Mind & Meditation |

“Human life is nothing but a struggle to learn to control the mind. If we have accomplished this, we have done everything and accomplished the most difficult thing in the entire universe. –Dr David Frawley

My long time interest in the mind and meditation found a voice in yoga philosophy and I began to teach a class called the “Mind Study” beginning in 2005 at Yoga North Studio. My curiosity was: why is it that we expect so much of our mind, and yet we never study the mind itself?

In the past decade much light has been shed on the workings of our brain and psyches through the advances of brain research and psychology. And all of this is confirming what the great yoga masters have understood for centuries: the mind is the key to suffering and to freedom; it alone has the power to orientate in either direction. Left to ourselves, we become entangled in habits, thoughts, and conditioning that lead us to unhappiness, even though none of us set out to suffer. The truth is, without some understanding of our minds, we end up in despair, depression, and addiction.

Yoga offers a rich understanding of the mind and the practices that purify it and set it on course towards freedom and happiness. The heart of these practices is meditation. Understanding what happens with the mind and what happens in meditation is key to taking this journey towards joy and fulfillment.