The Ancient Way of Prayer
- 11 minutes or less, 12-32 minutes
- 1 exercises
- Low activity level
This is a powerful way to go deep within yourself. Listen silently to the beat of your heart, which chants ‘Thou, Thou, Thou.’ Meditate on the beautiful, rhythmic beat.
Posture & Mudra: Sit in Easy Pose with a straight spine. Rest the elbows against the ribs with the forearms angled out to the sides and the palms facing upward. The forearms angle up so that the hands are at the level of the heart center. The fingers of each hand are joined, the thumbs are a little spread, and the hands are relaxed and receptive. It is a very relaxed and comfortable hand and arm position.
Focus & Breath: Concentrate between the eyebrows and the root of the nose. Inhale deeply, exhale completely, hold the breath out, and tune in to the beat of the heart, mentally vibrating "Thou" with each beat. Hold the breath out for 15-30 seconds. Continue this breath pattern.
Begin with 11 minutes and develop your practice to half an hour.
Notes:
You may find that you are not in a position to tune in to the heartbeat and hear “Thou” with each beat, so there is an alternative way to time the practice of this meditation: inhale deeply, exhale completely, and mentally chant Saa-Taa-Naa-Maa four times with the breath held out.
The mantra will give you a similar timing and rhythm to your heartbeat, if each syllable is mentally vibrated once per second. (Four repetitions of Saa-Taa-Naa-Maa will take about 16 seconds.) Continue this breath pattern.
It is important that the breath is held out of the lungs for the same amount of time throughout the meditation, therefore you must mentally vibrate the mantra at a consistent rate.
© 3HO. This kriya is courtesy of YB Teachings, LLC.
This kriya was originally taught on October 8, 1979can be found in Praana Praanee Praanayam.
