153. Dynamic meditations

1. Blissful dancing

Rejuvenate with the tremendous energy within you. Relax with the deep peace within you.

Total Duration: 31 minutes

Free dance means dance with no defined steps, no rules, nothing. It is just allowing your body to move as it pleases, being playful, enjoying yourself, becoming part of the tremendous energy of dancing.

There are two stages to free dance: dancing and resting.

Step 1: Duration: 21 minutes

Close your eyes and begin to dance. Don't bother about the steps. Let your body be free to move as it wishes. Don't be concerned about how you look, how your clothes look. No one is watching you, this is not a performance.

As you continue to dance in this fashion, more and more

energy will surge inside you, and you will keep going. The more you dance, the more energetic you will be! You will not feel tired at all.

Enter deeply into the dance. Dance as fast as possible, as freely as possible. Forget yourself totally. Just become the dance.

Step 2: Duration: 10 minutes

At the end of 21 minutes, wherever you are, in whatever position you are, just drop down on the floor. Lie down. Be silent and still.

In the sudden change from frantic motion to sudden stillness, you will experience a moment of blankness. There will be no thoughts. You will experience a deep silence.

In a few moments, the thoughts will start coming back. Watch the thoughts calmly. Don't fight with them, don't get lost in them. Just remain aware. You will become aware of a lasting peace inside you, a great silence that remains even after the thoughts return. Carry this peace, this silence with you throughout the day. Carry the silence into your sleep. You will wake up feeling new and refreshed.

2. Whirling

Find the unmoving center in your being. Merge with the whole of Existence.

Total Duration: 31 minutes

This is a beautiful, natural meditation to center yourself.

Do not have any food or drink at least three hours before this meditation.

The meditation has two phases: whirling and resting.

Whirling

Whirling is usually done in a counter-clockwise direction, with the right arm held higher, palm facing upwards, and the left arm lower, palm facing downwards.

If you are uncomfortable whirling counter-clockwise, switch to clockwise.

Start whirling slowly, letting your whole body be soft and unresisting. As you whirl, the passing images will become blurred. Let them flow past. Don't try to focus on anything. Focusing will make you dizzy or nauseous.

Slowly pick up speed, and become the whirling. There will be action and movement on the periphery of the circle, but at the center you will feel stillness. You will feel as if you are a witness to the whirling.

Resting

When you are whirling so fast that you can't stay upright, your body will fall by itself. Don't plan the fall.

As soon as you fall, turn over onto your stomach so that your navel is in contact with the earth. Feel your body become one with the earth.

Keep your eyes closed. Remain in the same position, passive and silent, for at least fifteen minutes.

After this meditation, remain silent and meditative for a few hours.

4. Vatha-Pitta-Kapha meditations

Balance the three vital energies in your body.

According to the ancient science of Ayurveda, vatha (energy of movement), pitta (energy of digestion or metabolism) and kapha (energy of lubrication and structure) are the three forces in our body, which need to be in balance to cause physical wellbeing.

However, in each of us, the proportion of these three forces is usually imbalanced and one element is in higher proportion most of the time. The following techniques are to restore the balance of vatha, pitta and kapha.

These techniques when done intensely can prevent even cancer.

These meditations are to be done on an empty stomach and hence preferably early in the morning.

Vatha meditation

Total Duration: 31 minutes

Step 1: Duration: 10 minutes

Sit in vajrasana (kneel down and sit with your bottom resting on your heels). Place your hands on your hips. By doing this, you are establishing a connection between the upper and lower parts of your body. Chant 'hoo' for as long as possible with each exhale. Begin again with each inhale, holding the chant as long as possible as you exhale.

Step 2: Duration: 21 minutes

Continue sitting in vajrasana. With the hands on the hips, bend down at the hip to touch the forehead to the ground. Continue to chant the 'hoo' sound in this position.

Pitta meditation

Total Duration: 31 minutes

Step 1: Duration: 10 minutes

Sit in vajrasana. Place your hands on your hips. Chant the 'hoo' sound. As you chant, visualize clearly a white light rising within you, going out from the top of the head and circling back into you. Continue to visualize the circling white light as you chant 'hoo'.

Continue sitting in vajrasana. With the hands on the hips, bend down at the hip to touch the forehead to the ground. Continue to chant the 'hoo' sound in this position. Continue to visualize clearly a white light rising within you, going out from the top of the head and circling back into you, just as before.

Kapha meditation

Total Duration: 41 minutes Keep a picture of Swamiji's eyes in front of you.

Step 1: Duration: 10 minutes

Sit in vajrasana. Place your hands on your hips and chant the 'hoo' sound. Visualize

clearly a white light rising within you, going out from the top of the head and circling back into you.

Step 2: Duration: 21 minutes

Continue sitting in vajrasana. With the hands on the hips, bend down at the hip to touch the forehead to the ground. Continue to chant the 'hoo' sound in this position. Continue to visualize clearly a white light rising within you, going out from the top of the head and circling back into you.

Step 3: Duration: 10 minutes

Open your eyes. Through your third eye, look at Swamiji's third eye in the picture. Clearly visualize a beam of light from Swamiji's third eye entering your third eye.

This meditation is tantra-mantra-yantra, all three put together:

Mantra means using the body physically to get the desired effect of sitting in a particular posture and chanting.

Tantra means using the body and mind together to get the desired effect of adding the visualization of white light.

Yantra means using an external object to get the desired effect of using the picture of Swamiji's eyes.

5. Balancing Pitta

Balance the fire and water elements in the body. Awaken the unused energy centers of the body.

Total Duration: 30 minutes

Do this meditation at least three hours after eating food.

Step 1: Duration: 10 minutes

Be in a standing posture. Shake the whole body from head to foot as if shaking a tree from the root. This awakens all your unused energy centers and makes the whole body fluid. Shake vigorously.

Step 2: Duration: 10 minutes

Sit down wherever you are. Whatever sound appears in your mind, just vocalize that sound. It should be like gibberish, not words. It may be hidden irritation, worry, or anger. If you carry these irritations in your system, it may imbalance your pitta, so let them out completely.

Step 3: Duration: 10 minutes

Sit silently and just be a witness. Don't create, sustain, destroy or judge anything that rises in your mind.