Mahamudra meditation and Yoga
How do these two millenary techniques help you abide in the natural state of the mind?
29 september 2021
Photo by Andrew Small
If you are a regular meditation or yoga practitioner, you have certainly heard these two words before: Mahamudra meditation and Yoga. But maybe not combined.
What do they have in common?
Understanding Mahamudra
If you are familiarized with the practice of meditation, you have probably practiced Shamata, the technique of calm abiding, and Vipassana, the state of deep insight that follows naturally once the mind is clear and focused as a result of practicing Shamata.
As you have probably experienced on your cushion, when practicing Shamatha and Vipassana, you are putting into practice the art of natural being, also known as the state of Mahamudra. Once you open up, as the relaxation becomes deeper and deeper, it is the natural state of being that reveals itself. To practice Mahamudra is to practice complete awareness, to experience total relaxation of the mind, beyond concepts, duality and struggle.
Mahamudra is the "Great Seal".
"To practise Mahamudra is to realize that all experiences without any exception, bear the seal of emptiness or non-self."
“When Mahamudra is practised with great relaxation and openness, we can experience an expansion of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Sattipatthana). An expansion to more ease and trust, less effort, and above all, an enhanced openness of the six senses”. — Lama Tilmann
In the practice of Mahamudra we consciously open ourselves to the sensory perceptions in order to be able to enter into a very wide mental space where all mental movements are welcome. Our eyes are open, we don’t block out any of our sensorial fields.
Somewhat differently from Vipassana meditation, we do not place so much emphasis on naming the individual mental movements in order to perceive them, but rather we open ourselves to all sensory perceptions and thereby allow the space within us to become completely wide. We are not so interested by what appears within us, but rather by how we experience the mental phenomena: we ask ourselves “How is it?”, “how is it to have a thought? “how is it to hear a sound?” “how is it to feel pain in the knee?”.
We let inner and outer phenomena appear without effort and allow them to free by themselves. We open ourselves in deep trust to all things that appear within us, be it joy, fear, fright or happiness. Then we can have the experience that as we stay in the spaciousness of our sensory experiences, those feelings pass and dissolve by themselves.
This is Mahamudra, the Great Seal.
Yoga and its connection with Mahamudra
Yoga practitioners usually refer to the relaxation and awareness that are experienced in the smooth postures of yoga that bring together movement, breathing and concentration of the mind. As the mind relaxes at the core of the yoga asana, it creates a mind/body space where both mental and body processes can relax.
The word "yoga" essentially means "that which brings you to reality". — Sadhguru
This basic attitude of non-striving and allowing everything to develop naturally from within, characterize both the yoga and Mahamudra practice. We listen to our body and mind without pursuing a specific goal, without perfecting a posture or movement: in this state of openness the full presence of mind brings the strength necessary to abide in the relaxed tension of the posture.
The yoga practice serves to experience the powerful element of our awareness in body and mind. The asana and pranayana exercises challenge the body while the mind remains relaxed. Performed in different sequences – sometimes softer, sometimes more stimulating – they allow us to explore the full range of our mental and sensory perceptions in the various stages of relaxation.
Further, yoga exercises bring dynamism to the meditation practice. The asanas place the body at the center stage of our field of awareness and help channel our attention. Experiencing the synergies between strength and relaxation in mindful movement creates space for the full perception of the body and mind in formal sitting practice.
“The trust in one's own healthy potential of awakening connects both traditions, Mahamudra and Yoga”. — Lama Tilmann
Additionally, many classical texts of yoga describe a more contemplative state of mind where sensory movements are restricted. This is somewhat different from the approach we want to experience in combination with Mahamudra practice.
In certain yoga traditions such as Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, the concentration element is also present. Patanjali refers to the eight meditative stages (Jhanas) that are brought about by meditative awareness. This is yet another element that both the yoga and Buddhist paths have in common. It makes sense therefore that both traditions cross fertilize each other.
However Buddha recognized that the eight Jhanas or meditative stages do not lead to liberation. There remains a subtle attachment to an "I" inherent in them. Buddha also recognized that in meditation you cannot ignore bodily sensations, feelings and thoughts. The challenge is to be open and acknowledge them without losing yourself in them.
If you are curious to experience these two traditions in your own personal practice, check out our upcoming programmes here >
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Interview conducted with Tilmann Borghardt and Evelyne Hunger by Therese Pechstein on behalf of Landguet Ried