Concentration in Meditation

Question

Hi!I recently attended my (Ist level)of Kriya Yoga and liked it very much.However,I am unable to meditate,I don't know if i am practising it correctly or not? May be you can help me.Actually, I feel very heavy specially my head,and it starts falling backward as the time passes by,as if I'll fall asleep.When I start chanting Hong Sau with my breath after sometime I can't feel my breath at all its lost completely and so I stop chanting also.However,I can hear fan,or other sounds around.Is this ok?

—Nidhi Sood, India

Answer

The key to getting results from Hong-Sau is deep attention and concentration on the breath and mantra. Sometimes, after people have been practicing the technique for some time, they tend to concentrate less and go on “automatic pilot”. Or they learn how to concentrate on the breath and mantra at the same time that they are thinking about other things.

If we don’t concentrate deeply, we will tend to go into subconsciousness. It sounds like that is where you are going at times. If this happens, we should be sure of three things:

1. Pay deep attention to the breath and mantra.

2. Make sure the eyes are gazing upward toward the spiritual eye. If the eyes are pointing down, we will tend to go into subconsciousness or fuzzyheaded awareness.

3. Make sure you have fresh air, with an open window if possible.