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A Program for Progress in Meditation

In Chapter 6, “A Program for Progress in Meditation” of Meditation and Its Practice,
Swami Rama succinctly describes the inward journey, along with some approximate time frames.

For the first month (or two):

• Sit at the same time every day, allowing this to become a habit. Learn to ignore shakes, perspiration,
numbness, or twitching. To start, 15-20 minutes is sufficient.
• Attain a still, comfortable posture, with head, neck and trunk aligned. For the first month you may
use a wall for support, but after that sit independently of support.
• Survey the body as explained in “Exercise 1,” pp. 81-82, using attention and breath.
• Practice breath awareness, observing your breathing to see if you notice any problems with the four
irregularities of jerkiness, shallowness, noise or extended pauses.
• Pray to the Lord of Life within that your meditation will continue to become better and will create the
motivation to again sit in meditation, so that you await your meditation time with great desire.
• Learn the functioning of the four functions of mind (manas, buddhi, ahamkara, chitta) and learn to
coordinate them. To establish coordination, watch the mind’s functioning through actions and speech,
and at the same time, observe the thinking process within.
For the second month:
• After doing your stretching and limbering exercises, then do your breathing exercises (diaphragmatic
breathing, two-to-one breathing, complete breath, kapalabhati, bhastrika, nadi shodhana).
• Even Breathing and Alternate Nostril Breathing are very healthy preparatory practices, but during
meditation itself, the only exercise recommended is Breath Awareness.
• During the second month, add the practice of focusing the mind on the breath moving from the base
of the spine to the crown of the head, and back, as explained in “Exercise 2,” pp. 87-88.
• Learn to open blocked nostrils by paying attention to the flow of breath at that nostril.
Two to three more months:
• Add the Sushumna Awakening practice of focusing the mind on the breath as it is felt between the
two nostrils. Both nostrils flowing freely is a sign of sushumna awakening. Once this can be
maintained for five minutes, the student has crossed a great barrier, and the mind has attained some
one-pointedness.
Three to four more months:
• Another three to four months of regular meditative practice will allow you enough time to learn to
deal with the conscious aspect of the mind.
• Learn to let go of the habitual thoughts arising in the conscious mind, by which the conscious mind is
trained to form a new habit and the personality is transformed.
• Then, the next step is to learn to witness the thoughts going on in your mental train, practicing and
learning to remain undisturbed, unaffected, and uninvolved.
Beyond a total of seven to nine months:
• Deal with the latent, dormant levels of mind which normally remain unknown.
• Learn to examine all your fears; begin the process of contemplation with analysis.
• Gradually, you will acquire the power to inspect your own thinking process, while remaining
undisturbed. Such a mind attains clarity and is then prepared to attain samadhi.

Some other places where aspects of the inward journey are summarized are: Meditation and Its
Practice, pp. 13-14, 18-22, 79-94; Path of Fire and Light, Vol. II, pp. 99-136, 200-201; Lectures on Yoga,
pp. 138-141; Wisdom of the Ancient Sages, pp. 127-128; Book of Wisdom, pp. 31-34; Inspired Thoughts
of Swami Rama, pp. 37-39; Inspired Thoughts of Swami Rama, pp. 154-156 or Science of Breath, pp. 128-
129; A Practical Guide to Holistic Health, p. 91; Freedom From the Bondage of Karma, p. 74; Perennial
Psychology of the Bhagavad Gita, pp. 193-194, 238-241.

20.12.97 SRpracticeMP