Dharana

Dharana: Concentration

How many of us spend our days multi-tasking, our minds on literally 100 things at once? Guilty. How many of us spend our days worrying about the future or the past while we sit here in the present not being mindful of the task at hand? Guilty.

Dharana is one of the 8 limbs of yoga that trains us to let go of the citta vrtta (monkey mind) and reign in all the distraction to give focused effort to the present. In the end, giving us serenity and peace. Within the quiet mind we can more easily connect to our internal wisdom and intuition.

With daily effort, take a few moments to practice Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses) and to tune into Iswara Pranidhana (loving devotion) which prepares us for dhyana (meditation).

Concentration, or one pointed focus, takes effort and practice just like all of our limbs of yoga. It is not something we will perfect over night, we must practice.

Give dharana a try.

Practice sitting a few minutes a day and follow your breath with a mantra: I breath in. I breath out.
Or So Hum mantra. As you breath in (so) as you breath out (hum).

Don’t get frustrated if your mind wanders. Bring it back to the mantra. Our mind is built to think, but with time, you can learn to recognize the monkey mind and redirect the focus back.