Meditation is an important aspect to being on the Kriya Yoga path. The reason for this is in addition to its calming and relaxing effects, meditation is ultimately a wonderful tool for quieting the mind and allowing your awareness to transcend ordinary states of consciousness and, eventually, attain Samadhi or Oneness with Infinite consciousness. This is aligned with the ultimate goal of Kriya Yoga, which is enlightenment.
Notice I referred to meditation as a tool though, not as the goal in and of itself. Meditation is like the hammer that helps you build the house; being able to swing the hammer really well isn’t the final goal, the final house is! Still, you likely wouldn’t be able to build the house without the hammer, so it is necessary.
And with that, let’s take a look at some tips for helping you to set up an effective meditation routine and actually stick to it.
Tips for Creating a Meditation Routine
- Create a space for meditation — this doesn’t have to be fancy. For a while, my space was the corner of our dreary apartment. Now it’s a little more established, but it still doubles as our laundry room when you pull the sliding door 🙂 It just needs to be a space that feels special and calm for YOU, and that tells your brain “Ok, time to meditate.” Have some fun with this, and get creative!
- Use a breathing technique to quiet the mind — breathing techniques (pranayama) is one of the 8 limbs of yoga and they basically work as a steel trap for your mind, holding it steady. This is necessary because one of the goals of Yoga is to “end the fluctuations in the field of consciousness,” which are produced by the mind. When we use pranayama exercises, the mind becomes quiet and stillness can be achieved. Some popular forms of breathing techniques that everyone can do regardless of skill level are: alternate nostril breathing, sushumna breathing, and mantra. You can Google these for more information, visit my “Breathing” Story Highlight on Instagram, or watch the videos on my teacher, Ryan Kurczak’s, YouTube channel playlist for more information.
- Stick to a time — the mind likes routine. Make a schedule for yourself and stick to it, even if it’s 10 minutes before your first meetings of the day, or 10 minutes before you go to bed. Ideally, you would meditate each morning for at least 15 minutes and also do a short session before bed to help clear the mind and give thanks for the day.The key here is consistency. It doesn’t matter if you “feel like it” or not. If you want to be successful and progress on this spiritual path, then you need to learn how to create a routine and stick to it no matter what (legitimate emergencies and extreme illness excluded). Part of this means getting into a routine and making meditation a habit. That way, when you wake up each day there’s no “deciding” what to do — you just know what to do, and you sit down to do it. So, find a regular meditation schedule that will work for you, and stick to it.
- Read some spiritual literature — this is similar to how athletes listen to a specific song or playlist before a big game/match to get them in the right headspace. Reading spiritual texts do the same thing — they “get you in the mood” and set the stage for a deep meditation session. Spiritual texts (scripture) is also one of the recommended, valid ways to clarify awareness and increase your level of consciousness. I recommend the following texts for beginners:
- Autobiography of a Yogi — this book is a little bit more for entertaining vs. spiritual enlightenment, but it’s very good for those who aren’t as familiar with Kriya Yoga yet and would like to learn more about the tradition, lineage, and basic facets of practice. Think of it as an entry point to the practice, and use it as a gateway to open you up for more in-depth forms of study
- The Bhagavad Gita — this is the fundamental and arguably most important text when it comes to yoga practice. It holds all of the truths that a genuine seeker needs to know when it comes to yoga practice, and if studied intently, can help liberate consciousness. If you are newer to Kriya Yoga, I recommend starting out by reading Mr. Roy Eugene Davis’ commentary on the Gita, The Eternal Way (can be purchased directly through the CSA website or on Amazon for a slightly higher price). This commentary is a bit more accessible and down-to-earth than other versions, and would be most appropriate for someone starting out. For more advanced participants, or those who already have familiarity with reading spiritual scriptures, I’d recommend Paramahansa Yogananda’s commentary on the Bhagavad Gita called God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita. This interpretation is not for the “faint of heart” so to speak, but if read and studied, will unlock hidden meanings of this sacred text.
- The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali — The Yoga Sutras is the other major spiritual text required for sincere yoga practitioners. In it, Patanjali outlines what yoga really is, what is and isn’t considered effective yoga practice, and how to attain ultimate liberation (Samadhi). Along with the Bhagavad Gita, this is probably the most important text one can read and understand. I recommend two interpretations / commentaries on the Yoga Sutras: The Science of Self-Realization by Roy Eugene Davis, and Kriya Yoga: Continuing the Lineage of Enlightenment by Ryan Kurczak.
- Have a quiet space — having a quiet space is super important, especially when you are just beginning (eventually it won’t matter what noises are happening, but at the beginning the mind needs quiet for training purposes). I recommend using ear plugs or noise cancelling headphones to help with this, or whatever else you need to do to secure silence while you meditate.The benefit of having a quiet environment while you meditate is that you can more readily focus and concentrate, calm the mind, and reduce mental agitation. It is much harder to sit when the TV is blaring in the background, kids are running around screaming, and the dog is barking! You may not be able to 100% eliminate all noise, but at least try to make arrangements to have a reduced-noise space while you are trying to meditate.
- Build up slowly — Again, you can’t just go from laying on the couch 12 hours per day to winning an Olympic gold medal. You have to work up to that. For meditation I recommend starting with even 5 minutes 1-2x per day. Then, add 3-5 minutes per week until you get up to 20 minutes. Hold there for a couple of months until you’re ready to increase to 30 minutes and so on. It’s not a race, but a marathon — remember the most important thing is consistency. Every single day, sitting to meditate. Challenging yourself. Growing slowly. I’d rather see someone do 5 minutes of meditation thoughtfully and militantly every single day, than 30 minutes once per month.Just think: If you even meditated 5 minutes per day for 365 days per year, you would have meditated a total of 30 hours by the end of the year! Now ideally you would be able to sit and meditate for 10, 15 or maybe 20 minutes so just think of how much progress you will be able to make if you do that consistently. So create a routine, stick to it, and make slow and steady progress.