Dhyana is the Sanskrit word for meditation and just like Sanskrit, meditation has been around for thousands of years.
Long ago, meditation or dhyana was more than just a trend, it was used as an instrument to reach higher states of consciousness and become established in the Self.
In modern terms, we would coin dhyana as the secret to healing and raising your vibration.
But there’s a deeper significance to meditation and why it works and in this article, we’re going to dive into dhyana as the 7th limb of yoga and lay it all bare.
Table of Contents
What are the 8 Limbs of Yoga?
yama niyama–asana pranayama pratyahara dharana dhyana samadhayo-‘stavangani
|2.29| Patanjali Yoga Sutras
Restraint, observance, postures, regulation of breath, substitute food for the mind, ability of the mind to focus, meditation and higher states of consciousness are eight limbs of yoga.
The limbs of yoga develop together; similar to how pulling one leg of a chair results in the entire chair coming toward you, when you practice one limb of yoga, the other limbs begin to develop as well.
The Goal of Yoga
Before we dive into dhyana and the deeper secrets of dhyana, let’s understand yoga.
The word yoga comes from the root word yuj in Sanskrit. Yuj means union between the body, breath and mind. It is when we come into that union that we experience all the wonderful benefits of yoga.
Besides what is already commonly understood about yoga, here are some of the lesser-known facts about the practice:
- Yoga is a spiritual practice.
- Yoga brings your body, mind and soul into harmony.
- Yoga helps you find purpose, peace of mind and deeper meaning in life.
- Yoga helps you heal, burns your karmas and takes you toward moksha or spiritual enlightenment.
The goal of yoga is to eliminate pain and suffering from your life, empower you, and bring you home to your Self.
The Role of Dhyana
Dhyana or meditation is the 7th limb of yoga and is a critical container for healing to happen.
While each limb of yoga is a critical aspect of the whole, dhyana is where a lot of the magic happens.
In order to be able to meditate, you must learn how to let go. Meditation is not concentration; it is letting go. This letting go is what enables meditation to happen.
What are you letting go of?
Everything.
Why Practice Dhyana?
Through the practice of dhyana or meditation, you will find clarity and peace of mind.
Meditation makes you aware of your mind. When you first sit for meditation, you become aware of how unsettled your mind is – there are so many thoughts, botherations and even restlessness in the body that come up during meditation.
And somehow it all only appears when you sit to meditate.
Or … not.
This is the baseline state of your mind. Your mind is always like this and you only become aware of it when you sit to meditate.
It’s kind of like that drawer of miscellaneous stuff we all have in our homes – it holds all the things we’re not ready to let go of but also don’t know what to do with. So, what do we do? We tuck it into that drawer to deal with later – AKA to never look at again.
Dhyana and your Karma
When you practice meditation regularly over a long period of time, you learn how to let go of all these things.
One by one, you’ll sort through the things in your mental drawer and let go of them.
Through this process, you’ll settle your nervous system, become less reactive, and actually burn through your karma.
Karma is not just tit for tat. Your karma is the way you think, your behaviours, your beliefs about yourself and the world and all of this comes from what is stored in your mind.
As you practice yoga and use dhyana to dive deep into your subconscious mind, you’ll slowly, systematically and safely erase the samskaras or impressions on your mind that no longer serve you – aka burn through your karma.
Burn Through Negative Karma and Begin Your Healing Journey
This Free 30-Minute Yoga Class weaves together traditional Breathwork, Asana Practice, and Meditation to help you Release what no longer serves you and Realign with your True Self.
Raising your Vibration with Dhyana
As you heal and burn through your karma, you are effectively raising your vibration.
Okay pause, what does a “high vibrational person” look like?
A High Vibrational Person is a Healed Person that doesn’t indulge in lower vibrational activities like manipulation, violence, overindulgence or substance abuse.
Higher vibrational people are motivated by love, kindness and compassion. They want what’s best for the world and actively work to leave behind a better world than they found.
This is not to say that someone stuck in lower vibrations is a bad person – there are no inherently bad people – there are just people at different stages of their healing journey.
What does it mean to Raise your Vibration?
As you heal, you raise your vibration.
Yes, healing comes from therapy, self care, setting boundaries and doing the work but the fastest, most effective form of healing?
Dhyana.
What?
Meditation.
Your traumas, negative tendencies and self-limiting beliefs and patterns are all imprinted on your consciousness as your karma. These karmas lead to destructive behaviours that bring pain and suffering into your life.
You can only free yourself from these deeply-imprinted karmas in deep meditation.
Now the question becomes, how do you get into deep meditation?
Through the 8 limbs of yoga.
As mentioned above, the limbs of yoga develop together. As you work on one; the other 7 begin to develop on their own.
The biggest obstacle right now on your path to deep meditation and healing is the restlessness in your mind.
The most effective solution to eliminating that restlessness?
Yoga asanas.
Begin Your Journey with Our Signature Yoga Classes
Raise your vibration in 60-minute sessions that blend multiple limbs of yoga and gently guide you to deeper states of stillness, clarity, and Self-awareness.
