YOGA MEDITATION
By Maria Criselda Pamela A. Galindez

Two year ago when I first entered the Chaitanya Mission located in Morayta, Manila for a minor subject requirement. At first, confusion burst out of my mind what are we supposed to do. As the session ended, I felt the contentment I had never experienced before. The value of yoga meditation was an indication for us to slow down and take time to smell the roses.

It is harsh to rush everything to its respective deadlines, when all we need is a rest to do it. “Take time to smell the roses”, it means to slow down and rest for a while to continue what should do.

Yoga meditation, as explained by Ms. Tanya Tamayo of Chaitanya Mission and a nurse in Perpetual Help, is done when stress triggers a person. Stress, as defined by her, is a change or a threat to a person’s normal environment and the person will have the reaction to it, either positive or negative, depends upon the perspective of that person. The solution to stress is to understand oneself through introspection, inspection of oneself, and the so-called “yoga meditation”.

Alvin Castrillo, instructor of Chaitanya Mission, stressed the types of meditation; the Bakti Yoga and Hatha Yoga.

Bakti Yoga is done to develop pure love for the Supreme Person (our God) and to link up with the Supreme Person. Hatha Yoga is for healthy living and is very conducive in meditation.

For a stress person, they need to undergo other kinds of meditation that suits them. Gau Ra Anga is the first kind of meditation; it means the Golden One or Lord Chaitanya. There is a melodious pattern which sang as Gau Ra Anga way. This is done for five to ten minutes a day.

Mantra meditation, usually done in India, is a song format as resemblance to Gau Ra Anga, but differs on the lyrics itself. The lyrics comprise the song Hare Krishna Rama.

Japa, the last kind, uses the sense of touch through the use of japa beads. This bead consists of 108 beads and with the chanting of Hare Krishna Rama. Once you have done it, commitment is needed, to do it everyday. It depends upon the person how many rounds he will be doing.

Yoga meditation is a form of relaxation. Some says it’s a practice of devoting your soul to non-creature thing. Christians’ philosophy on yoga does not comprises their trust to it. They do believe in the powers of prayer as their meditation process.

The power of prayer has been proven. It is a practice that extols the kingdom of God. Also, it is a way of talking to the Lord that created the Universe.