Dhyana: the still mind
Meditation
The tradition's own practices, from the first deep breath to the candle flame, each explained in plain words, guided step by step, and clear about safety.
Everything here is traditional practice, explained plainly. It is not medical advice. If you are pregnant or live with a heart, blood-pressure, eye or seizure condition, read each practice's caution first, and let your doctor and a real teacher outrank this page.
New to these words?
- Dhyana
- Meditation — giving the mind one quiet thing to rest on, like the breath, a flame or a mantra.
- Pranayama
- Breathing practices — guiding the breath slow and steady, because a calm breath makes a calm mind.
- Prana
- The life-energy the tradition says rides on the breath — what pranayama practices are caring for.
- Kumbhaka
- Gently holding the breath in or out for a moment — an advanced step, learned from a teacher.
- Shatkarma
- Hatha yoga's six cleansing practices; trataka (candle gazing) and kapalbhati are two of them.
- Trataka
- Steady, soft gazing at one point — usually a flame — until the mind goes as still as the eyes.
- Mudra
- A hand gesture with meaning — like chin mudra, resting thumb and index fingertip together while meditating.
- Sadhana
- Your regular spiritual practice — the jaap, meditation, yoga and puja you actually do, day after day.
Breath · Pranayama
The breath is the one handle on the mind everyone is already holding. These practices, from the long breath to the humming bee, slow it, even it, and let the mind settle behind it.
Deep Belly Breathing
दीर्घ श्वास
The first practice of all: slow, full breaths that settle the whole body.
Sama Vritti — the Even Breath
समवृत्ति प्राणायाम
Four counts in, four held, four out, four empty: a square, steadying breath.
Bhramari — the Humming Bee
भ्रामरी प्राणायाम
Breathe out as a soft hum and feel the sound vibrate through your whole head.
Sheetali — the Cooling Breath
शीतली प्राणायाम
Sip the air over a curled tongue and feel it cool you from the inside: a Dubai summer's friend.
Sheetkari — the Hissing Cool Breath
शीतकारी
Sheetali's sister for tongues that don't curl: sip cool air over the teeth with a soft hiss.
Nadi Shodhana (Anulom Vilom)
नाड़ी शोधन
Alternate-nostril breathing, India's best-known pranayama, balancing left and right.
Ujjayi — the Ocean Breath
उज्जायी प्राणायाम
A soft whisper in the throat turns each breath into a wave you can hear.
Surya Bhedana — the Sun-Piercing Breath
सूर्य भेदन
In through the right nostril, out through the left: the breath of warmth, appetite and drive.
Chandra Bhedana — the Moon-Piercing Breath
चन्द्र भेदन
In through the left nostril, out through the right: the breath of coolness, softness and sleep.
Kapalbhati — the Shining Skull
कपालभाति
Short, brisk exhales pumped from the belly: a strong cleansing kriya, learned properly in person.
Bhastrika — the Bellows Breath
भस्त्रिका
Equal, vigorous in-and-out strokes that stoke the inner fire: the strongest breath we teach.
Gaze · Trataka
Steady the eyes and the mind steadies with them. Trataka, the candle-gazing purification of hatha yoga, is concentration you can practise tonight with one flame.
Bindu Trataka — Gazing at the Dot
बिन्दु त्राटक
All of trataka's stillness with none of the flame: a black dot on the wall, and you.
Chandra Trataka — Moon Gazing
चन्द्र त्राटक
On full-moon nights the sky hangs a lamp for you: gaze at it, soften, and let the mind settle.
Trataka — Candle Gazing
त्राटक
One flame, one gaze: the ancient practice of steadying the mind through the eyes.
Nasikagra Drishti — Nose-Tip Gazing
नासिकाग्र दृष्टि
The gaze rests on the tip of your own nose: the concentration point you carry everywhere.
Sound · Mantra
Sound carrying stillness: chanting Om with its three parts, and So'ham, the mantra the breath is already whispering.
Om Dhyana — Chanting AUM
ॐ ध्यान
One syllable, three sounds, and the silence after: the meditation the Upanishads begin from.
Likhita Japa — Written Japa
लिखित जप
Write the name instead of counting it: a whole notebook slowly filling with Rama or Om.
Chankramana — Walking Japa
चंक्रमण जप
Steps and syllables lock together: walking meditation the Indian way, done with any mala mantra.
So'ham — the Breath's Own Mantra
सोऽहम्
Listen closely: the in-breath whispers "so", the out-breath "ham". You have chanted all your life.
Nama Smarana — Remembering the Name
नाम स्मरण
Beyond counting: the name running under the day like a river under a bridge.
Ishta Dhyana — Meditating on Your Beloved Form
इष्ट ध्यान
Build your chosen deity in the heart, detail by detail, until the form holds the whole mind.
Stillness
The practices of complete rest: lying down, wide awake inside, letting the body be carried.
Yoga Nidra — Yogic Sleep
योग निद्रा
Lie down, stay awake, and let attention walk slowly through the whole body.
Kaya Sthairyam — Perfect Body Stillness
काय स्थैर्यम्
One vow for ten minutes: the body will not move. Watch what the mind does next.
Shanmukhi Mudra — Closing the Six Gates
षण्मुखी मुद्रा
Fingers lightly close ears, eyes and lips; the world steps out, and the inner sounds step in.
Antar Mauna — Inner Silence
अन्तर् मौन
Stop fighting thoughts. Sit back and watch them arrive, perform, and leave on their own.
Chidakasha Dharana — the Inner Sky
चिदाकाश धारणा
Close your eyes: that dark screen before you is a sky. Watch it the way you'd watch night.
Sakshi Bhava — the Witness Attitude
साक्षी भाव
Vedanta's master key: you are not the storm. You are the sky it crosses.
The body's side of stillness
Meditation sits best in a body that has moved. Surya Namaskar, easy routines and pose-by-pose guides live in the yoga section.
Go to Yoga →