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Part 1: The Body as a Foundation for Meditation Hari Om, good morning. We have now started our program. As you see in yoga, everything is flexible. We start without expectation, with nice music. Music is also excellent for meditation; everything that calms our mind is excellent for meditation. Now we will start with the second part: our body. Why is our body so important for meditation? We will see that if our mind is restless, our body is also restless. Often, I explain with this feeling: you know, when you try to boil water, you take a pot half full of water and put it on the fire. When the water starts to boil, you see bubbles inside. Those bubbles, if the pot is not stable, make it start to move; you will hear it, and the whole pot will dance. It is the same thing. If in our mind there are these bubbles and waves—what does citta-vṛtti mean? Vṛtti is movements, and citta is our consciousness. If we have so many thoughts in the head, all the time running, running, like a little animal, a hamster in the wheel running all night—and we have not only one but a couple of these hamsters in the head—then our mind is citta-vṛtti, moving, and our body will start to move. Yes? When we have in the mind all the time this running and movement, our body also starts to move. You know, texting, changing the program on the TV, but always moving the body. When our mind is restless, our body is also restless. It is very hard to deal with the mind. If we try to stop our mind, okay, maybe we will have a chance to have a calm mind for a few minutes or seconds, but after that, it will be like a volcano, erupting everything. But if we want to calm our mind—because Yogaḥ Citta Vṛtti Nirodhaḥ, which means in Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra that yoga, that union, ātmā (our self) with parātmā (the cosmic self)—it is that union. It starts when we calm down this citta-vṛtti, these thought waves. In the end, when we stop our thoughts—not our thoughts, but these waves on the surface of the lake or the sea—in that moment, we are able to see what is down on the bottom. We want to see what is inside, deep, deep down at our bottom. When we see inside, deep down, we will see that our ātmā, our self, is the same as Paramātmā, the absolute cosmic self. That is what yoga means. We will get a calm, relaxed life without nonsense in the head and without this stress and anxiety that our thoughts make. In Croatia, there is one sentence. When you are late at home, late in the evening, and your wife or mother is waiting for you, they say in Croatia, "It will be very, very bad," meaning what your mother thinks happens to you, happens. A mother always thinks, "Oh, you had an accident, somebody attacked you," something like this. And it will be excellent that it happened, what your wife thinks that is. Your wife always thinks, "Oh, somewhere he is drinking, he is in good society, not good society, bad society, but he is having a good time." All the time, our mind is making problems for us. How do we calm our mind? First, because calming the mind is very hard, but we can do it through prāṇa and through movements. Through prāṇa is also not so easy. The easiest way is to start with the movements. Stretch our body, relax our body, and through our body, if we work, we will make good circulation. We will do good for our glands, for everything, but we will have excellent results with calming our mind. Today we will start with āsanas. We will practice a few āsanas which are excellent for calming our mind and preparing body and mind for meditation. But if you are now calm because you were listening to nice music—and also, that music makes your mind become calm—that is good. But if you have a very hard day, a lot of stress, and your mind is really like an ocean with big, big waves, if you try to sit, if you try to listen to nice music or something like that, maybe you will become more tense, more tense. What is good in that moment? Make a few āsanas, walk, something like this. And after that, sit and make prāṇāyāma. First, be aware of our breathing process. And after that, make a few āsanas and meditate. Why is it important to be aware of our breathing during the āsanas, during the prāṇāyāma, and during the meditation? Because when you practice āsanas or yoga nidrā, you always hear from your yoga teacher, "Be aware of your breathing process. Do not influence your breathing, but just be aware of your breathing process." Why? Because maybe the yoga teacher doesn’t know what to tell you, so "be aware of your breathing process"? No, it is a very scientific, please, scientific, scientific, yes, very scientific. And also Swāmījī often said that yoga and daily life are very scientific methods. Why? Because everything we do has an answer: why are we doing this? You know when a small child has a very high temperature, a high body temperature. In one moment, they start to shake, convulse, and shake their whole body like epilepsy. You know this, yes. It means that it has a very, very high temperature, 42, 42 degrees Celsius. But why does the body start to shake with the high temperature? You must know something about the brain. Where is the center of body temperature? Near that center is also a center for movements. When this center for temperature is working hard and has a lot of impulse, a lot of chemistry in that part, it also influences the other center, which is very near to that. Near the center of temperature is the center for movement. Because of that, convulsions start. Same thing. When we are aware of our breathing process—because breathing has two parts in the brain which are connected with the breathing. One part is for automatic breathing, which is in the small brain. And second, when you are aware of breathing, you are not influenced by breathing, but you are just aware that your inhalation and exhalation is in the cortex of the big brain. Near that center is another center which is in charge of relaxation. Immediately when we are aware of the breathing process, we influence the other part, which is the limbic system. And also, we influence the other center, which is very near to the center of this other awareness of breathing. Because of that, immediately after a few seconds, okay, a few minutes, if you are just aware of your breathing, you will become more and more relaxed. Especially if you have an emotional wave, if this emotional wave is too high. In that moment, automatically, everybody who doesn’t know yoga or anything will say, "Breathe, just relax, just breathe, breathe, be aware of your breathing." Immediately, you will tell your friends if you feel that you have some emotional release at the stomatologist, dentist, or during the massage where there is some very painful part. "Breathe, breathe." And now we will start with a few āsanas. You are already relaxed in Ānanda Āsana. But we will start now with a few very, very easy āsanas. It is very easy in the picture, but when we start to practice, we will see if it is easy or not. Just sit in Daṇḍāsana, and after that we will relax. Now we will start with the head. Now it is winter time; it is not time for the beach. In this position, just sit straight. Daṇḍa, it is a stick. Now we will feel that our muscles are too short. Because of that, we are in this position. Slowly, slowly, with the practicing, we will stretch these muscles, and we will be able to sit in this position. We will start with the head. Imagine that somebody is pulling your head up. Also, the chin is not going up. If your chin is going up, your neck will be in the wrong position. And if your neck is in the wrong position—I need my mobile phone. Who said that mobile phones are not good? If the chin is not in a good position, you will have the neck in this way. What will influence this part of the neck? Very often, people have a problem, and also you will be in kyphosis. Imagine something like this, and we will practice not like this. Immediately, we will feel a place between the shoulder blades, and it’s working against this kevalam. And after that, exhale a few times. After that, we will go ear to the shoulders. Together we will practice. I just—but all the time, imagine that somebody is pulling you up, but not pulling like this, like here, where is the end of these muscles. Purījī, Purījī... Prāṇa slowly, not too slowly. If you are practicing too slowly, you will also become nervous. In the beginning, middle, and after that, slower and slower, and you will feel immediately with the breathing that you are going, calming down. And also, if you practice slowly, it is harder for your muscles. You will see. Okay. And also, when you rotate it with the head, do not rotate something like this. Immediately, I have a dizzy feeling, like I drank something. And also, I hear a lot of noise. Do you hear it? But imagine that you have this colon, like after a car accident. First, ear to the shoulders, back, inhale, ear to the shoulders, and chin to the chest. Okay, now we will start. Imagine pulling up, pulling up a few centimeters. You are bigger now. Now inhale, and exhale, ear to the shoulders. Inhale slowly. Together we will practice, and exhale on the other side, only through the nose. Inhale, exhale. And now, in the middle, imagine that you have something, not necessarily a mobile phone. Inhale, back, and now exhale. Two, inhale, exhale. Three, exhale through the nose, and also exhale through the nose, without sound. And five, inhale and exhale. And now we will rotate it left, inhale through the nose, and one more. Try not to go with the chin to the shoulder, but with the ear to the shoulder. When we are in distress, we will feel that our palms are cold and wet, and also our feet. And now we will start with the toes, just scrunch and stretch. And now, try not only this, but try to separate each finger. Yes, it’s very important, each finger. Toes, no, fingers here, toes. Part 2: The Science of Awareness in Yoga Practice And as you do this, you will feel all these muscles. Yes, do you feel? Toes four and five. Just the toes, not the foot. And now back. Two, three, four, and five. Now slowly rotate, only with the foot. But if you make these movements, it is like when it is a rainy day and you turn the key in your car, and nothing happens. Slowly. Keep your legs completely still. Only the ankle joint initiates the movement. Slowly. We have time for the other side. For each of these movements, we would need thirty to forty minutes to explain the 'why'. For now, we will simply practice. If you place your palms here underneath—not on the calf muscles but on the upper part, the shin—you will feel many muscles, yes? Now, try to feel what is happening. Do you feel the circulation? If you say, "I don't feel anything," you do feel, but it is the same as when you go to a concert. Classical music, a big orchestra, and someone tells you, "Please listen only to the violin." You might think, 'I don't hear a violin; I hear the whole orchestra.' But if you practice, you will be able to hear a particular instrument within the whole, big, loud orchestra. Maybe. However, when you lose concentration, you immediately hear only the whole orchestra again, not a specific instrument. The same is true with the body. If we have awareness, we will feel each part. And that is also meditation. Now, with the fingers, stretch. Sit still. Like this. I know it is hard. Now, slowly rotate. It is the same principle. If you are just rotating, that is okay. But it will be better if you rotate this way, on the other side. We will invent a new program: Yoga with a mobile phone. Now relax. Try to feel the circulation as well. I know it is hard to sit in this position, but make an experiment. We said that yoga is a science about the body, mind, and soul. In science, you always conduct experiments. Try to sit in this position. How do you feel? Okay, good. Now try to sit in this position. How do you feel? Like a king. Rāja Yoga. Rāja means king. This kind of yoga practice will make you become a king—very self-confident. Especially for self-confidence, it is excellent to strengthen the back muscles to have good posture. Not too big, with your 'nose to the sky,' which indicates too big an ego, but a flexible, good position. Not without self-confidence. For that, āsanas are excellent. They are also excellent for scoliosis, if you have pain in the area between the shoulder blades—for everything. We will observe these movements. What does it mean that one part of the body is stronger than another? It also means that one part of the brain is stronger than the other. Through all these āsanas, we will bring the body, brain, and mind into balance. But slowly, we will do it together. Breathe through the nose; just stay in the position. It is good. We try not to breathe in this way. Your inhalation and exhalation should be without sound. I should not hear my own... Stay in this position; it is excellent. Okay, slowly inhale through the nose and exhale through the nose. Now, Ānandāsana, the relaxing pose. Lie on your back, head to my side, legs on the other side. There is always the question: why? In Yoga, one question is very important: why? Why are you in this position? There are many explanations. First, traditionally, in every part of the world, it is not polite to point your legs toward somebody, especially in front of them. If you put your legs on the table, you might think you are the boss. No, it was traditionally impolite to stretch your legs toward someone. The second, and most important, point: when we practice a few āsanas and your head is to the side—with a teacher or another person present—you will unconsciously try to look in the direction of your head. Instead, try to feel that during inhalation your navel rises and during exhalation it falls. Perhaps after Daṇḍāsana, after sitting, you may feel some tension in the lower part of the spinal column. But why? Only because the muscles are too weak. Now it will be excellent to relax them. Pavanamuktāsana is excellent for that. First, we will start with the right leg. Inhale, bend your right leg. Exhale, bring the knee to the chest and the nose toward the knee. Inhale and exhale, left leg. Inhale, exhale. Inhale and exhale, second time. Inhale, exhale. Inhale and exhale. Inhale, exhale. Also try to keep your shoulder blades on the floor. Inhale, exhale. This āsana is also excellent for when you go home after a stressful day, to relax. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Then take one small inhale, exhale. Inhale, and exhale. Now relax. Try to be aware of the circulation in the legs—not only the legs, but also the abdomen, the lower part of the spinal column, the lower back. Notice how you feel. This āsana is excellent for circulation to the legs, for better circulation, for the lower back, for massaging the inner organs and the digestive system, and also for calming. Now, take a deep inhale and exhale. Once more, deep inhale and exhale. Slowly move your fingers, toes, shoulders, elbows, and palms. When you feel a nice, warm sensation in your palms, place them on your face. As your facial muscles warm, open your eyes and slowly sit in Vajrāsana. From Vajrāsana, we will practice Marjārī. Marjārī is excellent for everything, truly for everything. Only if you have a knee problem, just sit in Daṇḍāsana. I will explain a little, and after that we will start. Or sit in any other comfortable position. It is excellent for everything: for the spinal column, for painful periods, for inner organs, for complete yoga, for breathing, for muscles—everything, in short. When we start with Marjārī, it is common to see this movement, sitting and going up. Okay, but then you will not engage the thigh muscles effectively, and it will not be as beneficial for your knees. Try to begin Marjārī this way: imagine someone is pushing your pelvis, and now slowly go down. First, we will practice this movement a few times. Afterwards, we will stay in this position and breathe normally. Then that is it. Why? We are conducting an experiment. You are simultaneously a scientist in your laboratory and the guinea pig. But you must be very gentle with your guinea pig, because you are the guinea pig. That is the science. You are in your laboratory—your body—and you are constantly aware of what is happening, of how you feel. That is yoga. It is not just about putting on music—music is good—but it is better to be continuously aware of what is happening. Okay, first movements. Slowly go up with an inhalation. Excellent. Imagine someone is pulling, pushing your pelvis, and now go down slowly, with a nice sound. Second time, slowly sit, slowly, slowly... and third, up slowly. If you work slowly, it is much, much harder. Now we will stop halfway. Down, down... down. Now stop and enjoy. 'Enjoy' means relax your abdomen and slowly sit. You feel your legs now. You may even feel your heart start to beat quicker. It is not necessary to run. You will develop better muscles. With better muscles, there is less force and strain on your knees. Secondly, why do we count during Marjārī? Why don't we just do it until it feels enough, then go up? When we count... you know, when you start Marjārī for the first time and follow your own rhythm, you start and then, after the yoga class, you think, 'I must do this.' And you just forget which number you are on. Everybody else is up, so you go up too. When you count the inhalation-exhalation movements, it is not only about doing it ten times, but why? The act of counting and being aware of the breath—inhalation, exhalation—ensures that your consciousness, your awareness, does not wander somewhere else, to your home, tomorrow, yesterday, somewhere. You will be here and now, and that is also meditation. Why is the full yogic breath influential in Marjārī? Because here you inhale, exhale, and now inhale. First, start with the lower part of the lungs, then the middle. If you are only in this position, the clavicle, the upper part, is not engaged. Only if you do it this way will you feel the upper part is also in use. It functions, and air goes into the upper part. This is excellent against asthma, against bronchitis, for all problems with the upper respiratory system. It also has a good influence on the chest area, against kyphosis. Now, we shall start slowly. One, two, three. And slowly sit down. Also, during Marjārī, we said inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. But you are not inhaling and you are not exhaling. What is happening now? You are not trying to inhale and exhale actively. Only after a few minutes, you might feel a tingling here. What does that mean? Hyperventilation, nothing else. And you will not calm your mind. We often say it is very good to synchronize movement and breathing. But synchronizing is not something you are forced to do. No. When you do Marjārī, just forget about inhalation and exhalation. Your movements will make the air come in and go out. It is the same as if you have a sponge for cleaning dishes. When you squeeze it, water goes out. When you release, water goes in. The same thing happens here. You are simply creating a good position, like squeezing a sponge. When you go up, you are relaxing, opening, and air will go in. At first, you will do it more slowly; your inhalation and exhalation will be slower, and your mind will become calm. After that, it is very easy to sit and meditate. Once more, I will not count. Actually, I will count. And a third time, in your own rhythm. One, two, four, six, seven, nine. Slowly sit down. And once more, in your own rhythm. You may start. And third, exhale, and exhale. Only three times. Change your approach. We do not have a regular yoga class now. We have something more like a learning session, and we are trying to understand how to calm your mind. After this exercise, it would be excellent to take Ānandāsana and relax for a few minutes. Be aware of your whole body and the breathing process, and so on, as is usual. But we do not have time now. After this exercise, we will sit in a position for prāṇāyāma. However, it is very important after āsanas to have a little interval. In Ānandāsana, feel the whole body. When you feel your whole body, become aware of your breathing process. Be aware of the complete yogic inhalation and exhalation. After that, you would start with prāṇāyāma, but today we will skip ahead due to time. Inhale and exhale, exhale, and once. Exhale more, and exhale, and butterfly. Try to bring your heels near the body, and now slowly go down. Not like this: up and relax, up and relax... but down and relax, down and relax. Down and relax. You will feel a slight difference.