The Path of Concentration
Teaching the mind to focus on one thing instead of many is the goal of concentra-
tion. Concentration is sustaining attention while at the same time quieting the mind
and relaxing the breathing. Frequently people focus on one object such as a candle
flame, the image of a circle, or a single sound. The purpose is to learn to push away
the many thoughts that usually float around in one’s mind. Concentration works
directly on the body, allowing each yoga pose to accomplish the maximum possible
benefit.
The Path of Meditation
Breath control, detachment, and concentration lead to the state of meditation.
Meditation occurs when people become absorbed into the object on which they are
concentrating. At this point, nothing else exists. It is through this process of medita-
tion that you can clear your mind of clutter and thus think more quickly and see
things more clearly in daily life. (This topic is explored more thoroughly in Chapter
16, “Meditation.”)
The Golden Path of Pure Consciousness
The other seven limbs of yoga lead to pure consciousness, which produces a total
merging with the object of meditation and, in such a way, becoming one with the
universe. Generally speaking, it is “mind without thought.” Many religions through-
out history have pure consciousness as part of their tradition. Christianity refers to it
as “pure love” and Judaism as the “divine nothingness” or “the naught.” It is more
than a mental or emotional experience. Physically, breathing slows drastically, the
heart rate drops, and EEGs demonstrate unique patterns unlike any of the other
three common states of consciousness—waking, sleeping, or dreaming. It is an ideal
state, a state of pure bliss, and it is elusive for most people. A few rare and diligent
yogis have been able to maintain this state for extended periods of time. Most others
get occasional glimpses of it while meditating.
The Nature of Yogic Health
In yoga, health is related to the Five Sheaths of Existence. The first sheath is the
physical body; the second is the vital body, life force, or prana; the third sheath is
the mind, including thoughts and emotions; the fourth sheath is the higher intellect;
and the fifth sheath is bliss, filled with positive energy and inner peace. It is believed
that imbalances in any of these sheaths can result in illness. For example, intense
anger, a disturbance in the third sheath, disrupts one’s breathing pattern, which
leads to an imbalance in prana or life force. The disrupted breathing allows the
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