How to Do a Powerful Trataka (Candle Gazing) Meditation

{"slug":"trataka-candlelight-meditation","recentPosts":[{"id":"cl2ut55697twd0bioqd4fjdpj","slug":"welcome-dr-loren-fishman","author":{"name":"Jitendra","teacherMytSlug":null,"pictureUrl":"jitendra1.png"},"title":"Accomplished physician and yogi joins advisory board at MyYogaTeacher ","subTitle":null,"seoTitle":null,"seoDescription":null,"readTime":null,"excerpt":null,"tags":[],"createdAt":"2022-05-06T19:05:44.811224+00:00","coverUrl":"h4y5hskgaakmztbldo8v.png","content":{"text":"I’d like to extend a warm welcome and introduce you to our newest advisory board member at MyYogaTeacher — Dr. Loren Fishman.\\nDr. Fishman is an accomplished physician and an experienced yogi with a background in philosophy and math. He’s Assistant Clinical Professor at Columbia University Medical School and has a graduate degree in Foundations of Mathematics from the University of Oxford, and a medical degree from Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical School. He is also Medical Director of \\nManhattan Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation\\n in New York, NY.\\nDr. Fishman first learned about yoga while studying at Oxford through his discovery of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. He felt a kinship with Patanjali, who was also a physician and wrote the first known book on grammar — likely containing origins of math.\\nFrom there, his journey into yoga brought him to India where he sought out liberated, enlightened people. During his travels he became acquainted with another integral book, B.K.S. Iyengar’s Light on Yoga. Dr. Fishman was so inspired that he sought out Iyengar directly and learned yoga from the master himself. \\nAfter studying with Iyengar, Dr. Fishman attended medical school, where he taught yoga to his fellow students, nurses, and doctors while he worked toward his medical degree. Upon graduating, he completed the Tufts-Harvard Residency program and then was Chief Resident in Rehabilitation at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. \\nHe wasn’t practicing medicine for very long when he made a very important discovery. Dr. Fishman quickly noticed that yoga served as a powerful tool for therapeutic healing. Since then, he has furthered his knowledge about yoga through extensive scientific research and clinical trials.\\nTo date, Dr. Fishman has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, including 12 books. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated the therapeutic value of yoga to treat osteoporosis, \\nscoliosis\\n, rotator cuff syndrome, arthritis, insomnia, anxiety, and many other issues. His work has been reviewed by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Spine, Muscle and Nerve, and a number of international periodicals. He has been listed in Castle and Connolly’s “Best Doctors” more than 10 times, and was past President of the New York Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. \\nHe is currently the Associate Editor of Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, and Treasurer of the National Zoster Foundation. He has been a keynote speaker at the International Association of Yoga Practitioners’ meetings, and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. Dr. Fishman also has a private medical practice in New York City.\\nDr. Fishman is still expanding his research, conducting clinical trials that show how yoga can effectively heal various physical conditions. We’re excited to announce that you can participate in these trials, and we’ve provided more details on how you can get involved below.\\nOn behalf of everyone at MyYogaTeacher, we are delighted to have Dr. Fishman serving as an advisory board member, and grateful for his enormous contributions to the study of yoga and scientific research. \\nHow you can take part in Dr. Fishman’s research\\nDr. Fishman is currently conducting a free, randomized control study to straighten scoliotic curves of the spine with the help of yoga. This study is for teens only, and involves a daily, two-minute yoga pose and small botulinum injections. He is inviting 14 to 18-year-olds to participate. If you know a teen who’d like to be a part of this study, \\nfollow this link for contact information\\n.\\nDr. Fishman is also conducting another free study on osteoporosis and yoga, and encouraging people with osteoporosis and osteopenia, and people with healthy, strong bones, to participate. For the purposes of this study, there will be a \\nfree online yoga class\\n from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., EST. If you are not participating in the study but wish to take the class, you may do so for a modest fee. \\nIf you or someone you know would like to sign up to participate in Dr. Fishman’s osteoporosis study, \\nyou can do so here\\n."},"category":[]},{"id":"cl2qpzoahcp8j0dkaj8r9q540","slug":"international-yoga-day-2022","author":{"name":"Will","teacherMytSlug":null,"pictureUrl":null},"title":"Celebrate International Yoga Day 2022 With MyYogaTeacher - FREE Sessions for All!","subTitle":null,"seoTitle":null,"seoDescription":null,"readTime":null,"excerpt":null,"tags":[],"createdAt":"2022-05-03T22:26:26.102263+00:00","coverUrl":"bm9mwiipzdhlfxubz7ug.jpg","content":{"text":"The MyYogaTeacher team is so excited to announce that we’re celebrating International Yoga Day by offering some very special FREE sessions!\\n(Keep reading to learn more about them and sign up!)\\nThe first International Yoga Day was celebrated around the world on June 21, 2015. After the idea was presented by Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly in 2014, International Yoga Day was made into a formal proposal and adopted by the UN.\\nIt was an exciting day! Over 35,000 people celebrated the first International Yoga Day!\\nMyYogaTeacher strives to continue positively impact the lives of as many people as humanly possible. We do that through yoga and meditation classes, workshops, and teacher training programs. \\nThat is why we invite you to celebrate International Yoga Day 2022 with MyYogaTeacher for FREE!\\nWe’ve put together a series of interesting sessions for International Yoga Day that will allow you to explore different forms of yoga. Our sessions will allow you to connect with practitioners and experts. \\nInternational Yoga Day Event Schedule!\\nMembers and nonmembers can join expert yoga teachers and special guests as they guide you through these special International Yoga Day sessions! \\nJust click the link for each session to sign up!\\n\\nTuesday, June 21\\nWednesday, June 22\\nThursday, June 23\\nFriday, June 24\\n\\n108 Sun Salutations with Bharath Ram\\n\\n6- 8 AM, PST\n9- 11 AM, EST\\n\\nA Yin Experience for the Whole Body with Mrinali\\n\\n6- 7:30 AM, PST\n9- 10:30 AM, EST\\n\\nYoga Therapy Makes the Grade \\n-\\n and the Grade is A+ with Dr. Fishman\\n\\n6 AM, PST\n9 AM, EST\\n\\nIyengar Yoga Session and Q&A with Sri H.S. Arun\\n\\n5- 6:30 AM, PST\n8 -9:30 AM, EST\\n\\nDivine Delight with Yogashree\\n\\n5- 5:30 PM, PST\n8- 8:30  PM, EST\\n\\n\\n\\nYoga, the Key to Resilient Selfcare in COVID Times with Dr. Ananda\\n\\n6 PM, PST\n9 PM, EST\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n108 Sun Salutations with Bharath Ram\\n, Tuesday, June 21\\nFeel invigorated and uplifted after you start your day with this powerful yoga practice! Suitable for all fitness levels, Bharath’s International Yoga Day session will promote detoxification of your body and end with some yogic breathwork (pranayama).\\n\\nDivine Delight with Yogashree\\n, Tuesday, June 21\\nScientific studies have proven that chanting reduces stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms and increases focus and positive mood. Join this session to experience the rhythmic, healing power of chanting! This practice will end with a beautiful classical song rendition. \\n\\nA Yin Experience for the Whole Body\\n, Wednesday, June 22\\nJoin Mrinali for this wonderful, gentle yin yoga practice designed to help you reconnect with your body, mind, and spirit so you can lead a more harmonious and peaceful day! You’ll use the stillness to rediscover sensations and feelings that get masked by the busy-ness of your days.\\n\\nYoga Therapy Makes the Grade – and the Grade is A+\\n , Thursday, June 23\\nJoin MyYogaTeacher’s newest board member and Medical Director of Manhattan Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Dr. Loren Fishman,\\n in this informative session on how to review a yogi’s progress in treating scoliosis, rotator cuff issues, osteoporosis, and weight management! This session is for yoga practitioners and yoga teachers and will end with a live Q&A with Dr. Fishman.\\n\\nYoga: The Key to Resilient Selfcare in COVID Times\\n, Thursday, June 23\\nDiscover how to break free from negative conditioned responses and inherent tendencies in this incredible session with Dr. Ananda, all about how to refocus on your health and wellness. \\n\\nIyengar Yoga Session and Q&A With Sri H.S. Arun\\n, Friday, June 24\\nGo through a series of yoga poses (asanas) in this Iyengar yoga session that will create different positive sensations in various parts of your body. At the end of this invigorating session, you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions about Iyengar yoga and the different aspects of the practice.\\n\\n\\n\\n“Yoga embodies the unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and nature.” - Prime Minister Narendra Modi\\n\n\\nThese virtual events are free and offer you a wide range of sessions to pick from.\\n \\nOne day you could be experiencing a meditation session and another day you could be listening to a yoga guru share their experience and knowledge of yoga with you. Most of these sessions will also allow you to ask questions at the end of the session, which can be a great way for you to enhance your understanding of your practice and also connect with the subject matter expert.\\n\nJoin us for this incredible event!\n\\n"},"category":["yoga"]},{"id":"cl2l1jvj0kqgu0ck2vheoglrz","slug":"what-is-therapeutic-yoga","author":{"name":"Anuj","teacherMytSlug":"","pictureUrl":null},"title":"Yoga for Better Health: What is Therapeutic Yoga?","subTitle":null,"seoTitle":null,"seoDescription":null,"readTime":null,"excerpt":"Ever wonder what therapeutic yoga is and how it's different from yoga therapy? Get all the details here and then try a Therapeutic Yoga class with us!","tags":[],"createdAt":"2022-04-29T23:03:27.320332+00:00","coverUrl":"lehln3ywumjv20tnra6v.jpg","content":{"text":"We talk a lot about the different types of yoga on the MyYogaTeacher blog, but what makes yoga therapeutic? Besides relieving stress, addressing pain, and helping prevent or cure various medical conditions, therapeutic yoga does even more!\\nAll forms of yoga promote better health. Yoga as therapy benefits the body, mind, and soul.\\nBut \\ntherapeutic yoga\\n is a series of gentle yogic techniques designed to address \\nspecific\\n issues a person may have. It’s an adaptation of a yoga practice to the needs of a person based on persistent health issues that aren’t addressed in a group class.\\nThat’s a pretty general definition so we wanted to dive a bit deeper into what therapeutic yoga is and how it can help you obtain better health.\\nI believe so much in using yoga for therapeutic purposes that I started a class on MyYogaTeacher called Therapeutic Yoga for Wellness! I even have a Bachelors of Science in Yoga Therapy!\\nNot a MyYogaTeacher member? Whether you’re interested in teaching yoga, starting yoga, or growing in your yoga journey, MyYogaTeacher is a great place to do it!\\nWhen you sign up for a 1:1 membership with us you get:\\n\\n102 expert\\n, highly qualified yoga instructors to choose from\\nThe ability to switch instructors\\n or take classes with only your faves\\nAccess to unlimited group classes\\n, taught \\nlive\\nPersonalized instruction\\n and work out, diet, and lifestyle plans\\nTo be a member of a HUGE community\\n of happy yogis from around the world\\nYoga teachers who become friends\\n, who truly care about you!\\nIf you haven’t checked us out already, \\ngrab two free 1:1 sessions with your 2-week free trial here\\n!\\nSo, what does therapeutic yoga \\nactually\\n mean?\\n\\n\\nTherapeutic yoga has specific goals\\nI mentioned above that therapeutic yoga addresses specific, consistent medical problems a person may have. But it does this through a whole body, holistic approach! \\nGoals of therapeutic yoga may include:\\nTo manage symptoms of illness and disease including pain, digestive issues, insomnia, anxiety, and/or depression\\nTo improve a person’s functions at every level - physiologically and psychologically\\nTo create a healthy outlook in the face of life’s challenges\\nThe important thing to remember is that these are general goals. Each person is unique and, with the right yoga instructor, will tailor the goals to the individual. You wouldn’t go to a physical therapist with a shoulder injury and receive physical therapy exercises for your knees, hips, \\nand\\n shoulder, would you?\\nNo.\\nBut the general goal of physical therapy is to heal your body and build your confidence so you can start using the once injured part of your body again and live a full life.\\nThis is very similar to how the goals of therapeutic yoga work!\\n\\nYoga as therapy includes multiple components\\nIf you’re trying to lose weight, you may change your eating patterns, what you eat, and start (or increase) an exercise routine, right? All of those components work together to help you have better health.\\nIn a therapeutic yoga practice, the specific tools for healing include yoga poses (asanas), breathwork (pranayama), and meditation. Sometimes, yoga as therapy might even include hand gestures (mudra) and vocal tones (mantra). All of these tools are tailored to your specific goals and therapeutic needs.\\nIn a general group yoga class, you won’t get the personalized attention and specific instruction you’d need to heal your body mentally, physically, and spiritually. \\nYou especially won’t get that in a pre-recorded class you find on the internet! But at MyYogaTeacher you \\nwill\\n. \\n\\n\\nWhat therapeutic yoga is \\nnot\\nWith this in depth information about therapeutic yoga, you may be wondering what to look for in a therapeutic yoga class! It’s important to understand what therapeutic yoga is, but it’s also important to know what it’s not.\\nHere are some tips to help you seek out a therapeutic yoga class that’s right for you and will help you heal your body, mind, and spirit.\\nTherapeutic yoga is not about talk therapy or physiotherapy.\\nA therapeutic yoga class should be relaxing and nourishing, not vigorous.\\nYour therapeutic yoga instructor should not push or force you into anything in class. Everything is optional.\\nA therapeutic yoga instructor should encourage self-awareness and compassion.\\nTherapeutic yoga should include multiple facets of yoga.\\nTherapeutic yoga is not restorative yoga but may have some restorative forms.\\nIn this day and age of stress, anxiety, burnout, and other mental and physical illnesses, therapeutic yoga naturally heals and provides a respite for those who desperately need it. It is inclusive of all people, shapes, sizes, fitness levels, genders, and ages. \\nHere at MyYogaTeacher, our yoga instructors are committed to helping their students achieve their goals, no matter what they may be. They are truly compassionate, caring, and believe in holistic whole body health and wellbeing. If you’re looking for a yoga community that’s tight knit, MyYogaTeacher is the place to be!\n\nMyYogaTeacher offers 1:1 classes with authentic yoga instructors from the birthplace of yoga, India! And if you haven’t experienced virtual private yoga classes yet, MyYogaTeacher makes 1:1 classes affordable and accessible! PLUS, with your membership, you get:\\nRadiance! More energy, peace of mind, and better health & fitness\\n42+ daily group yoga classes, 100% live!\\nDiscounted yoga workshops, all live and interactive!\\nMaking new like-minded friends from around the world\\n\\nGrab your 2-week free trial and check out your membership options here!\\n\\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"},"category":["therapy"]},{"id":"cl2i21amk0paq0cka9xc22m6u","slug":"lose-weight-with-yoga","author":{"name":"Will","teacherMytSlug":null,"pictureUrl":null},"title":"Yes, You Can Lose Weight Doing Yoga: Yoga for Weight Loss","subTitle":null,"seoTitle":null,"seoDescription":null,"readTime":null,"excerpt":"Did you know yoga is great for weight loss? It really is! Learn about losing weight with yoga here.","tags":[],"createdAt":"2022-04-27T20:53:41.493423+00:00","coverUrl":"faic3rluaob2u37qw2ye.jpg","content":{"text":"A consistent yoga practice provides many benefits - better sleep, stress reduction, more flexibility, and pain relief. But weight loss? Yes, doing yoga helps you lose weight!\\nDespite the fact that yoga is low impact, easy on joints, and doable by anyone at any fitness level, practicing yoga strengthens, tones, and will even make you sweat! If you’re doing the right kind of yoga, that is.\\nYoga helps people lose weight in many different ways. Depending on how quickly you want to improve your fitness, you may lose weight more quickly than you think!\\nHere at MyYogaTeacher, our yoga instructors are committed to helping their students achieve their goals, no matter what they may be. They are truly compassionate, caring, and believe in holistic whole body health and wellbeing. If you’re looking for a yoga community that’s tight knit, MyYogaTeacher is the place to be!\n\nMyYogaTeacher offers 1:1 classes with authentic yoga instructors from the birthplace of yoga, India! And if you haven’t experienced virtual private yoga classes yet, MyYogaTeacher makes 1:1 classes affordable and accessible! PLUS, with your membership, you get:\\n\\nRadiance! More energy, peace of mind, and better health & fitness\\n42+ daily group yoga classes, 100% live!\\nDiscounted yoga workshops, all live and interactive!\\nMaking new like-minded friends from around the world\\n\\nGrab your 2-week free trial and check out your membership options here!\\n\\nSo let’s talk about yoga for weight loss.\\n\\n\nThe best types of yoga for weight loss\\nIf you’re accustomed to yoga being restorative, calm, and focused almost solely on stretching and lengthening, then you’re probably participating in a yoga practice that won’t help you lose weight.\\nThere are plenty of others that will though!\\nVinyasa yoga\\nA vinyasa is a smooth and seamless transition between poses. Vinyasa yoga includes stringing a series of yoga poses together smoothly with your breath. Your breath is connected to the movements. It is generally fast-paced, and you’ll stay in a constant state of movement.\\nWith less time spent in stationary poses, you’ll quickly build up some heat and even sweat. As the yoga practice progresses, you may find it increasingly difficult to match your breath to your movement. Keep trying though! This is why yoga is called a “practice.”\\nDepending on your size, weight, and the effort you put in, a one hour vinyasa yoga session can help you burn anywhere from 500-700 calories!\\n\\n\n\\nAshtanga yoga\\nThis modern form of traditional yoga is a dynamic, athletic type of yoga practice. Unlike vinyasa yoga, ashtanga yoga is much more structured and is even more physically demanding. This form of yoga is great for weight loss for that reason! \\nOne important note about ashtanga yoga is that it consists of a series of levels. Beginners start with the Primary Series and progress after they’ve mastered and memorized it. \\nYep, we said “memorized.” \\nAshtanga yoga is made up of a set of postures that remain the same each time you practice. Vinyasa yoga poses may change from practice to practice. Once again, you can count on burning some major calories during an ashtanga yoga class, anywhere from 400-600.\\n\\n\\nPower yoga\\nPower yoga is usually a combination of several styles of yoga, including vinyasa and ashtanga yoga. If you’re looking for yoga for weight loss that changes from class to class and is challenging, power yoga is for you!\\nThis form of yoga also promotes better endurance, improves heart function, and builds strength in ways that other forms of yoga may not. This is because your body is not only always moving, but it’s moving in different ways and different directions each time you practice. So your body doesn’t have time to adjust and plateau like it might with other forms of yoga.\\nPower yoga is also great for athletes who are searching for the next challenge!\\n\\nOther ways yoga helps with weight loss\\nIf you have read any of our other articles, you’ll know that we believe yoga is so much more than a physical activity. Yoga is about mental, emotional, \\nand\\n physical health. It’s about bringing harmony to your inner and outer self.\\n\\n\\nYoga prevents emotional eating\\nFood, especially certain types of foods, causes your brain to release serotonin, a feel good chemical. That is why when we’re sad, stressed, anxious, moody, or generally having a bad day, we often turn to food for comfort.\\nThat doesn’t mean our body \\nneeds\\n food at that time though! \\nA regular yoga practice also causes your body to release feel-good chemicals. And not just serotonin. Endorphins, dopamine, and oxytocin are also released. You are less likely to emotionally eat when you’re already feeling good (or better) after a yoga practice or from using yoga breathing techniques.\\nYoga creates self-awareness\\nMindless eating is also another reason people gain weight. Snacking during a movie, drinking a soda while you drive, eating when you’re tired or dehydrated. All of these are forms of mindless eating.\\nA regular yoga practice helps you lose weight because you become more conscious of your body’s needs, more aware of your mental and emotional state. And yoga gives you tools to to replace or eliminate mindless eating. \\nNot only that, but you will find that you practice \\nmindful eating\\n more often!\\nWhether you’re wanting to lose weight for your health, more confidence, just to feel better, or all three, yoga is great for weight loss! \\nMyYogaTeacher offers classes specifically for weight loss. And 1-on-1 classes will provide you with a yoga teacher who’s invested in you. Our yoga teachers create plans relating to nutrition, fitness, and whole body wellness for their students! Their goal is to help you reach yours!\\nNot a MyYogaTeacher member? Whether you’re interested in teaching yoga, starting yoga, or growing in your yoga journey, MyYogaTeacher is a great place to do it!\\nWhen you sign up for a 1:1 membership with us you get:\\n\\n102 expert\\n, highly qualified yoga instructors to choose from\\nThe ability to switch instructors\\n or take classes with only your faves\\nAccess to unlimited group classes\\n, taught \\nlive\\nPersonalized instruction\\n and work out, diet, and lifestyle plans\\nTo be a member of a HUGE community\\n of happy yogis from around the world\\nYoga teachers who become friends\\n, who truly care about you!\\nIf you haven’t checked us out already,\\ngrab two free 1:1 sessions with your 2-week free trial here\\n"},"category":["fitness"]},{"id":"cl283l1fmgb3i0cj0wdpae11m","slug":"yoga-nidra-science","author":{"name":"Will","teacherMytSlug":null,"pictureUrl":null},"title":"The Science Behind How Yoga Nidra Affects Your Mental Health ","subTitle":null,"seoTitle":null,"seoDescription":null,"readTime":null,"excerpt":"Ever heard of yoga nidra? Discover what it is, how it works, and how yoga nidra can benefit your mental health!","tags":[],"createdAt":"2022-04-20T21:39:20.573665+00:00","coverUrl":"jxarku7prcghfy5mtcey.jpg","content":{"text":"As the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders continue to rise, worldwide, it’s becoming more and more obvious that many (if not most) adults experience some form of mental health issue at some point during their adult life.\\nFor many adults, the occurrence of depression and anxiety is consistent with family, work, and life stressors.\\nYoga nidra is a specific form of meditation that addresses stress and anxiety, the key components of mental health disorders. While there are traditional medical interventions available to people who suffer with mental health issues, they are often not sought out or continued by patients. \\nPrescription medications, hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, and similar interventions are costly, time consuming, and sometimes are only a temporary solution to the side effects of mental health disorders. \\nResearch shows that not only is yoga nidra safe and effective for treating anxiety and depression symptoms, it’s one of the few holistic complementary forms of therapy supported by conventional medical practitioners.\\nThis is why a good understanding of what yog nidra is and how a yoga nidra practice affects your mental health is important. So you can practice it knowing it’s backed by science!\\n\\nWhat is yoga nidra?\\nWe’ve covered this topic in other articles on the MyYogaTeacher blog as well, but in case you haven’t seen them, here’s a brief explanation!\\nYoga nidra is a form of meditation, usually guided. It’s also often known as “yogic sleep” and is, in fact, practiced lying down (great start, right?!). This ancient form of meditation is where the practitioner – that’s you – enters deep states of relaxation and transfers awareness from the outer world to their inner one.\\nYoga nidra is particularly beneficial for those who suffer from insomnia, burnout, PTSD, anxiety, and depression.\\nThis form of yoga is very different from other forms of meditation. It isn’t just about guided visualizations, affirmations, and yoga nidra is certainly not about daydreaming…or dreaming at all.\\nIn yoga nidra, the conscious mind remains active while the brain and body themselves reach a deep relaxation state. Most importantly, unlike in hypnosis, \\nyou\\n are always in control.\\n\\n\\nThe science behind benefits of yoga nidra\\nNow that you have a better understanding of what it is, we can discuss how yoga nidra works to improve your mental health!\\nYoga nidra and the autonomic nervous system\\nThe autonomic nervous system is the part of our body that regulates functions that don’t require conscious thought. Your heart beating, breathing, eyes blinking, digestion, and blood flow are a few examples.\\nThis system also includes our flight-or-fight response (sympathetic nervous system).\\nThe practice of yoga nidra meditation activates the \\npara\\nsympathetic nervous system – the opposite of the sympathetic nervous system. This is a part of your autonomic nervous system that controls our body’s ability to relax. When we relax deeply (such as when we’re in a dreamless sleep), our body is able to heal.\\nThis is why people who suffer from anxiety and depression often want to use sleep as a coping mechanism. Besides the fact that negative mental health states make you tired, sleeping is recovery.\\nHow does yoga nidra affect mental health?\\nA yoga nidra meditation practice allows your body to enter a sleep-like state while also maintaining control of your consciousness. This allows you to not only deeply relax but also rewire your mind (with the help of a yoga nidra instructor) to think and even behave differently.\\nSo your body gets to heal while you’re addressing the root cause of your mental health issues. No drugs. No pills. No nasty side effects from those types of medications. No costly visits to therapists unless you want to.\\nJust a reduction or elimination of anxiety, depression, and stress responses, which contribute to better mental \\nand\\n physical health.\\n\\nPhysiological side effects of better mental health\\nYour physiological body responds to your mental health. When you’re stressed, it releases cortisol, a hormone that causes inflammation. When you’re anxious, your blood pressure rises. When you’re experiencing post traumatic stress responses, your digestive system may almost completely stop working (temporarily anyway).\\nProlonged exposure to mental health issues is responsible for numerous health problems!\\nHeart attacks, strokes, hypertension, eating disorders, addiction to medications, chronic pain, headaches and migraines. So many things that lead to a shorter life span and impact your current quality of life.\\nYoga nidra meditation benefits include:\\n\\nBetter immune function\\nDecreased blood pressure\\nDecreased cortisol levels\\nImproved sleep\\nEnhanced memory and cognitive performance\\nReduction of chronic pain\\nDiminished symptoms of anxiety and depression\\nMore positive thought patterns\\nReduced or elimination of headaches\\nImproved digestion\\nPlus a whole host of others! \\nWho wouldn’t want to live a happier, healthier life with less stress, more mental clarity, and more optimism?\\nHere at MyYogaTeacher, we’re passionate about whole body health. That includes mental and emotional health. And we feel very strongly that yoga is for everyone. Our expert and experienced yoga teachers are well-versed in many forms of meditation, and group classes dedicated to them are available to all of our members!\\nWe have 70+ expert yoga instructors, many who specialize in yoga therapy, meditation, or even have masters degrees in those same areas. They are experienced, kind, and truly care about your well being!\\nWe’d love to have you join our community and discover how meditation and mindfulness positively impacts your life!\\nNot a MyYogaTeacher member? Whether you’re interested in teaching yoga, starting yoga, or growing in your yoga journey, MyYogaTeacher is a great place to do it!\\nWhen you sign up for a 1:1 membership with us you get:\\n\\n102 expert\\n, highly qualified yoga instructors to choose from\\nThe ability to switch instructors\\n or take classes with only your child’s faves\\nAccess to unlimited group classes\\n, taught \\nlive\\nPersonalized instruction\\n and work out, diet, and lifestyle plans\\nTo be a member of a HUGE community\\n of happy yogis from around the world\\nYoga teachers who become friends\\n, who truly care about your chIf you haven’t checked us out already, \\ngrab two free 1:1 sessions with your 2-week free trial here\\n!\\n\n\n\n\n\\n"},"category":["anxiety"]}],"randomPosts":[],"relatedPosts":[],"blogContent":{"id":"ckl8t3amwk53k0b75i0e4wek4","slug":"trataka-candlelight-meditation","author":{"name":"Anuj","teacherMytSlug":"anuj-1","pictureUrl":"anuj-poonia-1.jpg"},"title":"How to Do a Powerful Trataka (Candle Gazing) Meditation","createdAt":"2021-02-17T02:18:23.420756+00:00","coverUrl":"ckl8t3amwk53k0b75i0e4wek4.png","seoDescription":"Join Anuj for Trataka candlelight meditation to bring stillness to your body and your mind. Plus, learn about the benefits of Trataka!","content":{"text":"Trataka is a candle gazing meditation technique that uses sight to bring stillness to the body and mind. You can practice Trataka using any object—a star, a point on the wall, the ground in front of you. Trataka is traditionally practiced using an actual candle flame.\\nIn this meditation, I'm going to take you through six practices to strengthen your eye muscles before we move into a three-part candle gazing meditation. If you enjoy this practice, please find more classes with me on \\nmyYogaTeacher\\n.\\nBefore we start, I want to remind you that candle meditation typically requires a lot of concentration and can not be performed anywhere like other forms of meditation can. Be sure you have a quiet space prepared where you will not be interrupted before beginning this practice.\\n[CTA-TRATAKA]\\n\\nBenefits of Trataka Meditation\\nTrataka meditation has been around for generations. It has survived over time due to several benefits. Specifically, Trataka meditation:\\nAlleviates stress and anxiety\\nImproves concentration and memory\\nStrengthens your eyes\\nPurifies and stimulates the sixth chakra, Ajna, that controls intuition and mental awareness\\n\\nHow to Do a Trataka Meditation\\nFirst, we encourage you to remove your glasses while you're doing a candle meditation. It's also important that you maintain a distance of 1–1.5 meters between you and your candle, and that you don't blink during the candle gazing.\\n\\nPalming Techniques\\nFor this Trataka meditation, you'll need to know three different kinds of palming. Here's what cupping your hands looks like:\\n\\nGentle\\nRub your palms together to generate heat in your hands. Rest your palms in a cupped shape around your closed eyes.\\n\\nPress and Release\\nRub your palms together to generate heat in your hands. With your palms in a cupped position, place them around your closed eyes. As you inhale, apply light pressure around your eyes with your cupped palms. On the exhale, release the pressure (keeping your palms cupped around your eyes. Repeat this for five cycles of breath.\\n\\nConstant Pressure\\nRub your palms together to generate heat in your hands. With your palms in a cupped position, place them around your closed eyes. Apply constant pressure around your eyes with your cupped palms. Maintain the pressure for five cycles of breathing.\\n\\nStretching and Relaxation\\nWe're going to start our Trataka candlelight meditation with a few stretches to bring relaxation into the body.\\n\\nSit up tall in a chair or cross-legged position with your palms on your knees. Roll your shoulders back to open your chest and close your eyes.\\n\\nBreathe normally, allowing a gentle smile to rest on your face. Maintain this smile throughout your practice... And throughout the rest of your life.\\n\\nObserve your breath as it comes in and flows out, noticing the cool air that's coming into your nose and the warm air that's leaving your nose.\\n\\nInhale. On the exhale, lightly twist your torso to the right. Inhale back to the center and exhale to the opposite side. Inhale back to the center and relax for a moment.\\n\\nNext, drop your head to the right side on the exhale. Inhale to return center and repeat on the other side. Continue to warm up your neck, tilting your head back and forward, inhaling each time as you return to center.\\n\\nJoin your palms together at heart center, \\nnamaste\\n, and let's join together in chanting \\nOm\\n.\\n\\nRub your palms together to generate heat in your hands, cup your palms around your eyes, and blink your eyes open.\\n\\nPress your palms into your knees and tilt your head back, eyes looking up, stretching the front of your neck. Exhale your chin to your chest, stretching the back of the neck. Repeat this five more times.\\n\\nBring your palms to your shoulders on either side of your neck with your fingertips pointing down your back. Pull down slightly on your shoulders as you exhale, tilting your head back, your eyes look up towards the ceiling. Hold this stretch for a count of five.\\n\\nNext, bring the fingertips of each hand together and place your fingertips on your shoulders with your elbows touching in front of your body. Start rolling your shoulders, circling your elbows down, out, up, and touching them in front of your body 10 times. Reverse this movement for another 10 counts.\\n\\nNow, swing your arms to the front and back of your body, allowing them to cross in front of your body on the exhale. Do this 10 times.\\n\\nStretch your legs out in front of you and shake them out a bit, moving them side to side. Then, start rapidly bending and straightening your knees. This is a good practice for both relaxation and knee pain.\\n\\nBring your arms out to the side of your body and inhale. On the exhale, bend to the right side, dropping your elbow to the ground and stretching along the left side of your body. Let your left arm reach up and over your body. If you're sitting in a chair, just bend over to the side as far as you can to feel the stretch.\\n\\nInhale, coming back to the center, and exhale to the other side.\\n\\nRepeat this movement several times, keeping your hips square and planted on the ground or chair.\\n\\nInterlace your fingers in front of you and stretch your arms up over your head, inhaling. On the exhale, allow your arms to float down to your side and then behind you, grabbing your right wrist with your left hand. Exhale and bend forward over your legs, keeping your arms behind you. Repeat this a few times, inhaling to come up and exhaling to fold forward.\\n\\nTwist once more to the right and then the left.\\n\\nEye Movements\\nNow we're going to move into six practices to strengthen the muscles around your eyes.\\n\\nPractice One: Eye Movements—Up and Down\\nSit up straight. For focus, you can bring your thumb out in front of you or, if you're comfortable without it, that's fine, too. Inhale, look to the tip of the thumb, and fix your gaze. Begin to move your thumb up and down, following the movement with your eyes without blinking and without moving your head. Remember to smile. Try to keep your eyes in each position for one second (up for one second and down for one second). Do this 10 times and finish with rest palming.\\n\\nPractice Two: Eye Movements—Right and Left\\nThis time, you'll be following the movement of your thumb to the right and left, without blinking and without moving your head. Keep your eyes in each position for at least one second. Do this 10 times and finish with rest palming.\\n\\nPractice Three: Eye Movements—Right-Up and Left-Down\\nFollow the movement of your thumb on the diagonal—up to the right and down to the left. Once again, do this without blinking and without moving your head, keeping your eyes in each position for at least one second. Do this 10 times. This time, you'll finish with press and release palming.\\n\\nPractice Four: Eye Movements—Left-Up and Right-Down\\nRepeat the diagonal eye movements, this time going up to the left and down to the right. Do this without blinking and without moving your head for 10 repetitions, with your eyes in each position for at least one second. Finish with press and release palming.\\n\\nPractice Five: Eye Movements—Clockwise Rotation\\nNow, we're going to move our eyes in a clockwise rotation—right, up, left, and down. Don't blink and don't move your head. Be sure to keep your eyes in each position for at least one second. Complete this clockwise rotation 10 times before finishing with constant pressure palming.\\n\\nPractice Six: Eye Movements—Anti-Clockwise Rotation\\nRepeat the rotational movements, this time going left, up, right, and down. As always, don't blink and don't move your head, just your eyes. Keep your eyes in each position for at least one second and complete the anti-clockwise rotation 10 times. Finish with constant pressure palming.\\n\\nLeave your eyes closed for a few seconds and relax before we move into the meditation. Now you are ready for our candle meditation.\\n\\nTrataka Meditation: Effortless Focusing\\n\\nStart your Trataka meditation by turning down the lights and sitting between 1–1.5 meters from your candle. Sit in a pose that's comfortable for you and that you can hold for the duration of the meditation. Once you're comfortable, close your eyes.\\nWith your eyes closed, observe the lightness around your eyes. Listen to your breath. Slowly, with your head angled down slightly, blink your eyes open, looking softly at the floor.\\n\\nFor the next minute, try not to blink.\\n\\nLook at the base of the stand that your candle is sitting on. Slowly bring your gaze up the length of the candle stand to the base of the candle itself. Then, let your gaze move up the candle to the flame. Look at the flame for the next 30 seconds.\\n\\nClose your eyes and do press and release palming. Release your palms back down to your knees.\\nCandle gazing takes practice. Be patient with yourself as you're learning this process.\\n\\nTrataka Meditation: Intense Focusing\\nBlink your eyes open, looking softly at the floor. For the next minute, don't blink.\\n\\nOnce again, look at the base of the candle stand and slowly move your gaze up the candle stand to the base of the candle. From there, let your gaze continue up the length of the candle to the flame. Look at the flame of the candle and deepen your focus. See the wick inside of the flame. Watch the wick burn inside of the candle flame for 30 seconds.\\n\\nClose your eyes and do constant pressure palming. Release your palms back down to your knees.\\n\\nTrataka Meditation: Bhramari Pranayama\\nBlink your eyes open, again looking softly at the floor. Don't blink for the next minute and a half.\\n\\nLook towards the base of the candle stand, slowly bringing your gaze up to the base of the candle itself before continuing up the length of the candle to the flame. Focus on the flame of the candle for the next 30 seconds. Bring your awareness completely towards the flame, deepen your awareness and focus. Really look at the flame, observing its shape, color, and size. Notice the flame's aura and the particles around it.\\n\\nClose your eyes and do constant pressure palming.\\n\\nThis time, instead of dropping your palms back to your knees, allow them to remain on your eyes as we move into Bhramari Pranayama, or humming bee breath. Take a deep breath in and hum, producing a sound like a buzzing bee, allowing your body to feel the vibration.\\n\\nPlace your hands behind your back, grabbing your right wrist with your left hand, and inhale, arching your back and looking up to the ceiling. On the exhale, fold forward. Return to an upright position with your palms on your knees.\\nObserve the silence within you and find the awareness toward your body. Observe the changes in your body, especially in the eye muscles.\\n\\nContinue with your eyes closed. Move into savasana, laying down on your back with your palms facing up. Feel free to cover yourself with a blanket, if you'd like. If you're sitting in a chair, you're welcome to stay there and relax with your eyes closed.\\n\\nRelax in savasana for several minutes.\\n\\nWhen you're ready, interlace your fingers over your head and give yourself a full-body stretch. Keeping your eyes closed, bring your knees to your chest, roll to one side, and return to a sitting position.\\n\\nJoin your palms together at heart center, \\nnamaste\\n. Take a deep breath in and finish by chanting \\nOm, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti\\n.\\n\\nFinish with rest palming and blink your eyes open. Congratulations on completing your candle meditation! \\n\\nWant to take a guided live class? Sign up for a \\nfree trial of myYogaTeacher\\n and get access to 35+ live classes every single day.","html":"<p>Trataka is a candle gazing meditation technique that uses sight to bring stillness to the body and mind. You can practice Trataka using any object—a star, a point on the wall, the ground in front of you. Trataka is traditionally practiced using an actual candle flame.</p><p>In this meditation, I&#39;m going to take you through six practices to strengthen your eye muscles before we move into a three-part candle gazing meditation. If you enjoy this practice, please find more classes with me on <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group-classes\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group-classes\">myYogaTeacher</a>.</p><p>Before we start, I want to remind you that candle meditation typically requires a lot of concentration and can not be performed anywhere like other forms of meditation can. Be sure you have a quiet space prepared where you will not be interrupted before beginning this practice.</p><p>[CTA-TRATAKA]</p><p></p><h3>Benefits of Trataka Meditation</h3><p>Trataka meditation has been around for generations. It has survived over time due to several benefits. Specifically, Trataka meditation:</p><ul><li><div>Alleviates stress and anxiety</div></li><li><div>Improves concentration and memory</div></li><li><div>Strengthens your eyes</div></li><li><div>Purifies and stimulates the sixth chakra, Ajna, that controls intuition and mental awareness</div></li></ul><p></p><h2>How to Do a Trataka Meditation</h2><p>First, we encourage you to remove your glasses while you&#39;re doing a candle meditation. It&#39;s also important that you maintain a distance of 1–1.5 meters between you and your candle, and that you don&#39;t blink during the candle gazing.</p><p></p><h3>Palming Techniques</h3><p>For this Trataka meditation, you&#39;ll need to know three different kinds of palming. Here&#39;s what cupping your hands looks like:</p><img src=\"https://media.graphcms.com/a5iYuEQXQPmnORpFZ1OJ\" alt=\"cupped palms.png\" title=\"cupped palms.png\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" /><h4>Gentle</h4><p>Rub your palms together to generate heat in your hands. Rest your palms in a cupped shape around your closed eyes.</p><p></p><h4>Press and Release</h4><p>Rub your palms together to generate heat in your hands. With your palms in a cupped position, place them around your closed eyes. As you inhale, apply light pressure around your eyes with your cupped palms. On the exhale, release the pressure (keeping your palms cupped around your eyes. Repeat this for five cycles of breath.</p><p></p><h4>Constant Pressure</h4><p>Rub your palms together to generate heat in your hands. With your palms in a cupped position, place them around your closed eyes. Apply constant pressure around your eyes with your cupped palms. Maintain the pressure for five cycles of breathing.</p><p></p><h3>Stretching and Relaxation</h3><p>We&#39;re going to start our Trataka candlelight meditation with a few stretches to bring relaxation into the body.</p><p></p><p>Sit up tall in a chair or cross-legged position with your palms on your knees. Roll your shoulders back to open your chest and close your eyes.</p><p></p><p>Breathe normally, allowing a gentle smile to rest on your face. Maintain this smile throughout your practice... And throughout the rest of your life.</p><p></p><p>Observe your breath as it comes in and flows out, noticing the cool air that&#39;s coming into your nose and the warm air that&#39;s leaving your nose.</p><p></p><p>Inhale. On the exhale, lightly twist your torso to the right. Inhale back to the center and exhale to the opposite side. Inhale back to the center and relax for a moment.</p><p></p><p>Next, drop your head to the right side on the exhale. Inhale to return center and repeat on the other side. Continue to warm up your neck, tilting your head back and forward, inhaling each time as you return to center.</p><p></p><p>Join your palms together at heart center, <em>namaste</em>, and let&#39;s join together in chanting <em>Om</em>.</p><img src=\"https://media.graphcms.com/sL4AcZ1AQsOE5rJ4pkQV\" alt=\"namaste.png\" title=\"namaste.png\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" /><p>Rub your palms together to generate heat in your hands, cup your palms around your eyes, and blink your eyes open.</p><p></p><p>Press your palms into your knees and tilt your head back, eyes looking up, stretching the front of your neck. Exhale your chin to your chest, stretching the back of the neck. Repeat this five more times.</p><p></p><p>Bring your palms to your shoulders on either side of your neck with your fingertips pointing down your back. Pull down slightly on your shoulders as you exhale, tilting your head back, your eyes look up towards the ceiling. Hold this stretch for a count of five.</p><p></p><p>Next, bring the fingertips of each hand together and place your fingertips on your shoulders with your elbows touching in front of your body. Start rolling your shoulders, circling your elbows down, out, up, and touching them in front of your body 10 times. Reverse this movement for another 10 counts.</p><video controls width=\"undefined\" height=\"undefined\">\n          <source src=\"https://media.graphcms.com/oDMOqmGxS4GyPGIKtKn4\" type=\"video/mp4\" title=\"elbow shoulder rotations.mp4\" />\n          Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos.\n        </video><p>Now, swing your arms to the front and back of your body, allowing them to cross in front of your body on the exhale. Do this 10 times.</p><p></p><p>Stretch your legs out in front of you and shake them out a bit, moving them side to side. Then, start rapidly bending and straightening your knees. This is a good practice for both relaxation and knee pain.</p><p></p><p>Bring your arms out to the side of your body and inhale. On the exhale, bend to the right side, dropping your elbow to the ground and stretching along the left side of your body. Let your left arm reach up and over your body. If you&#39;re sitting in a chair, just bend over to the side as far as you can to feel the stretch.</p><p></p><p>Inhale, coming back to the center, and exhale to the other side.</p><p></p><p>Repeat this movement several times, keeping your hips square and planted on the ground or chair.</p><video controls width=\"undefined\" height=\"undefined\">\n          <source src=\"https://media.graphcms.com/YxeIzVz4S9uYO1paDtv0\" type=\"video/mp4\" title=\"side stretch.mp4\" />\n          Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos.\n        </video><p>Interlace your fingers in front of you and stretch your arms up over your head, inhaling. On the exhale, allow your arms to float down to your side and then behind you, grabbing your right wrist with your left hand. Exhale and bend forward over your legs, keeping your arms behind you. Repeat this a few times, inhaling to come up and exhaling to fold forward.</p><p></p><p>Twist once more to the right and then the left.</p><p></p><h3>Eye Movements</h3><p>Now we&#39;re going to move into six practices to strengthen the muscles around your eyes.</p><p></p><h4>Practice One: Eye Movements—Up and Down</h4><p>Sit up straight. For focus, you can bring your thumb out in front of you or, if you&#39;re comfortable without it, that&#39;s fine, too. Inhale, look to the tip of the thumb, and fix your gaze. Begin to move your thumb up and down, following the movement with your eyes without blinking and without moving your head. Remember to smile. Try to keep your eyes in each position for one second (up for one second and down for one second). Do this 10 times and finish with rest palming.</p><p></p><h4>Practice Two: Eye Movements—Right and Left</h4><p>This time, you&#39;ll be following the movement of your thumb to the right and left, without blinking and without moving your head. Keep your eyes in each position for at least one second. Do this 10 times and finish with rest palming.</p><p></p><h4>Practice Three: Eye Movements—Right-Up and Left-Down</h4><p>Follow the movement of your thumb on the diagonal—up to the right and down to the left. Once again, do this without blinking and without moving your head, keeping your eyes in each position for at least one second. Do this 10 times. This time, you&#39;ll finish with press and release palming.</p><p></p><h4>Practice Four: Eye Movements—Left-Up and Right-Down</h4><p>Repeat the diagonal eye movements, this time going up to the left and down to the right. Do this without blinking and without moving your head for 10 repetitions, with your eyes in each position for at least one second. Finish with press and release palming.</p><p></p><h4>Practice Five: Eye Movements—Clockwise Rotation</h4><p>Now, we&#39;re going to move our eyes in a clockwise rotation—right, up, left, and down. Don&#39;t blink and don&#39;t move your head. Be sure to keep your eyes in each position for at least one second. Complete this clockwise rotation 10 times before finishing with constant pressure palming.</p><p></p><h4>Practice Six: Eye Movements—Anti-Clockwise Rotation</h4><p>Repeat the rotational movements, this time going left, up, right, and down. As always, don&#39;t blink and don&#39;t move your head, just your eyes. Keep your eyes in each position for at least one second and complete the anti-clockwise rotation 10 times. Finish with constant pressure palming.</p><p></p><p>Leave your eyes closed for a few seconds and relax before we move into the meditation. Now you are ready for our candle meditation.</p><p></p><h3>Trataka Meditation: Effortless Focusing</h3><img src=\"https://media.graphcms.com/djMUBsh8RwmT5TZ6ORj3\" alt=\"candle flame.png\" title=\"candle flame.png\" width=\"600\" height=\"399\" /><p>Start your Trataka meditation by turning down the lights and sitting between 1–1.5 meters from your candle. Sit in a pose that&#39;s comfortable for you and that you can hold for the duration of the meditation. Once you&#39;re comfortable, close your eyes.</p><p>With your eyes closed, observe the lightness around your eyes. Listen to your breath. Slowly, with your head angled down slightly, blink your eyes open, looking softly at the floor.</p><p></p><p>For the next minute, try not to blink.</p><p></p><p>Look at the base of the stand that your candle is sitting on. Slowly bring your gaze up the length of the candle stand to the base of the candle itself. Then, let your gaze move up the candle to the flame. Look at the flame for the next 30 seconds.</p><p></p><p>Close your eyes and do press and release palming. Release your palms back down to your knees.</p><p>Candle gazing takes practice. Be patient with yourself as you&#39;re learning this process.</p><p></p><h3>Trataka Meditation: Intense Focusing</h3><p>Blink your eyes open, looking softly at the floor. For the next minute, don&#39;t blink.</p><p></p><p>Once again, look at the base of the candle stand and slowly move your gaze up the candle stand to the base of the candle. From there, let your gaze continue up the length of the candle to the flame. Look at the flame of the candle and deepen your focus. See the wick inside of the flame. Watch the wick burn inside of the candle flame for 30 seconds.</p><p></p><p>Close your eyes and do constant pressure palming. Release your palms back down to your knees.</p><p></p><h3>Trataka Meditation: Bhramari Pranayama</h3><p>Blink your eyes open, again looking softly at the floor. Don&#39;t blink for the next minute and a half.</p><p></p><p>Look towards the base of the candle stand, slowly bringing your gaze up to the base of the candle itself before continuing up the length of the candle to the flame. Focus on the flame of the candle for the next 30 seconds. Bring your awareness completely towards the flame, deepen your awareness and focus. Really look at the flame, observing its shape, color, and size. Notice the flame&#39;s aura and the particles around it.</p><p></p><p>Close your eyes and do constant pressure palming.</p><p></p><p>This time, instead of dropping your palms back to your knees, allow them to remain on your eyes as we move into Bhramari Pranayama, or humming bee breath. Take a deep breath in and hum, producing a sound like a buzzing bee, allowing your body to feel the vibration.</p><p></p><p>Place your hands behind your back, grabbing your right wrist with your left hand, and inhale, arching your back and looking up to the ceiling. On the exhale, fold forward. Return to an upright position with your palms on your knees.</p><p>Observe the silence within you and find the awareness toward your body. Observe the changes in your body, especially in the eye muscles.</p><p></p><p>Continue with your eyes closed. Move into savasana, laying down on your back with your palms facing up. Feel free to cover yourself with a blanket, if you&#39;d like. If you&#39;re sitting in a chair, you&#39;re welcome to stay there and relax with your eyes closed.</p><p></p><p>Relax in savasana for several minutes.</p><p></p><p>When you&#39;re ready, interlace your fingers over your head and give yourself a full-body stretch. Keeping your eyes closed, bring your knees to your chest, roll to one side, and return to a sitting position.</p><p></p><p>Join your palms together at heart center, <em>namaste</em>. Take a deep breath in and finish by chanting <em>Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti</em>.</p><p></p><p>Finish with rest palming and blink your eyes open. Congratulations on completing your candle meditation! </p><p></p><p>Want to take a guided live class? Sign up for a <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\">free trial of myYogaTeacher</a> and get access to 35+ live classes every single day.</p>"},"category":["therapy"],"utmCampaign":null,"utmMedium":null,"utmContent":null,"utmSource":null,"utmTerm":null,"utmSearchString":null},"loading":false,"blog_content":[{"type":"HTML","value":"<p>Trataka is a candle gazing meditation technique that uses sight to bring stillness to the body and mind. You can practice Trataka using any object—a star, a point on the wall, the ground in front of you. Trataka is traditionally practiced using an actual candle flame.</p><p>In this meditation, I&#39;m going to take you through six practices to strengthen your eye muscles before we move into a three-part candle gazing meditation. If you enjoy this practice, please find more classes with me on <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group-classes\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group-classes\">myYogaTeacher</a>.</p><p>Before we start, I want to remind you that candle meditation typically requires a lot of concentration and can not be performed anywhere like other forms of meditation can. Be sure you have a quiet space prepared where you will not be interrupted before beginning this practice.</p>"},{"type":"CTA","value":"[CTA-TRATAKA]"},{"type":"HTML","value":"<p></p><h3>Benefits of Trataka Meditation</h3><p>Trataka meditation has been around for generations. It has survived over time due to several benefits. Specifically, Trataka meditation:</p><ul><li><div>Alleviates stress and anxiety</div></li><li><div>Improves concentration and memory</div></li><li><div>Strengthens your eyes</div></li><li><div>Purifies and stimulates the sixth chakra, Ajna, that controls intuition and mental awareness</div></li></ul><p></p><h2>How to Do a Trataka Meditation</h2><p>First, we encourage you to remove your glasses while you&#39;re doing a candle meditation. It&#39;s also important that you maintain a distance of 1–1.5 meters between you and your candle, and that you don&#39;t blink during the candle gazing.</p><p></p><h3>Palming Techniques</h3><p>For this Trataka meditation, you&#39;ll need to know three different kinds of palming. Here&#39;s what cupping your hands looks like:</p>\n          <picture>\n            <source \n              type=\"image/webp\"\n              data-srcset=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=w:960,fit:crop/quality=value:75/output=format:webp/compress/a5iYuEQXQPmnORpFZ1OJ\" \n              alt=\"cupped palms.png\"\n              title=\"cupped palms.png\"\n              \n              \n              class=\"lazyLoadingImg\"\n            />\n            <source \n              type=\"image/jpg\"\n              data-srcset=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=w:960,fit:crop/quality=value:75/output=format:jpg/a5iYuEQXQPmnORpFZ1OJ\"\n              alt=\"cupped palms.png\"\n              title=\"cupped palms.png\"\n              \n              \n              class=\"lazyLoadingImg\"\n            />\n            <img \n              data-srcset=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=w:960,fit:crop/quality=value:75/output=format:jpg/a5iYuEQXQPmnORpFZ1OJ\"\n              alt=\"cupped palms.png\"\n              title=\"cupped palms.png\"\n              \n              \n              class=\"lazyLoadingImg\"\n            />\n          </picture>\n        <h4>Gentle</h4><p>Rub your palms together to generate heat in your hands. Rest your palms in a cupped shape around your closed eyes.</p><p></p><h4>Press and Release</h4><p>Rub your palms together to generate heat in your hands. With your palms in a cupped position, place them around your closed eyes. As you inhale, apply light pressure around your eyes with your cupped palms. On the exhale, release the pressure (keeping your palms cupped around your eyes. Repeat this for five cycles of breath.</p><p></p><h4>Constant Pressure</h4><p>Rub your palms together to generate heat in your hands. With your palms in a cupped position, place them around your closed eyes. Apply constant pressure around your eyes with your cupped palms. Maintain the pressure for five cycles of breathing.</p><p></p><h3>Stretching and Relaxation</h3><p>We&#39;re going to start our Trataka candlelight meditation with a few stretches to bring relaxation into the body.</p><p></p><p>Sit up tall in a chair or cross-legged position with your palms on your knees. Roll your shoulders back to open your chest and close your eyes.</p><p></p><p>Breathe normally, allowing a gentle smile to rest on your face. Maintain this smile throughout your practice... And throughout the rest of your life.</p><p></p><p>Observe your breath as it comes in and flows out, noticing the cool air that&#39;s coming into your nose and the warm air that&#39;s leaving your nose.</p><p></p><p>Inhale. On the exhale, lightly twist your torso to the right. Inhale back to the center and exhale to the opposite side. Inhale back to the center and relax for a moment.</p><p></p><p>Next, drop your head to the right side on the exhale. Inhale to return center and repeat on the other side. Continue to warm up your neck, tilting your head back and forward, inhaling each time as you return to center.</p><p></p><p>Join your palms together at heart center, <em>namaste</em>, and let&#39;s join together in chanting <em>Om</em>.</p>\n          <picture>\n            <source \n              type=\"image/webp\"\n              data-srcset=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=w:960,fit:crop/quality=value:75/output=format:webp/compress/sL4AcZ1AQsOE5rJ4pkQV\" \n              alt=\"namaste.png\"\n              title=\"namaste.png\"\n              \n              \n              class=\"lazyLoadingImg\"\n            />\n            <source \n              type=\"image/jpg\"\n              data-srcset=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=w:960,fit:crop/quality=value:75/output=format:jpg/sL4AcZ1AQsOE5rJ4pkQV\"\n              alt=\"namaste.png\"\n              title=\"namaste.png\"\n              \n              \n              class=\"lazyLoadingImg\"\n            />\n            <img \n              data-srcset=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=w:960,fit:crop/quality=value:75/output=format:jpg/sL4AcZ1AQsOE5rJ4pkQV\"\n              alt=\"namaste.png\"\n              title=\"namaste.png\"\n              \n              \n              class=\"lazyLoadingImg\"\n            />\n          </picture>\n        <p>Rub your palms together to generate heat in your hands, cup your palms around your eyes, and blink your eyes open.</p><p></p><p>Press your palms into your knees and tilt your head back, eyes looking up, stretching the front of your neck. Exhale your chin to your chest, stretching the back of the neck. Repeat this five more times.</p><p></p><p>Bring your palms to your shoulders on either side of your neck with your fingertips pointing down your back. Pull down slightly on your shoulders as you exhale, tilting your head back, your eyes look up towards the ceiling. Hold this stretch for a count of five.</p><p></p><p>Next, bring the fingertips of each hand together and place your fingertips on your shoulders with your elbows touching in front of your body. Start rolling your shoulders, circling your elbows down, out, up, and touching them in front of your body 10 times. Reverse this movement for another 10 counts.</p><video controls >\n          <source src=\"https://media.graphcms.com/oDMOqmGxS4GyPGIKtKn4\" type=\"video/mp4\" title=\"elbow shoulder rotations.mp4\" />\n          Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos.\n        </video><p>Now, swing your arms to the front and back of your body, allowing them to cross in front of your body on the exhale. Do this 10 times.</p><p></p><p>Stretch your legs out in front of you and shake them out a bit, moving them side to side. Then, start rapidly bending and straightening your knees. This is a good practice for both relaxation and knee pain.</p><p></p><p>Bring your arms out to the side of your body and inhale. On the exhale, bend to the right side, dropping your elbow to the ground and stretching along the left side of your body. Let your left arm reach up and over your body. If you&#39;re sitting in a chair, just bend over to the side as far as you can to feel the stretch.</p><p></p><p>Inhale, coming back to the center, and exhale to the other side.</p><p></p><p>Repeat this movement several times, keeping your hips square and planted on the ground or chair.</p><video controls >\n          <source src=\"https://media.graphcms.com/YxeIzVz4S9uYO1paDtv0\" type=\"video/mp4\" title=\"side stretch.mp4\" />\n          Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos.\n        </video><p>Interlace your fingers in front of you and stretch your arms up over your head, inhaling. On the exhale, allow your arms to float down to your side and then behind you, grabbing your right wrist with your left hand. Exhale and bend forward over your legs, keeping your arms behind you. Repeat this a few times, inhaling to come up and exhaling to fold forward.</p><p></p><p>Twist once more to the right and then the left.</p><p></p><h3>Eye Movements</h3><p>Now we&#39;re going to move into six practices to strengthen the muscles around your eyes.</p><p></p><h4>Practice One: Eye Movements—Up and Down</h4><p>Sit up straight. For focus, you can bring your thumb out in front of you or, if you&#39;re comfortable without it, that&#39;s fine, too. Inhale, look to the tip of the thumb, and fix your gaze. Begin to move your thumb up and down, following the movement with your eyes without blinking and without moving your head. Remember to smile. Try to keep your eyes in each position for one second (up for one second and down for one second). Do this 10 times and finish with rest palming.</p><p></p><h4>Practice Two: Eye Movements—Right and Left</h4><p>This time, you&#39;ll be following the movement of your thumb to the right and left, without blinking and without moving your head. Keep your eyes in each position for at least one second. Do this 10 times and finish with rest palming.</p><p></p><h4>Practice Three: Eye Movements—Right-Up and Left-Down</h4><p>Follow the movement of your thumb on the diagonal—up to the right and down to the left. Once again, do this without blinking and without moving your head, keeping your eyes in each position for at least one second. Do this 10 times. This time, you&#39;ll finish with press and release palming.</p><p></p><h4>Practice Four: Eye Movements—Left-Up and Right-Down</h4><p>Repeat the diagonal eye movements, this time going up to the left and down to the right. Do this without blinking and without moving your head for 10 repetitions, with your eyes in each position for at least one second. Finish with press and release palming.</p><p></p><h4>Practice Five: Eye Movements—Clockwise Rotation</h4><p>Now, we&#39;re going to move our eyes in a clockwise rotation—right, up, left, and down. Don&#39;t blink and don&#39;t move your head. Be sure to keep your eyes in each position for at least one second. Complete this clockwise rotation 10 times before finishing with constant pressure palming.</p><p></p><h4>Practice Six: Eye Movements—Anti-Clockwise Rotation</h4><p>Repeat the rotational movements, this time going left, up, right, and down. As always, don&#39;t blink and don&#39;t move your head, just your eyes. Keep your eyes in each position for at least one second and complete the anti-clockwise rotation 10 times. Finish with constant pressure palming.</p><p></p><p>Leave your eyes closed for a few seconds and relax before we move into the meditation. Now you are ready for our candle meditation.</p><p></p><h3>Trataka Meditation: Effortless Focusing</h3>\n          <picture>\n            <source \n              type=\"image/webp\"\n              data-srcset=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=w:960,fit:crop/quality=value:75/output=format:webp/compress/djMUBsh8RwmT5TZ6ORj3\" \n              alt=\"candle flame.png\"\n              title=\"candle flame.png\"\n              \n              \n              class=\"lazyLoadingImg\"\n            />\n            <source \n              type=\"image/jpg\"\n              data-srcset=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=w:960,fit:crop/quality=value:75/output=format:jpg/djMUBsh8RwmT5TZ6ORj3\"\n              alt=\"candle flame.png\"\n              title=\"candle flame.png\"\n              \n              \n              class=\"lazyLoadingImg\"\n            />\n            <img \n              data-srcset=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=w:960,fit:crop/quality=value:75/output=format:jpg/djMUBsh8RwmT5TZ6ORj3\"\n              alt=\"candle flame.png\"\n              title=\"candle flame.png\"\n              \n              \n              class=\"lazyLoadingImg\"\n            />\n          </picture>\n        <p>Start your Trataka meditation by turning down the lights and sitting between 1–1.5 meters from your candle. Sit in a pose that&#39;s comfortable for you and that you can hold for the duration of the meditation. Once you&#39;re comfortable, close your eyes.</p><p>With your eyes closed, observe the lightness around your eyes. Listen to your breath. Slowly, with your head angled down slightly, blink your eyes open, looking softly at the floor.</p><p></p><p>For the next minute, try not to blink.</p><p></p><p>Look at the base of the stand that your candle is sitting on. Slowly bring your gaze up the length of the candle stand to the base of the candle itself. Then, let your gaze move up the candle to the flame. Look at the flame for the next 30 seconds.</p><p></p><p>Close your eyes and do press and release palming. Release your palms back down to your knees.</p><p>Candle gazing takes practice. Be patient with yourself as you&#39;re learning this process.</p><p></p><h3>Trataka Meditation: Intense Focusing</h3><p>Blink your eyes open, looking softly at the floor. For the next minute, don&#39;t blink.</p><p></p><p>Once again, look at the base of the candle stand and slowly move your gaze up the candle stand to the base of the candle. From there, let your gaze continue up the length of the candle to the flame. Look at the flame of the candle and deepen your focus. See the wick inside of the flame. Watch the wick burn inside of the candle flame for 30 seconds.</p><p></p><p>Close your eyes and do constant pressure palming. Release your palms back down to your knees.</p><p></p><h3>Trataka Meditation: Bhramari Pranayama</h3><p>Blink your eyes open, again looking softly at the floor. Don&#39;t blink for the next minute and a half.</p><p></p><p>Look towards the base of the candle stand, slowly bringing your gaze up to the base of the candle itself before continuing up the length of the candle to the flame. Focus on the flame of the candle for the next 30 seconds. Bring your awareness completely towards the flame, deepen your awareness and focus. Really look at the flame, observing its shape, color, and size. Notice the flame&#39;s aura and the particles around it.</p><p></p><p>Close your eyes and do constant pressure palming.</p><p></p><p>This time, instead of dropping your palms back to your knees, allow them to remain on your eyes as we move into Bhramari Pranayama, or humming bee breath. Take a deep breath in and hum, producing a sound like a buzzing bee, allowing your body to feel the vibration.</p><p></p><p>Place your hands behind your back, grabbing your right wrist with your left hand, and inhale, arching your back and looking up to the ceiling. On the exhale, fold forward. Return to an upright position with your palms on your knees.</p><p>Observe the silence within you and find the awareness toward your body. Observe the changes in your body, especially in the eye muscles.</p><p></p><p>Continue with your eyes closed. Move into savasana, laying down on your back with your palms facing up. Feel free to cover yourself with a blanket, if you&#39;d like. If you&#39;re sitting in a chair, you&#39;re welcome to stay there and relax with your eyes closed.</p><p></p><p>Relax in savasana for several minutes.</p><p></p><p>When you&#39;re ready, interlace your fingers over your head and give yourself a full-body stretch. Keeping your eyes closed, bring your knees to your chest, roll to one side, and return to a sitting position.</p><p></p><p>Join your palms together at heart center, <em>namaste</em>. Take a deep breath in and finish by chanting <em>Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti</em>.</p><p></p><p>Finish with rest palming and blink your eyes open. Congratulations on completing your candle meditation! </p><p></p><p>Want to take a guided live class? Sign up for a <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\">free trial of myYogaTeacher</a> and get access to 35+ live classes every single day.</p>"},{"type":"CTA","value":"[CTA-DEFAULT]"}],"ctaContent":[{"id":"ckxrz2i14tov40c25g1dpicsg","name":"[CTA-DEFAULT]","description":{"html":"<p><strong>Get 2 free private yoga sessions and 2 weeks of unlimited group classes</strong> with authentic yoga teachers. No credit card required when you sign up today!</p>"},"title":{"html":"<p><strong>Online Yoga Classes – </strong><u><strong>Live &amp; Interactive</strong></u></p>"},"linkText":"Start Free Trial","linkUrl":"https://www.myyogateacher.com/signup"},{"id":"ckxrz37hsu0cj0a76mgb4594m","name":"[CTA-FREECLASS]","description":{"html":"<p><strong>Get 2 free private yoga sessions and 2 weeks of unlimited group classes</strong> with authentic yoga teachers. 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No credit card required when you sign up today!</p>"},"title":{"html":"<p><strong>Online Hatha Yoga Sessions – </strong><u><strong>Live &amp; Interactive</strong></u></p><p><strong>with Authentic Indian Teachers</strong></p><p></p>"},"linkText":"Start Free Trial","linkUrl":"https://www.myyogateacher.com/signup"},{"id":"cky90p88g3zgc0d23yz6taont","name":"[CTA-NASAL]","description":{"html":"<p><strong>Get 2 free private sessions </strong>to relieve post nasal drip and clear out your sinus. </p><p><strong>PLUS, 2 weeks of unlimited group classes </strong>with authentic Indian yoga teachers. No credit card required when you sign up today!</p>"},"title":{"html":"<p><strong>Online Yoga Sessions – </strong><u><strong>Live &amp; Interactive</strong></u></p><p><strong>Relieve Post Nasal Drip &amp; Clear Your Sinus Today!</strong></p><p></p>"},"linkText":"Start Free Trial","linkUrl":"https://www.myyogateacher.com/signup"},{"id":"ckyirvl8g25ce0c70cldmca2g","name":"[CTA-TRATAKA]","description":{"html":"<p><strong>Get 2 free private sessions </strong>with experienced Trataka teachers. </p><p><strong>PLUS, 2 weeks of unlimited group classes </strong>(like ‘Candle Gazing Meditation) with authentic yoga teachers. No credit card required when you sign up today!</p>"},"title":{"html":"<p><strong>Online Yoga Sessions – </strong><u><strong>Live &amp; Interactive</strong></u></p><p><strong>Learn Trataka (Candle Gazing) Meditation Today!</strong></p><p></p>"},"linkText":"Start Free Trial","linkUrl":"https://www.myyogateacher.com/signup"},{"id":"ckyisqh482ck60b79rp1r1jcg","name":"[CTA-YIN]","description":{"html":"<p><strong>Get 2 free private yoga sessions</strong>, work with an experienced yoga therapist to reduce (and even eliminate) your back pain. <strong>PLUS 2 weeks of unlimited group classes </strong>(like ‘Yoga for Back Pain’) with authentic yoga teachers. 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Plus, learn about the benefits of Trataka!","content":{"text":"Trataka is a candle gazing meditation technique that uses sight to bring stillness to the body and mind. You can practice Trataka using any object—a star, a point on the wall, the ground in front of you. Trataka is traditionally practiced using an actual candle flame.\\nIn this meditation, I'm going to take you through six practices to strengthen your eye muscles before we move into a three-part candle gazing meditation. If you enjoy this practice, please find more classes with me on \\nmyYogaTeacher\\n.\\nBefore we start, I want to remind you that candle meditation typically requires a lot of concentration and can not be performed anywhere like other forms of meditation can. Be sure you have a quiet space prepared where you will not be interrupted before beginning this practice.\\n[CTA-TRATAKA]\\n\\nBenefits of Trataka Meditation\\nTrataka meditation has been around for generations. It has survived over time due to several benefits. Specifically, Trataka meditation:\\nAlleviates stress and anxiety\\nImproves concentration and memory\\nStrengthens your eyes\\nPurifies and stimulates the sixth chakra, Ajna, that controls intuition and mental awareness\\n\\nHow to Do a Trataka Meditation\\nFirst, we encourage you to remove your glasses while you're doing a candle meditation. It's also important that you maintain a distance of 1–1.5 meters between you and your candle, and that you don't blink during the candle gazing.\\n\\nPalming Techniques\\nFor this Trataka meditation, you'll need to know three different kinds of palming. Here's what cupping your hands looks like:\\n\\nGentle\\nRub your palms together to generate heat in your hands. Rest your palms in a cupped shape around your closed eyes.\\n\\nPress and Release\\nRub your palms together to generate heat in your hands. With your palms in a cupped position, place them around your closed eyes. As you inhale, apply light pressure around your eyes with your cupped palms. On the exhale, release the pressure (keeping your palms cupped around your eyes. Repeat this for five cycles of breath.\\n\\nConstant Pressure\\nRub your palms together to generate heat in your hands. With your palms in a cupped position, place them around your closed eyes. Apply constant pressure around your eyes with your cupped palms. Maintain the pressure for five cycles of breathing.\\n\\nStretching and Relaxation\\nWe're going to start our Trataka candlelight meditation with a few stretches to bring relaxation into the body.\\n\\nSit up tall in a chair or cross-legged position with your palms on your knees. Roll your shoulders back to open your chest and close your eyes.\\n\\nBreathe normally, allowing a gentle smile to rest on your face. Maintain this smile throughout your practice... And throughout the rest of your life.\\n\\nObserve your breath as it comes in and flows out, noticing the cool air that's coming into your nose and the warm air that's leaving your nose.\\n\\nInhale. On the exhale, lightly twist your torso to the right. Inhale back to the center and exhale to the opposite side. Inhale back to the center and relax for a moment.\\n\\nNext, drop your head to the right side on the exhale. Inhale to return center and repeat on the other side. Continue to warm up your neck, tilting your head back and forward, inhaling each time as you return to center.\\n\\nJoin your palms together at heart center, \\nnamaste\\n, and let's join together in chanting \\nOm\\n.\\n\\nRub your palms together to generate heat in your hands, cup your palms around your eyes, and blink your eyes open.\\n\\nPress your palms into your knees and tilt your head back, eyes looking up, stretching the front of your neck. Exhale your chin to your chest, stretching the back of the neck. Repeat this five more times.\\n\\nBring your palms to your shoulders on either side of your neck with your fingertips pointing down your back. Pull down slightly on your shoulders as you exhale, tilting your head back, your eyes look up towards the ceiling. Hold this stretch for a count of five.\\n\\nNext, bring the fingertips of each hand together and place your fingertips on your shoulders with your elbows touching in front of your body. Start rolling your shoulders, circling your elbows down, out, up, and touching them in front of your body 10 times. Reverse this movement for another 10 counts.\\n\\nNow, swing your arms to the front and back of your body, allowing them to cross in front of your body on the exhale. Do this 10 times.\\n\\nStretch your legs out in front of you and shake them out a bit, moving them side to side. Then, start rapidly bending and straightening your knees. This is a good practice for both relaxation and knee pain.\\n\\nBring your arms out to the side of your body and inhale. On the exhale, bend to the right side, dropping your elbow to the ground and stretching along the left side of your body. Let your left arm reach up and over your body. If you're sitting in a chair, just bend over to the side as far as you can to feel the stretch.\\n\\nInhale, coming back to the center, and exhale to the other side.\\n\\nRepeat this movement several times, keeping your hips square and planted on the ground or chair.\\n\\nInterlace your fingers in front of you and stretch your arms up over your head, inhaling. On the exhale, allow your arms to float down to your side and then behind you, grabbing your right wrist with your left hand. Exhale and bend forward over your legs, keeping your arms behind you. Repeat this a few times, inhaling to come up and exhaling to fold forward.\\n\\nTwist once more to the right and then the left.\\n\\nEye Movements\\nNow we're going to move into six practices to strengthen the muscles around your eyes.\\n\\nPractice One: Eye Movements—Up and Down\\nSit up straight. For focus, you can bring your thumb out in front of you or, if you're comfortable without it, that's fine, too. Inhale, look to the tip of the thumb, and fix your gaze. Begin to move your thumb up and down, following the movement with your eyes without blinking and without moving your head. Remember to smile. Try to keep your eyes in each position for one second (up for one second and down for one second). Do this 10 times and finish with rest palming.\\n\\nPractice Two: Eye Movements—Right and Left\\nThis time, you'll be following the movement of your thumb to the right and left, without blinking and without moving your head. Keep your eyes in each position for at least one second. Do this 10 times and finish with rest palming.\\n\\nPractice Three: Eye Movements—Right-Up and Left-Down\\nFollow the movement of your thumb on the diagonal—up to the right and down to the left. Once again, do this without blinking and without moving your head, keeping your eyes in each position for at least one second. Do this 10 times. This time, you'll finish with press and release palming.\\n\\nPractice Four: Eye Movements—Left-Up and Right-Down\\nRepeat the diagonal eye movements, this time going up to the left and down to the right. Do this without blinking and without moving your head for 10 repetitions, with your eyes in each position for at least one second. Finish with press and release palming.\\n\\nPractice Five: Eye Movements—Clockwise Rotation\\nNow, we're going to move our eyes in a clockwise rotation—right, up, left, and down. Don't blink and don't move your head. Be sure to keep your eyes in each position for at least one second. Complete this clockwise rotation 10 times before finishing with constant pressure palming.\\n\\nPractice Six: Eye Movements—Anti-Clockwise Rotation\\nRepeat the rotational movements, this time going left, up, right, and down. As always, don't blink and don't move your head, just your eyes. Keep your eyes in each position for at least one second and complete the anti-clockwise rotation 10 times. Finish with constant pressure palming.\\n\\nLeave your eyes closed for a few seconds and relax before we move into the meditation. Now you are ready for our candle meditation.\\n\\nTrataka Meditation: Effortless Focusing\\n\\nStart your Trataka meditation by turning down the lights and sitting between 1–1.5 meters from your candle. Sit in a pose that's comfortable for you and that you can hold for the duration of the meditation. Once you're comfortable, close your eyes.\\nWith your eyes closed, observe the lightness around your eyes. Listen to your breath. Slowly, with your head angled down slightly, blink your eyes open, looking softly at the floor.\\n\\nFor the next minute, try not to blink.\\n\\nLook at the base of the stand that your candle is sitting on. Slowly bring your gaze up the length of the candle stand to the base of the candle itself. Then, let your gaze move up the candle to the flame. Look at the flame for the next 30 seconds.\\n\\nClose your eyes and do press and release palming. Release your palms back down to your knees.\\nCandle gazing takes practice. Be patient with yourself as you're learning this process.\\n\\nTrataka Meditation: Intense Focusing\\nBlink your eyes open, looking softly at the floor. For the next minute, don't blink.\\n\\nOnce again, look at the base of the candle stand and slowly move your gaze up the candle stand to the base of the candle. From there, let your gaze continue up the length of the candle to the flame. Look at the flame of the candle and deepen your focus. See the wick inside of the flame. Watch the wick burn inside of the candle flame for 30 seconds.\\n\\nClose your eyes and do constant pressure palming. Release your palms back down to your knees.\\n\\nTrataka Meditation: Bhramari Pranayama\\nBlink your eyes open, again looking softly at the floor. Don't blink for the next minute and a half.\\n\\nLook towards the base of the candle stand, slowly bringing your gaze up to the base of the candle itself before continuing up the length of the candle to the flame. Focus on the flame of the candle for the next 30 seconds. Bring your awareness completely towards the flame, deepen your awareness and focus. Really look at the flame, observing its shape, color, and size. Notice the flame's aura and the particles around it.\\n\\nClose your eyes and do constant pressure palming.\\n\\nThis time, instead of dropping your palms back to your knees, allow them to remain on your eyes as we move into Bhramari Pranayama, or humming bee breath. Take a deep breath in and hum, producing a sound like a buzzing bee, allowing your body to feel the vibration.\\n\\nPlace your hands behind your back, grabbing your right wrist with your left hand, and inhale, arching your back and looking up to the ceiling. On the exhale, fold forward. Return to an upright position with your palms on your knees.\\nObserve the silence within you and find the awareness toward your body. Observe the changes in your body, especially in the eye muscles.\\n\\nContinue with your eyes closed. Move into savasana, laying down on your back with your palms facing up. Feel free to cover yourself with a blanket, if you'd like. If you're sitting in a chair, you're welcome to stay there and relax with your eyes closed.\\n\\nRelax in savasana for several minutes.\\n\\nWhen you're ready, interlace your fingers over your head and give yourself a full-body stretch. Keeping your eyes closed, bring your knees to your chest, roll to one side, and return to a sitting position.\\n\\nJoin your palms together at heart center, \\nnamaste\\n. Take a deep breath in and finish by chanting \\nOm, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti\\n.\\n\\nFinish with rest palming and blink your eyes open. Congratulations on completing your candle meditation! \\n\\nWant to take a guided live class? Sign up for a \\nfree trial of myYogaTeacher\\n and get access to 35+ live classes every single day.","html":"<p>Trataka is a candle gazing meditation technique that uses sight to bring stillness to the body and mind. You can practice Trataka using any object—a star, a point on the wall, the ground in front of you. Trataka is traditionally practiced using an actual candle flame.</p><p>In this meditation, I&#39;m going to take you through six practices to strengthen your eye muscles before we move into a three-part candle gazing meditation. If you enjoy this practice, please find more classes with me on <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group-classes\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group-classes\">myYogaTeacher</a>.</p><p>Before we start, I want to remind you that candle meditation typically requires a lot of concentration and can not be performed anywhere like other forms of meditation can. Be sure you have a quiet space prepared where you will not be interrupted before beginning this practice.</p><p>[CTA-TRATAKA]</p><p></p><h3>Benefits of Trataka Meditation</h3><p>Trataka meditation has been around for generations. It has survived over time due to several benefits. Specifically, Trataka meditation:</p><ul><li><div>Alleviates stress and anxiety</div></li><li><div>Improves concentration and memory</div></li><li><div>Strengthens your eyes</div></li><li><div>Purifies and stimulates the sixth chakra, Ajna, that controls intuition and mental awareness</div></li></ul><p></p><h2>How to Do a Trataka Meditation</h2><p>First, we encourage you to remove your glasses while you&#39;re doing a candle meditation. It&#39;s also important that you maintain a distance of 1–1.5 meters between you and your candle, and that you don&#39;t blink during the candle gazing.</p><p></p><h3>Palming Techniques</h3><p>For this Trataka meditation, you&#39;ll need to know three different kinds of palming. Here&#39;s what cupping your hands looks like:</p><img src=\"https://media.graphcms.com/a5iYuEQXQPmnORpFZ1OJ\" alt=\"cupped palms.png\" title=\"cupped palms.png\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" /><h4>Gentle</h4><p>Rub your palms together to generate heat in your hands. Rest your palms in a cupped shape around your closed eyes.</p><p></p><h4>Press and Release</h4><p>Rub your palms together to generate heat in your hands. With your palms in a cupped position, place them around your closed eyes. As you inhale, apply light pressure around your eyes with your cupped palms. On the exhale, release the pressure (keeping your palms cupped around your eyes. Repeat this for five cycles of breath.</p><p></p><h4>Constant Pressure</h4><p>Rub your palms together to generate heat in your hands. With your palms in a cupped position, place them around your closed eyes. Apply constant pressure around your eyes with your cupped palms. Maintain the pressure for five cycles of breathing.</p><p></p><h3>Stretching and Relaxation</h3><p>We&#39;re going to start our Trataka candlelight meditation with a few stretches to bring relaxation into the body.</p><p></p><p>Sit up tall in a chair or cross-legged position with your palms on your knees. Roll your shoulders back to open your chest and close your eyes.</p><p></p><p>Breathe normally, allowing a gentle smile to rest on your face. Maintain this smile throughout your practice... And throughout the rest of your life.</p><p></p><p>Observe your breath as it comes in and flows out, noticing the cool air that&#39;s coming into your nose and the warm air that&#39;s leaving your nose.</p><p></p><p>Inhale. On the exhale, lightly twist your torso to the right. Inhale back to the center and exhale to the opposite side. Inhale back to the center and relax for a moment.</p><p></p><p>Next, drop your head to the right side on the exhale. Inhale to return center and repeat on the other side. Continue to warm up your neck, tilting your head back and forward, inhaling each time as you return to center.</p><p></p><p>Join your palms together at heart center, <em>namaste</em>, and let&#39;s join together in chanting <em>Om</em>.</p><img src=\"https://media.graphcms.com/sL4AcZ1AQsOE5rJ4pkQV\" alt=\"namaste.png\" title=\"namaste.png\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" /><p>Rub your palms together to generate heat in your hands, cup your palms around your eyes, and blink your eyes open.</p><p></p><p>Press your palms into your knees and tilt your head back, eyes looking up, stretching the front of your neck. Exhale your chin to your chest, stretching the back of the neck. Repeat this five more times.</p><p></p><p>Bring your palms to your shoulders on either side of your neck with your fingertips pointing down your back. Pull down slightly on your shoulders as you exhale, tilting your head back, your eyes look up towards the ceiling. Hold this stretch for a count of five.</p><p></p><p>Next, bring the fingertips of each hand together and place your fingertips on your shoulders with your elbows touching in front of your body. Start rolling your shoulders, circling your elbows down, out, up, and touching them in front of your body 10 times. Reverse this movement for another 10 counts.</p><video controls width=\"undefined\" height=\"undefined\">\n          <source src=\"https://media.graphcms.com/oDMOqmGxS4GyPGIKtKn4\" type=\"video/mp4\" title=\"elbow shoulder rotations.mp4\" />\n          Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos.\n        </video><p>Now, swing your arms to the front and back of your body, allowing them to cross in front of your body on the exhale. Do this 10 times.</p><p></p><p>Stretch your legs out in front of you and shake them out a bit, moving them side to side. Then, start rapidly bending and straightening your knees. This is a good practice for both relaxation and knee pain.</p><p></p><p>Bring your arms out to the side of your body and inhale. On the exhale, bend to the right side, dropping your elbow to the ground and stretching along the left side of your body. Let your left arm reach up and over your body. If you&#39;re sitting in a chair, just bend over to the side as far as you can to feel the stretch.</p><p></p><p>Inhale, coming back to the center, and exhale to the other side.</p><p></p><p>Repeat this movement several times, keeping your hips square and planted on the ground or chair.</p><video controls width=\"undefined\" height=\"undefined\">\n          <source src=\"https://media.graphcms.com/YxeIzVz4S9uYO1paDtv0\" type=\"video/mp4\" title=\"side stretch.mp4\" />\n          Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos.\n        </video><p>Interlace your fingers in front of you and stretch your arms up over your head, inhaling. On the exhale, allow your arms to float down to your side and then behind you, grabbing your right wrist with your left hand. Exhale and bend forward over your legs, keeping your arms behind you. Repeat this a few times, inhaling to come up and exhaling to fold forward.</p><p></p><p>Twist once more to the right and then the left.</p><p></p><h3>Eye Movements</h3><p>Now we&#39;re going to move into six practices to strengthen the muscles around your eyes.</p><p></p><h4>Practice One: Eye Movements—Up and Down</h4><p>Sit up straight. For focus, you can bring your thumb out in front of you or, if you&#39;re comfortable without it, that&#39;s fine, too. Inhale, look to the tip of the thumb, and fix your gaze. Begin to move your thumb up and down, following the movement with your eyes without blinking and without moving your head. Remember to smile. Try to keep your eyes in each position for one second (up for one second and down for one second). Do this 10 times and finish with rest palming.</p><p></p><h4>Practice Two: Eye Movements—Right and Left</h4><p>This time, you&#39;ll be following the movement of your thumb to the right and left, without blinking and without moving your head. Keep your eyes in each position for at least one second. Do this 10 times and finish with rest palming.</p><p></p><h4>Practice Three: Eye Movements—Right-Up and Left-Down</h4><p>Follow the movement of your thumb on the diagonal—up to the right and down to the left. Once again, do this without blinking and without moving your head, keeping your eyes in each position for at least one second. Do this 10 times. This time, you&#39;ll finish with press and release palming.</p><p></p><h4>Practice Four: Eye Movements—Left-Up and Right-Down</h4><p>Repeat the diagonal eye movements, this time going up to the left and down to the right. Do this without blinking and without moving your head for 10 repetitions, with your eyes in each position for at least one second. Finish with press and release palming.</p><p></p><h4>Practice Five: Eye Movements—Clockwise Rotation</h4><p>Now, we&#39;re going to move our eyes in a clockwise rotation—right, up, left, and down. Don&#39;t blink and don&#39;t move your head. Be sure to keep your eyes in each position for at least one second. Complete this clockwise rotation 10 times before finishing with constant pressure palming.</p><p></p><h4>Practice Six: Eye Movements—Anti-Clockwise Rotation</h4><p>Repeat the rotational movements, this time going left, up, right, and down. As always, don&#39;t blink and don&#39;t move your head, just your eyes. Keep your eyes in each position for at least one second and complete the anti-clockwise rotation 10 times. Finish with constant pressure palming.</p><p></p><p>Leave your eyes closed for a few seconds and relax before we move into the meditation. Now you are ready for our candle meditation.</p><p></p><h3>Trataka Meditation: Effortless Focusing</h3><img src=\"https://media.graphcms.com/djMUBsh8RwmT5TZ6ORj3\" alt=\"candle flame.png\" title=\"candle flame.png\" width=\"600\" height=\"399\" /><p>Start your Trataka meditation by turning down the lights and sitting between 1–1.5 meters from your candle. Sit in a pose that&#39;s comfortable for you and that you can hold for the duration of the meditation. Once you&#39;re comfortable, close your eyes.</p><p>With your eyes closed, observe the lightness around your eyes. Listen to your breath. Slowly, with your head angled down slightly, blink your eyes open, looking softly at the floor.</p><p></p><p>For the next minute, try not to blink.</p><p></p><p>Look at the base of the stand that your candle is sitting on. Slowly bring your gaze up the length of the candle stand to the base of the candle itself. Then, let your gaze move up the candle to the flame. Look at the flame for the next 30 seconds.</p><p></p><p>Close your eyes and do press and release palming. Release your palms back down to your knees.</p><p>Candle gazing takes practice. Be patient with yourself as you&#39;re learning this process.</p><p></p><h3>Trataka Meditation: Intense Focusing</h3><p>Blink your eyes open, looking softly at the floor. For the next minute, don&#39;t blink.</p><p></p><p>Once again, look at the base of the candle stand and slowly move your gaze up the candle stand to the base of the candle. From there, let your gaze continue up the length of the candle to the flame. Look at the flame of the candle and deepen your focus. See the wick inside of the flame. Watch the wick burn inside of the candle flame for 30 seconds.</p><p></p><p>Close your eyes and do constant pressure palming. Release your palms back down to your knees.</p><p></p><h3>Trataka Meditation: Bhramari Pranayama</h3><p>Blink your eyes open, again looking softly at the floor. Don&#39;t blink for the next minute and a half.</p><p></p><p>Look towards the base of the candle stand, slowly bringing your gaze up to the base of the candle itself before continuing up the length of the candle to the flame. Focus on the flame of the candle for the next 30 seconds. Bring your awareness completely towards the flame, deepen your awareness and focus. Really look at the flame, observing its shape, color, and size. Notice the flame&#39;s aura and the particles around it.</p><p></p><p>Close your eyes and do constant pressure palming.</p><p></p><p>This time, instead of dropping your palms back to your knees, allow them to remain on your eyes as we move into Bhramari Pranayama, or humming bee breath. Take a deep breath in and hum, producing a sound like a buzzing bee, allowing your body to feel the vibration.</p><p></p><p>Place your hands behind your back, grabbing your right wrist with your left hand, and inhale, arching your back and looking up to the ceiling. On the exhale, fold forward. Return to an upright position with your palms on your knees.</p><p>Observe the silence within you and find the awareness toward your body. Observe the changes in your body, especially in the eye muscles.</p><p></p><p>Continue with your eyes closed. Move into savasana, laying down on your back with your palms facing up. Feel free to cover yourself with a blanket, if you&#39;d like. If you&#39;re sitting in a chair, you&#39;re welcome to stay there and relax with your eyes closed.</p><p></p><p>Relax in savasana for several minutes.</p><p></p><p>When you&#39;re ready, interlace your fingers over your head and give yourself a full-body stretch. Keeping your eyes closed, bring your knees to your chest, roll to one side, and return to a sitting position.</p><p></p><p>Join your palms together at heart center, <em>namaste</em>. Take a deep breath in and finish by chanting <em>Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti</em>.</p><p></p><p>Finish with rest palming and blink your eyes open. Congratulations on completing your candle meditation! </p><p></p><p>Want to take a guided live class? Sign up for a <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\">free trial of myYogaTeacher</a> and get access to 35+ live classes every single day.</p>"},"category":["therapy"],"utmCampaign":null,"utmMedium":null,"utmContent":null,"utmSource":null,"utmTerm":null,"utmSearchString":null}}