YOGA MEDITATION

Yoga Meditation is the art and science of systematically observing, accepting, understanding, and training each of the levels of our being, such that we may coordinate and integrate those aspects of ourselves, and dwell in the direct experience of the center of consciousnes.
Yoga Meditation is not actually a separate aspect of Yoga, due to the fact that Yoga is meditation. However, the phrase Yoga Meditation is being used here to discriminate between Yoga Meditation and the now popular belief that Yoga is about physical postures. Yoga or Yoga Meditation is a complete process unto itself, only a small, though useful part of which relates to the physical body.

In the Yoga Meditation of the ancient living schools, systems and traditions (http://sribinduyogameditationcenter.blogspot.com/), one systematically works with senses, body, breath, the various levels of mind, and then goes beyond, to the center of consciousness. The science of Yoga Meditation as taught by the ancient traditions is already a whole, complete science that has been torn into smaller pieces over time. Individual parts have sometimes (unfortunately) been cut out from the whole of Yoga Meditation, given separate names, and then taught as unique systems of meditation. The perspective of Yoga Meditation here is that it is not a pasting together of disparate Yogas, but an already unified whole that we might call Yoga Meditation, or simply Yoga.

Yoga Meditation as taught in such ancient traditions is holistic in that it not only deals systematically with all levels, but also involves a broad range of practices, the various aspects of Yoga, as well as the preparatory practices leading up to Yoga. Yoga Meditation also explores all of the levels of reality and self-construction, including the gross (vaishvanara), subtle (taijasa), causal (prajna), and the absolute (turiya), as reflected in Pranava Mantra. Finally, Yoga Meditation leads one to the direct experience of the absolute, pure, eternal center of consciousness.

The root meaning of Yoga Meditation lies in the meaning of the word Yoga itself, which comes from "yuj" which means "to join," to bring together the aspects of yourself that were never divided in the first place. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a primary source of learning the practices of Yoga Meditation.

In the tradition, Yoga Meditation is not limited to just the Yoga Sutras, but also includes Vedanta, Tao, and internal Tantra, while also acknowledging that the practices are also contained in many other sources. The teachers of the tradition may emphasize or draw on some of these (or other) sources, matching the teachings with the student. Yoga Meditation also involves the practice of Kundalini.
Yoga Meditation is not a religion, although some of the principles are contained within the various religions.