Meditation 1 – Posture.

ॐश्रीगणेशायनमः।I prostate unto Lord Ganesha with devotion and the sense of surrender, in order to overcome theobstacles in meditations which are in the form of VASANAS.श्रीगुरुभ्योनमः।I pay obeisance to the saints and sages of the world, for they blessed the mankind with the system with the system of YOGA.

स्थिरसुखमासनम्।Look at the sitting posture, see the connection or the connectedness between the body and the mind. The posture helps to make the mind quiet. Hence, at least in the beginning of YOGA posture becomes very important. In the posture you can see that the body is collected together, the legs are brought together, the hands are held close to the body. The back is held straight, you may even stretch the back to make it straight. Lord SHRI KRISHNA described it as समंकायशिरोग्रीवंधारयन्नचलंस्थिरः॥ ACHALAM DHARAYAN - you hold the body without any movement, SAMAM DHARAYAN - the trunk, neck and the head are SAMA. You stretch the back and any discomfort in the lower back or the middle of the back; you just watch it with a smile. Try to welcome it, don’t resist it mentally. Do not straight away plan for treatment. Just watch it. And as you welcome it, it does not disturb you anymore.Look at yourself; do you feel any small urge to move or to scratch here or there? Do you feel like adjusting the throat? You need not resist any such urge but it will be nice to ignore such urges, so that the ASANA-posture is really STHIRA-stable. Now, watch your hands, they are kept close to the body. You keep the palms facing upwards, the right in the left palm, but, the left thumb comes up and touches the right thumb. Kind of resembling a lotus, kind of a lotus in the lap. Lotus is a symbol of non-attachment - ASANGA, and hence purity - SHUDDHI. Now, you check this lotus-like-hands, where do you keep them. in the center of the lap, closer to the body, or a little forward from the center. You choose and check which is most convenient for keeping the back straight. Maybe a little forward, you settle for yourself.  

Now, sport a smile on the lips, watch the entire posture with a smile, with a smile of acceptance. The posture is not an imposition; it is joyous to sit in the posture. The posture alone is enough to keep the body and mind healthy. Watch yourself in the posture. The body is not moving, and the mind also is not moving. All the sense organs like hearing, seeing etc. are resolved. but I AM. Beware of the surroundings, there is SILENCE. What you hear also has silence in the background.   Discover the silence; there is silence before any sound. There is silence after a sound ends. You have to discover that there is silence even when there is a sound. The background of the sound is silence. Now look within you, what do you find? SILENCE. Silence is the source and the reality of all sounds. Do not get bored by the silence, by the peace of the silence. In the beginning you have to learn to love, silence. See for yourself look within. Is silence boring to me, be honest, could be, nothing wrong, could be. That is the VASANA of the mind. That is the restless mind - not YOU. You smile. Do not condemn the mind, just smile at the mind. Slowly the love for silence will grow upon you.JUST BE. Allow all the mental effort to drop. Do not ask how, that is again the mind, just allow - try - all the mental effort to drop. JUST BE. Being is meditation. Meditation is not an action, it is not a doing, it is just the being. Meditation is the silence of the being. The silent being is already NARAYANA. - ॐ॥शान्तिःशान्तिःशान्तिः॥Relax. Keep the eyes closed, you may move a little. Massage the legs. Slowly open the eyes.  

Keywords: Begin, Posture, Silence, Just Be.