Beyond the physical: the path towards meditation and peaceful mind

We imagine meditation as silence and bliss, but when we sit down and close our eyes, we discover that our mind has apparently decided to think about everything we’ve ever experienced. We notice distractions, the climbing thoughts and the lack of focus. This often leads to claims that we can’t do meditation, or it isn't for everyone. However, meditation isn’t a technique to master, meditation is a state, and just as we must train our bodies to be strong, mobile and flexible, to achieve focus and clarity, we must train our minds with the same level of focus, resilience and patience.

The yogic formula offers practices that gradually train the body, breath, senses and mind, allowing us to develop the concentration, discipline and awareness needed for meditation. This is why it is called a practice.

The connection between the body, breath and mind

First, let me tell you this - our Mind is not an easy thing to overcome. And this is why yoga starts with the body, breath and our senses first, which are a little easier to harness.

Take a moment here to notice how deeply interconnected the body, breath, and mind actually are. Whenever we place the body under stress through running, exercise, or physical exertion, our breath naturally changes, our heart rate increases, and our mental state shifts. The same happens in the opposite direction. When the mind experiences stress, anxiety, or fear, the body responds through physical sensations, changes in the breath, and shifts in our nervous system. Imagine telling yourself to calm down when you’re at a verge of exploding - frankly impossible.

This is why our body and breath are like a bridge to get to the intricacies of our mind.

After a long, stressful day, or week a seemingly insignificant interaction can become the tipping point. We might snap at a stranger, shout at a family member, or react in a way that doesn’t reflect how we truly want to behave. Afterwards, we may even feel regret or guilt, not fully understanding why we behaved a certain way. But, it isn’t the final small thing that causes us to lose control, it is everything that has accumulated beforehand.

With practice we begin to notice how we use and direct our energy, and this awareness gradually carries into our everyday lives.

We may start to notice the subtle signs that our stress levels are increasing: the impatience that arises while sitting in traffic, the tension we feel when running late for a meeting, the irritation when someone makes an inappropriate comment, a mental overwhelm when juggling many tasks at once, or the thoughts and physical sensations that appear before an important meeting. Rather than waiting until everything becomes too much, this awareness cultivated during the yoga and meditation practice gives us the opportunity to pause and self-regulate before we reach our threshold.

Gradually, through practice, we become more sensitive to the early signs of stress and more capable of responding rather than reacting. We begin to increase a distance between the sense perceptions and our actions, and the capacity of what we can hold and process without becoming overwhelmed.

This is why witnessing ourselves is so powerful - the more consciously we can direct our awareness, the more choice we create in how we respond - both on the yoga mat and in our everyday lives. This doesn’t happen overnight, but ultimately the true practice of yoga teaches us how to notice the patterns, thoughts, sensations, and it gives us greater choice to respond differently under stress.

The path towards meditation

During the first four years of my yoga practice, I studied mostly postures. I began where many Westerners do, with the physical practices of yoga. In 2023, I travelled to Rishikesh, India, where I had the opportunity to learn from teachers who helped me understand that asana, or postures, is only one limb of yoga. I began exploring breathwork, philosophy, meditation, and the subtler practices of yoga with a deep fascination. Gradually, I noticed a change in myself: the practice was slowly moving me from the external layers of my experience towards something deeper within.

Through my practice and study, I began to understand that yoga isn’t simply something we do on a mat. It starts to show up in every area of our lives - in how we speak to ourselves, how we treat others, the actions we take, and the alignment between what we think, say and do.

And perhaps, at its deepest level, yoga is also about becoming aware of the layers of conditioning that shaped who we believe ourselves to be. As we become more aware, we can begin to distinguish between our true nature and the constant voice in our head - a voice shaped by everything we've been told, seen and experienced.

It is through practice, that we gradually learn to observe that voice without being completely defined or controlled by it, and as we change, our exteral reality follows.

The Eight Limbs of Yoga

In Yoga Sutras of Patanjali yoga is described as:

“Yogash Citta Vritti Nirodhah" (Sutra 1.2) which translates to “Yoga is the stilling (or cessation) of the fluctuations of the mind" and many great Yoga teachers define Meditation, as “…our ability to contact our true Self and consciousness (Atman or Purusha) which is the source of life and intelligence.”

The thing is Yoga and Meditation aren’t separated. Yoga philosophy shares precise instructions on how to achieve tranquility and peace of the mind through a very detailed system, and in my personal experience it is really a manual for a life in harmony.

These are The Eight Limbs of Yoga:

Yama - Social rules

Niyama - Personal rules

Asana - Postures

Pranayama - Expansion/control of the breath

Pratyahara - Withdrawal of senses

Dharana - Focus and one-pointedness concentration

Dhyana - Meditation state

Samadhi - Complete Realisation, or Bliss

The Eight Limbs of Yoga is a systematic journey from external to internal. For example the techniques used to train the mind for Meditation Dhyana, fall under the limbs of Withdrawal of Senses, Pratyahara and One-pointed Concentration, Dharana.

• Pratyahara is a practice used to balance the internal and external senses. Moving the awareness from external to internal and over time dissolving it. Essentially training our relationship with sensory input.

• Dharana trains our capacity to focus. It is a practice of cultivating concentration, to the point there a distinction between you and the object of focus dissolves - you become one.

Without these two skills Meditation state is simply impossible.

For most of us it is simply not possible to jump straight to Meditation, and this is where the misconception happens. Don't let it convince you that the meditation is out of reach. The truth is, meditation is open and available to all of us, but first the practice and preparation is needed. The meditation techniques often taught are actually the practices of Pratyahara and Dharana. These Meditation techniques help cultivate the conditions for Dhyana, that is a Meditation state.

Why this matters beyond meditation

Ultimately, yoga gives us a set of tools and guides that we can experiment with, and explore for ourselves. Through these practices, we begin to discover more about who we are, how we experience the world through our senses, and how we perceive our own reality.

Our perception is often clouded by assumptions, illusions, and misconceptions. We can become caught in the constant turbulence of life. Moving between highs and lows, joy and sadness, pleasure and discomfort, attachment and aversion, love and hate - seemingly unable to step outside of this cycle.

Yoga invites us to develop the awareness and clarity to observe these patterns rather than continually being swept away by them. It’s not about control, suppression or force - but about awareness, regulation, observation and ultimately choice and freedom.

As we create more space between what we experience and how we respond, we begin to see what is actually happening within us with greater clarity. Yoga then, becomes not simply a collection of physical practices, but a journey of self-discovery.

What gets in the way?

Research suggests that an average human being have around 6,000 to 60,000 thoughts a day - it is a lot of thoughts! But what’s interesting, they show that 90% of these thoughts are repetitive - meaning we don’t often get an opportunity to notice or even think about our own thoughts, belief systems that run on autopilot daily, let alone consider them.

This ability of metacognition to understand and witness our own mind, memory and learning is crucial to understand ourselves and build a relationship with oneself.

Unfortunately external stimuli often gets in the way, and if we don’t make a conscious decision to choose what we focus on, our habits and patterns will make that decision for us.

If we don’t pay attention then the following can dictate where our attention flows and how we interpret our reality:

• Kleshas: the conditioned behaviours and beliefs, or conditioned states, (ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion and clinging to life)

• Samskaras: impressions that remain from previous actions, behaviour and experiences, often showing in emotional patterns, physical sensations and can lead to psycho-somatic dis-eases in the body,

• Vasanas: groups of impressions that form instincts, automatic reactions, habits and patterns; latent tendencies,

• Karma: results of our previous thoughts, words, and actions; the law of cause and effect.

But, if our attention is constantly being influenced by conditioning, habits and external stimuli, how do we reclaim some choice over where that attention goes?

Practices of meditation

Yogic practices can help us turn the direction of our thoughts and actions, and in result help us evolve our life. Over time these practices that can cultivate the awareness, sensory withdrawal and concentration that support meditation and our wellbeing:

• Kriya practices - the action of effort - here we would do a specific, often active practice for a long period of time to go beyond the limits of the body and mind;

• Vipassana meditation - complete silence and observance of bodily sensations with full equanimity;

• Antar mouna - a 7 stage practice of awareness of the sense objects and the mind;

• Mantra meditation - repeating of a word, or mantra and often linking it with the breath;

• Yoga Nidra - full body scan, also known as yogic sleep for deep restoration of the nervous system and increased awareness of the subtle energies in the body;

• Trataka - gazing at a flame, a dot or a special object;

• And many more…

Each person will have a different experience with these practices. For some, developing focus, concentration and intuition may come more naturally; for others, it may take more time, patience and consistent practice. You may experience glimpses of the meditative state, moments of absorption where the usual noise of the mind becomes quieter and your awareness feels more settled.

Ultimately, it takes time. There is no need to rush towards meditation or to judge ourselves by how quickly we get there. Every practice, every moment of awareness, and every effort to pause and observe brings us a little closer to a calmer, more meaningful way of living — one that is increasingly guided by conscious choice rather than automatic patterns.

If you feel ready to explore these practices for yourself, I invite you to get in touch. After years of personal practice and study, together with guidance from my teacher, I now offer group yoga classes online for general wellbeing, as well as 1:1 sessions where we can tailor the practice to your individual needs and experience.

I wholeheartedly recommend learning and practising under the guidance of a competent and experienced teacher, particularly when exploring deeper practices. Yoga and meditation can complement your overall wellbeing, but they are not a substitute for medical care or psychotherapy. If you have a medical or mental health concern, please seek advice from an appropriately qualified professional.

Conclusion Points

• Meditation state isn’t an isolated activity you suddenly become capable of doing. Within the yogic tradition, it is a part of a gradual progression;

• Meditation practice isn’t about creating an empty mind, or controlling every thought that appears. It is about developing the awareness to observe what is happening within the mind and cultivating a role of a witness. This is why the restless mind isn’t an evidence that we are failing at meditation, the noticing that restlessness is the beginning of the practice, the opportunity to create a little distance between our emotions, beliefs and reactions;

• Meditation is not something you are either “good” or “bad” at; it is a state that we prepare ourselves to access through practices that develop awareness, concentration, and regulation - Body → breath → senses → attention → mind → meditation.