Active or Dynamic Meditation

‘Active’ meditation is a form of meditation devised by Indian sage ‘Osho’ also known as ‘Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh’ (1931-1990) of which ‘Dynamic meditation’ and ‘Kundalini meditation’ are two examples.

Osho taught that meditation simply involves a clearing of the mind, but that a concerted effort to clear the mind by simply sitting is not necessarily the most effective means of doing this. The aim of active meditation is to reach a state of alert non-thought by engaging in intense physical and emotional activities. Though these forms of meditation are very intensive the ultimate goal is to attain a state similar to that aimed towards in forms of seated ‘breathing’ or ‘mantra’ meditations, whilst staying fully aware and conscious of the moment. In this way Osho teaches that you will not become lost or distracted in inner thoughts, which can detract from true mindfulness.

Meditation in this way can be very conducive to life lived in a Western society where shutting oneself off and retiring into an inner world may seem at odds with one’s everyday life experience, thereby leading to a poor engagement with meditation whereby too much emphasis is put laid on the impressions of the withdrawn and insular mind.

Dynamic Meditation

Dynamic meditation is a relatively simple hour long form of meditation that can be practiced alone or in groups, preferably early in the morning, allowing the practice to continue invigorating the practitioner throughout the day. There are 5 principle stages to Dynamic meditation:

• 10 minutes: Breathing. Start by standing and breathing through the nose, exhaling harshly and letting your inhalations occur naturally. Continue this hard breathing for the entire ten minutes, feeling the breath and its effect as it moves rapidly through the body. Remain standing throughout the Dynamic meditation exercise.

• 10 minutes: Expression. After ten minutes of hard breathing, suddenly break out into an explosion of frenzied expression, letting all of your emotions seize you, feeling them entirely and spontaneously. Let yourself scream, cry, laugh and jump around as and when you wish. Just ‘let yourself go’, without any premeditated course of action.

• 10 minutes: Action. Jump up and down shouting ‘Hoo, hoo, hoo,’ feeling upon landing your energy centre on the base of your pelvis. Carry this out whole heartedly to the point of exhaustion.

• 15 minutes: Stillness. Stop moving suddenly, wherever you are and freeze, maintaining your posture without movement for an entire 15 minutes.

• 15 minutes: Dance. Finally dance spontaneously and with great joy, expressing your happiness at being alive for an entire 15 minutes, before stopping, ready to carry these positive feelings throughout the day.

This can be a great way to kick off your daily routine and continue onwards, mindful of your true self.

Kundalini Meditation

Kundalini meditation is a more relaxed form of Active meditation broken down into 4 broad stages and ideal for invigorating one’s self:

• 15 minutes. Relax and Shake. Standing, let your whole body hang loosely before shaking it rigorously, yet without any direct muscle control.

• 15 minutes. Dance. Spontaneously and in a relaxed manner, expressing yourself however the mood may take you.

• 15 minutes. Sitting or standing. let your whole body be entirely still, observing both inner and outer sensations as they occur.

• 15 minutes. Stillness. Lay down, with your arms balanced at either side of your body and relax entirely making no effort to do anything.

This form of meditation, though similar to Dynamic meditation is focused more upon contemplation. It is important, however, not to become lost in inner thoughts, the first two rigorous movements serving to make the mind and body alert, whilst the latter two serve to reflexively calm the body in contrast.

Active meditation is ideally suited to spiritual practice in a Western society and can be enjoyed alone or in conjunction with other practices.