High-Altitude Harmony

Frank151 fielded questions from several worn-out, stressed-out, jet lagged Jet Setters. Sri Dharma Mittra, who travels the world teaching yoga and meditation from Tokyo to Tel Aviv, took some time to share some tips for meditation on the go.

Dear Dharma, it seems I’m always on a plane these days. I’m trapped for hours at a time with nothing to do. How can I be more at peace even though I’m crammed into a tiny seat in coach class?
Dharma Mittra: I find myself in the same dilemma often. But it is so simple to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to have some alone time. You can be making this time valuable by practicing concentration. Concentration is the beginning stage needed for the practice of meditation. Concentration is learning to keep your thoughts on one object for a minimum of 30 seconds.  Of course, in the beginning, this will not be easy because the nature of the mind is to be like a child running after external sense objects. I can safely say that with regular practice it gets easier; your thoughts will begin to slow down and soon the mind will settle.

Dear Dharma, the seats in business class are so uncomfortable, and I’m a big guy. What do you recommend I do to get comfortable so I can use my time to meditate? What should I do with my hands?
Dharma Mittra: Yes, it usually is very uncomfortable to sit on planes, and they seem to be making the space smaller instead of larger and more comfortable. On long and seemingly endless flights, it can really take a toll on our bodies.  First, I would recommend getting out the kinks and tension with a few gentle and slow neck rolls, roll your head to the right and then to the left. After that do some small shoulder circles, bring your shoulders up to your ears and then roll them back and down. Next would be to gently twist your chest and torso to the right and then the left, to relieve your back and spine. Also relax your feet by doing some ankle circles with or without your shoes. Now, you are ready to bring your body into a sitting position, which is as straight and tall as possible. If you need, you may put a pillow behind your lower back, and if you don’t have one, you can roll up your jacket or coat. Then you should make sure your legs are parallel, and if you need to, you may put something under your feet to get them planted on the ground. You may cross your ankles. Next, place your arms on your lap with the hands lightly clasped, or you may place your hands on the knees, palms up. Try to keep your neck erect yet relaxed with your head nicely balanced, chin down a little bit. You have now set your body up to feel comfortable, and what’s better yet is no one even needs to know you will be practicing meditation. The simplest method is to gently close your eyes and bring your attention to your breath. Don’t change anything, only observe. Instantly, as you begin to follow your breath, your breath will slow down on its own. You don’t even have to make any effort. Keep observing the breath and it will become slow and steady, and you have done your first exercise in meditation practices. I don’t even need to tell you what the effects will be, you will feel them instantly and your body will understand them as well.

Dear Dharma, I get what I have heard you call the “monkey mind.” I can never stay focused. And usually there is a screaming baby somewhere on the plane, or a guy next to me snoring. What should I do to keep myself from being distracted?
Dharma Mittra: The monkey mind refers to the uncontrolled restless mind that never stops. It even continues to disturb us as we sleep. Our thoughts keep jumping from here to there, and there is never quiet and peace. These thoughts can change your whole state of being in one second. And yet what are they? They are only thoughts that surface up on the horizon of your mind. If the thoughts do not exist, then the present worries are gone. The time tested methods of the great Saints and Sages from different religions give everyone easy-to-learn techniques that will quiet this so called “monkey mind.” You know that the more you can go within, the more you can eliminate all external disturbances. I have been teaching this to students for the past 40 years.

These practices are ultimately very simple and what better time to start practicing them than when we have no other place to go? When we are so called “stuck” in a physical or mental place, as in either an airplane, or in our own lives and relationships. I am offering you simple tools that you may use in so many different situations.
 
A practical technique I offer all seekers is to close the eyes and concentrate at the center of the chest on the right side of the heart. Concentrate on a light there. Even if you are unable to see the light in the beginning, continue to concentrate there and very soon a light will appear. The more you concentrate, the light is going to get brighter and brighter like a bright sun. Yes, the mind will become distracted by sense objects, the crying kids, and just about anything, but keep concentrating. You may remind yourself that you are not the mind (monkey), and that everything is time passing away, but you are the eternal present. Don’t worry…eventually the mind will start to leave you alone. Remember that even many of the Great Saints and Sages were subject to the mind and its fluctuations—they just didn’t entertain those thoughts. 

Dear Dharma, I have heard you speak about Prana. It has to do with breathing and utilizing the energy that keeps us alive and aware. Is there a breathing technique I should use that will help my meditation while I’m on a plane, even though the oxygen at 30,000 feet is recycled and superdry?
Dharma Mittra: Yes, there are hundreds of breathing techniques in the Classical Yoga System. I recommend this as being the best and most efficient technique, Nadi Sodhana Pranayama, or the Alternate Breathing. You may feel more comfortable doing this in private, but in reality you may do it anywhere at anytime, as no one really knows what you are doing anyway. Five minutes of this will begin the stimulation of the Prana, or psychic energy to move up the spine. This draws energy, to the latent areas of the body, and you feel very refreshed and balanced.


Dear Dharma, I know that you speak on the importance of vegetarianism and how it helps with meditation. Airline food is terrible. I’m not even sure it’s real food. Usually, I feel like a piece of dehydrated fruit when I get off the plane—wrinkled, crinkled and dried out. I want to get off the plane and feel refreshed!
Dharma Mittra: Well, yes, first and foremost is always the practice of vegetarianism. Slowly the Western World is picking up on this understanding. I even saw an ad the other day to free children of getting cancer, keep them vegetarian. It is of utmost importance, especially today, when there are so many chemicals in the air, the plants, and in the farmed animals. I have been a vegetarian now for 45 years, and it has made me all the stronger and resistant to illness. The main reason other than personal health is that the animal kingdom is our inferior brothers and was made to be loved and respected. I see parents taking children to petting zoos or farms, and buy children a menagerie of cuddly stuffed animals, but then comes the disconnect. Animals want to take care of their children and families as well. They don’t want to be factory farmed and lose the life they were supposed to have. Also everyone knows that cows are vegetarians and therefore very gentle animals. I always suggest to all students to give up flesh. This way their psychic channels will become purified, otherwise after three of four months that flesh becomes part of you and your mind will never settle in meditation. A non vegetarian diet makes the mind restless and always jumping. Lower passions increase, and your health will deteriorate very quickly. For success in meditation, try to stick to light fresh foods with lots of juices and salads. Pack them with you on your travels. Your body will feel young, like a child! 

Dear Dharma, I miss my friends and family when I’m traveling. Is it possible to send them a mental message while I’m flying over Rio or about to touch down in Palau?
Dharma Mittra: Yes, of course, I know you have taken my Psychic Development class in order to be able to ask this question. Part of the beauty of the science of Yoga is the higher understanding one develops as the consciousness lifts. The deeper you go in meditation and Yama and Niyama, the ethical rules, you will begin to see reality. This is not the reality we see in front of us in the everyday world. Inside of this subtle reality you will discover there is no time, no space, no separation—these are all part of the material plane, which is limited and perishable. The Yogis discovered that once you are able to go beyond the physical plane (through constant practice and the grace of the Guru), you may project your thoughts to anyone, anywhere, at any time and be assured the message is received. Let’s say you miss your family. At any time you may send them a psychic telegram by sending them love through the practice of visualization. They will feel these thoughts on some level, according to your level of concentration. This is how great Yogis share their love and help the entire planet vibrate with spiritual well being. 

Dear Dharma, I try to be a compassionate and loving person but it’s really hard to be compassionate on a cramped airplane. But what if everyone in the world—including everyone jetting around the planet all hours of the day and night—meditated and projected thoughts of love and compassion? What do you think would happen?
Dharma Mittra: We are walking towards this direction. There are many groups, many serious spiritual teachers preparing their disciples, to do this work. Eventually, and as the world needs it more and more, we will all get united with one thought. When you have many people thinking the same thing at the same time, a collective mind is formed, and then it gets really very strong and everyone on the planet is affected by that thought. The thought is the most powerful thing if devoid of the personal Ego. The betterment of all human and animal kind with devotion is that great and holy thought. If the thoughts are creative and come from a Guru or people who have renounced their Will to God, they are like an instrument for God’s message, and that will really change the entire planet and affect every living creature on this planet in a positive way.

Dear Dharma, I fly in and out of New York City a lot. I know that you have been offering a weekly class on Meditation and Psychic Development for years. It is based on the teachings of your Guru, Yogi Gupta, who is credited with bringing the practice of Hatha Yoga (the postures) to the United States back in the early 1950s. Do you recommend the guidance of a Guru if I want to take meditation and other deeper practices, as you have mentioned, to higher level?
Dharma Mittra: Yes, surely. The guidance of a Guru is essential in bringing one deeper into the meditation and higher levels of understanding, you understand? In the beginning, you may look at some nice books on postures or read about some of the techniques (even in this article for example), and derive many benefits from that. But once you become very interested and serious about changing your life, helping and affecting others as well, then the guidance of a living and true Preceptor of Yoga is essential.

For more information, visit www.dharmayogacenter.com