dhyana. He suggested that we start with the moral and ethical principles of yamas and niyamas. Then comes the asana and pranayama practice to strengthen the body followed by pratyahara which means focusing inward. Pratyahara, the fifth limb acts as a bridge between the externally focused activities of the first four limbs and the internal energy of the last three. Preparing the body and mind in this systematic and methodical way takes one to the doorway of the final and the eighth limb, Samadhi.

Yoga is such a beautiful, well-organized, and very well explained Science of bringing our body, breath, and mind together. I try to follow and reflect that not only in my daily personal practice but also in my teaching style. Please join me for a mindful asana practice whenever you can and Fall into Dhyana! 

Ritu Kapur is an Occupational Therapist and a yoga teacher. She has been teaching yoga to people of all ages and abilities for over 12 years. She is currently offering 7 classes online every week. Join her for a 5-week course this fall about creating a personal yoga practice. Connect with Ritu via www.SOHUM.org. Email her for the zoom link at Ritu.Kapur@Sohum.org

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