Meditation Practices
Complete Guide from Beginner to Advanced
Master the art of meditation with time-tested techniques from the Yogananda tradition and beyond
15+
Techniques
3
Levels
∞
Inner Peace
🙏 What is True Meditation?
Meditation is not about stopping thoughts — it's about transcending them. It's the art of withdrawing your attention from the outer world and focusing it inward, ultimately connecting with your true Self.
As Paramahansa Yogananda taught: "Meditation is the science of reuniting the soul with Spirit."
"The soul loves to meditate, for in contact with the Spirit lies its greatest joy."
— Paramahansa Yogananda
🎯 The Progressive Goals of Meditation
Relaxation
Release physical tension
Concentration
Focus the restless mind
Meditation
Sustained inner awareness
Contemplation
Deep absorption in Spirit
Samadhi
Union with the Divine
📚 Choose Your Level
Start where you are and progress at your own pace
Beginner
Foundation practices for newcomers
- ✓ Breath Awareness
- ✓ Body Scan
- ✓ Counting Meditation
- ✓ Simple Visualization
Intermediate
Deeper concentration techniques
- ✓ Hong-Sau Technique
- ✓ Trataka (Candle Gazing)
- ✓ Chakra Awareness
- ✓ Mantra Meditation
Advanced
Spiritual practices for seekers
- ✓ AUM Meditation
- ✓ Third Eye Focus
- ✓ Devotional Meditation
- ✓ Self-Inquiry (Atma Vichara)
Beginner Practices
1. Breath Awareness (Anapanasati)
The Foundation of All Meditation • 10-20 minutes
📝 Step-by-Step Instructions:
- 1 Posture: Sit comfortably with spine straight. Hands on knees, palms up or down.
- 2 Eyes: Close your eyes gently. Relax facial muscles.
- 3 Breathe naturally: Don't control or force. Just observe.
- 4 Focus point: Notice where you feel the breath most — nostrils, chest, or belly.
- 5 When distracted: Gently return to breath. No judgment. This IS the practice.
✨ Why It Works:
- • Breath is always present — perfect anchor for attention
- • Activates parasympathetic nervous system (rest & digest)
- • Reduces cortisol (stress hormone)
- • Bridges conscious and subconscious mind
💡 Pro Tips:
- • Start with just 5 minutes, add 1 minute each week
- • Use a timer so you don't keep checking the clock
- • Same time, same place builds habit faster
- • Don't expect instant peace — it's a gradual process
2. Body Scan Relaxation
Release Tension & Increase Awareness • 15-30 minutes
📝 The Practice:
Systematically move attention through each body part, consciously relaxing as you go:
🗣️ Guided Script:
"Bring your attention to your feet... Feel the weight of your feet... Notice any tension... With each exhale, let that tension melt away...
Now move to your calves... Feel the muscles... Allow them to soften and relax...
Continue upward... Your entire body becoming heavier... more relaxed... sinking into a state of deep peace..."
Best Time: Before sleep or after stressful events
3. Counting Meditation
Perfect for Busy Minds • 10-15 minutes
Method 1: Count Breaths
- • Inhale... Exhale... "One"
- • Inhale... Exhale... "Two"
- • Continue to "Ten"
- • Start over at "One"
- • Lost count? Start at "One"
Method 2: Countdown
- • Start at 50 (or 100)
- • Count down with each exhale
- • 50... 49... 48... 47...
- • Reach zero = deep stillness
- • Lost? Start from 50 again
Method 3: 4-7-8 Breathing
- • Inhale for 4 counts
- • Hold for 7 counts
- • Exhale for 8 counts
- • Repeat 4-8 cycles
- • Induces deep calm quickly
4. Simple Visualization (Inner Sanctuary)
Create Your Mental Safe Space • 15-20 minutes
🏔️ The Practice:
- 1 Close eyes and take 3 deep breaths to relax
- 2 Imagine a peaceful place — beach, forest, mountain, temple
- 3 See it in vivid detail — colors, shapes, light
- 4 Hear the sounds — water, birds, wind, silence
- 5 Feel the sensations — warmth, breeze, ground beneath you
- 6 Stay here, absorbing the peace. This is YOUR sanctuary.
🌳 Popular Sanctuary Ideas:
Peaceful Beach
Forest Clearing
Mountain Peak
Sacred Temple
Garden of Flowers
Starlit Sky
Intermediate Practices
5. Hong-Sau Technique
Yogananda's Core Concentration Technique • 20-30 minutes
🔮 The Sacred Mantra
HONG
= "I am"
(on inhale)
SAU
= "He/Spirit"
(on exhale)
"I am Spirit" — Affirming your true identity with each breath
📝 Complete Instructions:
- 1 Preparation: Sit upright. Close eyes. Relax body completely.
- 2 Gaze: Turn eyes gently upward to the point between the eyebrows (third eye).
- 3 Breath awareness: Observe the natural breath at the nostrils.
- 4 Mantra: As breath flows in, mentally say "HONG". As it flows out, mentally say "SAU".
- 5 Don't control: Let the breath slow naturally. If it becomes very subtle, just wait peacefully.
- 6 Stillness: When breath becomes very calm, drop the mantra and rest in inner stillness.
⚡ What Happens:
- ✦ Breath naturally slows and becomes subtle
- ✦ Mind becomes still and focused
- ✦ You may see light at the third eye
- ✦ Sense of peace and expansion grows
- ✦ Feeling of being "breathed" by a higher power
⚠️ Important Notes:
- • Never hold breath forcefully
- • Don't strain the eyes — gentle upward gaze
- • The mantra is silent (mental only)
- • Practice regularly for best results
6. Trataka (Candle Gazing)
Powerful Concentration & Third Eye Activation • 10-20 minutes
📝 The Practice:
- 1 Setup: Place a candle at eye level, about 2 feet away. Darken the room.
- 2 Gaze: Stare at the flame without blinking for 1-3 minutes.
- 3 Focus: Concentrate on the tip of the flame. Let eyes water if needed.
- 4 Close eyes: See the after-image of the flame at your third eye.
- 5 Hold image: Keep the inner flame image as long as possible.
- 6 Repeat: 3-5 rounds. Gradually increase duration.
✨ Benefits:
- 👁️ Improves eyesight and concentration
- 🧠 Strengthens memory and willpower
- 🔮 Activates the third eye (ajna chakra)
- 😌 Reduces anxiety and mental restlessness
- 💤 Helps with insomnia
⚠️ Cautions:
- • Not for those with eye conditions (glaucoma, etc.)
- • Stop if you feel eye strain or headache
- • Don't practice before sleep (energizing)
7. Chakra Awareness Meditation
Balance Your Energy Centers • 20-30 minutes
📝 The Practice:
- 1. Sit comfortably, close eyes, relax body
- 2. Start at the ROOT chakra (base of spine)
- 3. Visualize a red spinning wheel of light
- 4. Breathe into this area for 5-10 breaths
- 5. Move up to the SACRAL chakra (below navel)
- 6. Continue upward through each chakra
- 7. Spend equal time at each center
- 8. At the CROWN, feel connection to infinite
- 9. Finally, sense all chakras aligned and glowing
8. Mantra Meditation (Japa)
Sacred Sound Vibration Practice • 15-30 minutes
A mantra is a sacred word or phrase repeated to focus the mind and connect with higher consciousness.
🕉️
OM
The primordial sound of creation. The sound of the universe.
💗
SO HUM
"I am That" — Identifying with the infinite.
✨
OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
"I bow to the Divine within" — Honoring your true Self.
🗣️ How to Practice:
- 1. Choose a mantra that resonates with you
- 2. Sit quietly and close your eyes
- 3. Begin repeating the mantra — aloud, whispered, or silently
- 4. Use a mala (108 beads) to keep count
- 5. Let the sound vibration fill your being
- 6. When mind wanders, return to the mantra
✨ Benefits of Japa:
- • Creates positive mental grooves (samskaras)
- • Protects against negative thoughts
- • Builds spiritual magnetism
- • Purifies the subconscious mind
- • Creates connection with divine energies
Advanced Practices
9. AUM (OM) Meditation
Listening to the Cosmic Vibration • 30-60 minutes
🔮 Understanding AUM
A
Creation
Waking state
U
Preservation
Dream state
M
Dissolution
Deep sleep
...
Silence
Turiya (4th state)
📝 The Practice:
- 1 Close eyes and plug ears with thumbs (Yoni Mudra) OR use earplugs
- 2 Focus at the point between the eyebrows
- 3 Listen intently for any inner sounds
- 4 You may hear: buzzing, ringing, roaring, flute, bells, or cosmic hum
- 5 Focus on the most subtle, highest sound
- 6 Let this sound draw you deeper into stillness
🎵 Inner Sounds You May Hear:
- 🐝 Buzzing like bees
- 🔔 Ringing bells
- 🎺 Conch shell or trumpet
- 🎵 Flute or harp
- 🌊 Ocean waves or thunder
- 🕉️ Deep cosmic humming (OM)
💡 Note:
These inner sounds are real spiritual phenomena, not tinnitus. They become clearer with practice and lead to profound states of consciousness.
10. Third Eye (Ajna) Meditation
Gateway to Higher Consciousness • 20-40 minutes
📍 The Spiritual Eye
The third eye (ajna chakra) is located at the point between the eyebrows. When focused upon in deep meditation, it appears as:
A deep blue field
Surrounded by a golden ring
With a white star at the center
This is the "single eye" Jesus spoke of: "If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."
📝 The Practice:
- 1 Sit still and relax completely
- 2 Close eyes and turn gaze gently upward
- 3 Focus at the point between eyebrows
- 4 Keep attention steady but relaxed
- 5 Notice any light, colors, or images
- 6 Don't strain — patience and practice are key
11. Devotional Meditation (Bhakti)
Heart-Centered Love Meditation • 20-30 minutes
This practice uses the power of divine love to achieve union with God. As Yogananda said: "Meditate with devotion. Let your heart be filled with love for God."
📝 The Practice:
- 1 Sit in meditation and focus on your heart center
- 2 Think of the Divine in whatever form you love — as God, Guru, Divine Mother, or formless Spirit
- 3 Feel deep love and longing for this Divine Presence
- 4 Talk to God as your closest friend or beloved
- 5 Pour out your heart — gratitude, prayer, yearning
- 6 Then sit in silence and FEEL the response of Divine Love
🗣️ Devotional Affirmations:
"Divine Mother, reveal Thyself to me."
"I love You, Lord. I want only You."
"Fill me with Your presence. Let me feel You."
"I am Thine. Be Thou mine."
"My heart burns for You alone."
12. Self-Inquiry (Atma Vichara)
The Direct Path to Self-Realization • 20-60 minutes
❓ The Central Question
"Who Am I?"
This technique, taught by Sri Ramana Maharshi, goes straight to the source of the "I" thought.
📝 The Practice:
- 1 Sit quietly and turn attention inward
- 2 Ask yourself: "Who am I?"
- 3 Don't answer with the mind (name, job, body, etc.)
- 4 Trace the "I" feeling back to its source
- 5 Where does this sense of "I" come from?
- 6 Rest in pure awareness — the "I" before thoughts
💡 The Discovery:
When you search for the "I," you'll find:
- ❌ I am not my body (it changes)
- ❌ I am not my thoughts (they come and go)
- ❌ I am not my emotions (they fluctuate)
- ❌ I am not my roles (son, worker, etc.)
- ✅ I AM pure awareness itself
"The question 'Who am I?' is not really meant to get an answer. It is meant to dissolve the questioner."
— Ramana Maharshi
For Deeper Study
For more advanced metaphysical meditation practices in the Yogananda tradition, we recommend studying with Ananda (founded by Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda).
📖 Recommended Books:
- • "Awaken to Superconsciousness" by Swami Kriyananda
- • "The Art and Science of Raja Yoga" by Swami Kriyananda
- • "How to Meditate" by Jyotish Novak
- • "Autobiography of a Yogi" by Paramahansa Yogananda
For formal Kriya Yoga initiation, visit Ananda.org or Self-Realization Fellowship
📅 Suggested Daily Practice Schedule
🌅 Beginner (20-30 min)
- • 5 min: Relaxation & body scan
- • 10 min: Breath awareness
- • 5 min: Simple visualization
- • 5 min: Sitting in stillness
🌿 Intermediate (45-60 min)
- • 5 min: Energization exercises
- • 15 min: Hong-Sau technique
- • 10 min: Chakra awareness
- • 10 min: Mantra meditation
- • 10 min: Stillness & prayer
🌳 Advanced (60-90 min)
- • 10 min: Energization
- • 20 min: Hong-Sau
- • 20 min: AUM meditation
- • 15 min: Third eye focus
- • 15 min: Devotional meditation
- • 10 min: Deep stillness
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