Foundations of Yoga Psychology by K. Ramakrishna Rao

Author:K. Ramakrishna Rao
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer Singapore, Singapore

Some Meditative Techniques Used in Research

A report entitled Meditation Practices for Health: State of the Research (Ospina et al. 2007) prepared by the University of Alberta Evidence-based Practice Center for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality of the US Department of Health and Human Services distinguishes between five broad categories of meditation. They are (1) mantra meditation, (2) mindfulness meditation, (3) Yoga, (4) Tai Chi , and (5) Qi Gong . Transcendental Meditation (TM), Relaxation Response (RR), and Clinically Standardized Meditation (CSM) are included in mantra meditation, while Vipassanā, Zen , Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) come under mindfulness meditation. Included under the rubric of yoga, besides Rāja Yoga, are Kundalini yoga , Sahaja yoga , Haṭha yoga , and other “yogic lineages.” That the Report includes Tai Chi, which is essentially a martial art comprising of bodily exercises in a slow rhythmic fashion, and Qi Gong, which is a kind of esoteric energy manipulation, suggests that the meaning of meditation is significantly stretched beyond its conventional meaning to include any kind of practice that could conceivably lead to a quiet focused mind. Such an extension of its meaning is perhaps warranted in the context of the overall objectives of the project. However, meditation has a more restrictive connotation, as we noted. To stretch meditation beyond its two basic forms—concentration and mindfulness—and their derivatives is the source of much confusion in interpreting research results of meditation.

Concentrative or Focused Meditation: Mantra meditation so-called is focused meditation. In some systems, a mantra is the focus of concentration. Recall, in Yoga-Sūtras we find under Kriyā-yoga svādhyāya as one of the three basic practices (II.1). Svādhyāya includes among other things repetitive chanting of the mystic syllable OM. It is a form of mantra practice, but it is a preliminary state and not meditation as such. Concentration (dhāraṇā) involved in meditation is essentially an exercise to achieve a state of ekāgratā (focused attention). Again, in Part I of Yoga-Sūtras, Patañjali discusses the variety of ways to control hindrances that obstruct the practice of yoga, and concludes with the assertion that the mind becomes steady and focused by contemplating on any object of its desire (I.39). Thus, mantra may be understood as any object or thought on which one may concentrate her attention.

Transcendental Meditation : Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s transcendental meditation (TM) is probably the single most extensively researched meditative technique (see Orme-Johnson and Farrow 1977) . The reasons are that (a) Mahesh Yogi, himself a student of science, was not averse to subjecting his technique to scientific scrutiny and, therefore, his organization has encouraged and even supported such research; (b) the large number of TM practitioners available for research is an attraction for many researchers; (c) the technique itself is simple and easy to practice; and (d) more importantly, since it has been uniformly taught by teachers trained by the TM organization, it is close to being a standardized technique.

Basic to transcendental meditation is the premise that, in addition to the

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