Can I do Yoga Asana instead of Meditation?
Asana instead of Meditation?
Can the physical practice of yoga be a substitute for seated meditation? Is it the same? Do you need to meditate? In the video below Doron talks about mindfulness, meditation, asana practice, and what each of them serves. Some of the purposes overlap, but they are not the same.
“Can I do asana instead of meditation?”
“Does asana count as meditation?”
“If I do physical yoga practice, do I still need to sit down and meditate?”
“What about if I’m very mindful when I cut vegetables or eat my food?”
Mindful practices are extremely important and extremely useful. They really help train the mind to be steady at the task at hand. They train the mind to be focused and not wander around. That’s really important. When we sit down, there is some other stuff that happens. We are not using our senses. We have an ability to drop down into more of a stillness than when we are in the movement of asana practice (or when we cut vegetables).
“When I’m sitting in my meditation practice, my body is still, and slowly my mind becomes still. At first maybe there is a concentration, similar to the awareness/mindfulness practice, but over time there is a dropping away from the senses, and even my awareness becomes a very different awareness. At first it may be an internal awareness, of a vision, of a mantra, or in the zen tradition, of the breath; but over time, even that awareness will develop into an awareness that’s not internal or external.”
Doron
It is possible to find something similar to that while practicing mindfulness in our daily lives, but it is not likely. Doron encourages everybody to keep up your asana practice, keep being mindful of everything you do in your daily life – and yet at the same time, recognize that there is no real substitute for sitting down and seriously taking time to breathe and meditate.
“So hopefully (I know it can be hard!), try to find a place in your life to practice both asana and meditation, because both are important.”
Doron
More meditation videos
Share the silence
Leave us a comment. What is your experience? What is the difference for you between asana, mindfulness, and meditation? Share this post with some of your friends who are just getting into meditation.
Find more videos about meditation on Doron Yoga’s YouTube channel. Visit us at Doron Yoga & Zen Centre. Learn more about these concepts and many others during our yoga teacher training in Guatemala.
Read more on meditation and yogic philosophy in the Doron Yoga Manual.
Blissful Living,
Doron
[…] Can I do asana instead of meditation […]
Thanks for providing the answer to the question I was desperately looking for..Keep up the good work
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