Concentration and Meditation

Meditation is the cessation of mental activities. When your thoughts reduce by just 20% you will experience relief and a sense of self-control – by Swami Sivananda
Concentration means attending fully to one thought or object for a substantial length of time. When we are engrossed in a book, eat without thinking about work, or forget about home when you are at work. Concentration is essential for meditation.
How to meditate ? Can we practice meditation ? Meditation wasn’t a substantial part of the 200 hours training but I got a glimpse of it.
Meditation is the practice by which there is constant observation of the mind. It requires focus of our mind at one point and make our mind still in order to perceive the ‘self’. Meditation helps to achieve a clearer mind, improve concentration, and discover the wisdom and tranquility within oneself. Meditation lies at the heart of yoga practice. My personal experience is that once I feel more confident and comfortable practicing the asanas and breathing exercise, I will feel more relaxed with my body. Hopefully the next natural step will be to concentrate on my breathing and relaxing my mind to gain inner peace.
It has been always non-stop noises, expectations, judgment around me. I can hide away physically but not mentally. During one of the meditation session, we were told to sit like a rock, or think that we a rock. During that meditation session, which was really my first meditation session, the distraction of the world – work, family, children, next career move, money all evolved around and trying to occupy a slice of my thoughts. It was a mental battle, like a never-ending cycle. It was just impossible to stop the mind leaping from one thought to another. After a moment mental struggle – continuously reminding myself – concentrate and focusing nothing else but “I am a rock – sit like a rock – think like a rock” – I began to feel that I was the big rock next to the seashore. Nothing else can gain entrance in except the sea breeze, soothing wind trespassing, feel lighter and lighter with deeper and deeper inhale. At that moment, I didn’t even realize that I was focusing on my own breathing. I have to learn how to focus on the present which help me to prevents my mind from dwelling on the past or worry about the future.
During meditation, the distractions of the world around you disappear and the parasympathetic nervous systems gently brings about a sense of relaxation and balance. The heartbeat and respiratory rate slow and the internal organs are rested. Adepts of yoga have long recognized that meditation has significant benefits in promoting heath as the negative thoughts, emotions can impede the cells’capacity for regeneration and homeostasis.
I believe I got a glimpse of meditation, not only to find some inner peiace but become more focus, get more clarity. I hope with continuous practice, I can face the conflicts that disturb my mental peace and can discover creative, positive solutions to those conflicts. This should bring a greater feeling of self-control, inner satisfaction and a sense of purpose. This will takes time and it will be myself that I have to make the effort so that I will become less irritated by other people’s habits, more understanding and better able to accept their limitations.