#60 Rythmic Movement of Body Meditation

0 Goddess, by experiencing the rhythmic movement of the body in a moving vehicle, or in a still place by swinging the body slowly. Then the mind becomes calm, and one obtains a flood of divinity.

Verse 83, Vigyan Bhairava tantra

Mind & Rythms

The mind is attracted to rhythms. Rhythms hold the mind’s attention for long periods. That is why being aware of the breath is such an important practice. The breath is the natural rhythm of the body. Rhythms are found elsewhere in life. Most people enjoy listening to some form of music. There are some rhythmic beats or sounds that appeal to us instantly. These sounds make us happy or calm and bring our attention to the present. When we listen to music we enjoy, we forget our problems, and focus our attention on the present moment, on the sound that we are enjoying. This meditation is doing something similar. It is using a rhythm to calm the mind. It uses the rhythm of the movement of the body.

Bullock Cart Ride- a Rythmic Movement of Body

One has to be aware of the rhythmic movement of the body in a moving vehicle. It is important to understand the context and period in which these verses were written. These verses were written centuries ago. A vehicle in those days meant a bullock cart “driven” by one or two cows. Today, a vehicle usually means a car. If you are driving a car today in a modern expressway, you will feel no movement or rhythmic movement of the body. Yet if you were sitting in a bullock cart pulled by a cow, in a broken-down road in ancient India, your body would be moving rhythmically. It would sway back and forth.

You experience something similar when you ride a horse. As the horse moves, your body moves. Focus your attention on the rhythmic movement of the body. As the mind is attracted to rhythms, it is easier to focus and hold your attention on the rhythmic movement of the body. The longer you hold your attention, the longer you remain in the present moment, in a state of awareness, without any thoughts.

How to do this Technique

Being aware, being without thoughts weakens the mind. That is why living in the present is so important. And that is what this meditation is trying to do. It uses the rhythmic movement of the body to calm the mind, and bring it to the present. or in a still place by swinging the body slowly. In a still place, swing your body slowly in circles.

• It is not necessary to use a horse or vehicle to experience the rhythmic movement of the body.
• In a still place, move the body slowly in circles, or rock the body to and fro.
• There are many ways to move the body rhythmically. Some people enjoy dancing. This meditation can even be practiced then.
• Whenever you are moving your body rhythmically, concentrate on the rhythmic movement of the body.
• Then the mind becomes calm, and one obtains a flood of divinity. A rhythmic movement calms the mind. The mind is easily absorbed in a rhythmic movement.
• The mind stops thinking. It becomes peaceful. It is only aware of the movement of the body.
• Young babies are put to sleep by gently rocking them. When babies are agitated or start crying, their mother usually picks them up and pats them gently, or moves them to and fro to calm them. The rhythmic movement of the body calms the mind. This is a natural phenomenon. This meditation uses natural phenomena to still the mind.