Breath Awareness Meditation [Aham Graha]

Experience calmness of mind with this sitting practice of mindfulness meditation based on natural breathing. In this course, you will learn how to meditate from a genuine Himalayan siddha monk, His Holiness Swami Vidyadhishananda. Overcome internal chatter and find inner peace as you effortlessly slip into a calm state of mind.

We will explore the relationship between a calm breath, our lifeforce energy (prana), and our own subtle desires, to begin to understand how to still the mind through mindfulness meditation. You will be given stepwise guided meditation practices that increase in duration to allow you to develop the practice and slowly build up to longer meditation sessions.

Beginner students will find the practice natural and innate, allowing them to tap into a calm state of being. Advanced practitioners will reconnect to the roots of mindfulness that are essential for advanced techniques and study.

This practice is traditionally known as Aham Graha – a contemplative mindfulness practice that first focuses on overcoming subtle desires related to worldliness that seize the heart. The first part of this Aham Graha contemplation is the mindfulness meditation practice related to attaining calmness by watching the natural breath. Higher steps of Aham Graha progressively build upon the energy of mindfulness attained through the initial sitting meditation practice.

This course offers learners both the guided meditation practice and its theory (philosophical basis) required to develop a daily mindfulness meditation practice. You will practice transcending the restlessness of the mind by breathing without the intentionality of control. The chapters lay the foundation for deeper practices of Aham Graha and prepare you for higher yoga of meditation.

The practitioner’s equanimous observance begins by watching the natural breath fully, without the sense of agency arising from controlling it. Releasing the intentionality behind the act of control slowly allows the practitioner to imbibe the energy of mindfulness and accept things as they are without being reactive.

The separate guided meditation sessions of increasing duration progressively add elements that guide the practitioner along the path. It is advisable to start with the shorter practice sessions and then try the longer ones.

In the module Going deeper with your meditation you will find videos that explore the conceptual framework of the initial phases in Aham Graha reflective contemplation – a meditation of being, by letting go, loosening the shackles of the subtle desires, where there is emphasis on non-duality. Aham Graha contemplation develops understanding of what burdens the heart, how to experience inner peace, and how to become free from the sensations or recollections of pleasure and pain that hold us back from launching a deep meditation.