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THE DYNAMICS OF MEDITATION
To start, sit comfortably, either in the lotus pose, in a chair, or in the posture selected by you earlier. The main beauty of the lotus posture is that the spine remains very straight, but it is not compulsory for meditation. Begin to feel your breath. As you inhale, go along with your breath. For this work, you must yoke your ego consciousness and gradually limit the mind's constant activity. Yoga means to yoke. Here you yoke your mind to focus on the breath. As you inhale, let the breath go very deep to the voicebox, to the heart, to the navel, to the pelvis, and to the very last point of the vertebrae. Let the incoming breath go as far as you have spinal nerves. As you exhale, watch your breath and go along with it. Your ego consciousness will become very busy with your breath. Go and come as the breath goes and comes. Engage your ego for this task as you would use an employee in your work.
Now begin to count the breaths. As you inhale, mentally count one and as you exhale, count two. Then inhale while counting three and exhale on four. When you finish counting to four, begin again, starting at one as you inhale.
Now practice this for four or five minutes: first just watching your breath come and go, then counting your breaths.
• In this way you become in tune with your life force and you begin seeing your inner world. Your senses, which are always busy and racing, occupied with unwanted things, stop when you feel your breath and do this counting. It keeps your mind busy because if it leaves the work, you miss the count.
