Dhyana and pranayama: meditation and breath
The Gita describes how to sit, where to rest the eyes and how to quiet the mind. The yogis mapped the breath with great precision. Here are traditional practices you can begin today — explained step by step, with honest notes on safety and evidence.
The verse
The Gita's instructions for meditation
[Traditional account]
The sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita gives precise guidance: in a clean place, on a seat neither too high nor too low, sit holding the body, head and neck erect and still, gaze resting as if at the tip of the nose, mind calm and fearless (6.11–14). "As a lamp in a windless place does not flicker" — so is the mind of the yogi absorbed in meditation (6.19).
Prana — more than breath
[Traditional account]
Prāṇa means life-force, of which breath is the most visible form. Prāṇāyāma — the regulation of prana — is the fourth limb of Patanjali's yoga. The tradition teaches that when the breath is steady, the mind becomes steady. Here is the first practice most teachers begin with…
The journey continues for members
- Nadi shodhana — alternate-nostril breathing
- Bhramari — the humming bee
- Japa and trataka
- Cautions
- What science has found
- What we can learn
Sources
- Bhagavad Gita — 6.10–6.32
- Yoga Sutras — 2.49–2.53
- Hatha Yoga Pradipika — chapter 2