Concentration in Yoga
Concentration is a faculty of the brain, which is single-tasking.
Even if we feel we are thinking and doing a thousand things at once, the brain remains single-tasking and allows us to concentrate on one object if we wish to and are able to...
So Pratyahara has brought us a calm and serene mind, a luminous state of peace within, and we must do everything to keep it... But the art is difficult, because our mind will come galloping back, plunging us into thoughts where imagination plays a large part, putting an end to concentration. The practitioner might believe they are meditating, but will soon realise their mistake by observing all their mental movements, their erratic breathing and their lapses of awareness of the present moment.
Once immersed in Pratyahara, a precise invocation, for example, can allow us to prolong this state by transcending it towards a new state in which all the faculties of the mind are concentrated thanks to the invocation. Clearly, at this stage the practitioner must try to forget themselves even more in order to rise higher...
Concentrating on an object (concentration with an inner or outer support) can also be a good practice, allowing the practitioner to stay for a long time without thoughts until the moment when the limits of the individual suddenly disappear and the spirit is carried into a vertical ascent or spread out into all things.
Invocations or supports can be set up either before the attempt at concentration or during it.
A mystical attitude (bhavana) can also be a precious help in steadying the intellect...
But we must realise that concentration has become a very difficult thing in our world. As human beings we are constantly solicited, and many "tasks" run in our heads without our even being aware of them, let alone mastering them.
These tasks take up an enormous amount of our energy during the day, and in the evening we feel tired and exhausted, whereas if we look at it objectively, our life should not tire us so much. It is a bit like a computer with too many background programs running, taking up a large part of the memory and making the PC sluggish and slow...
We become aware of all these tasks as we fall asleep. Indeed, if the earth suddenly stopped turning, the water of the oceans and seas (being more subtle) would go round the earth several times before stopping. This is what happens as we fall asleep: as our physical agitation stops, our mental agitation pounces on us and keeps us from sleeping. Some have found a false solution by taking sedatives or sleeping pills, but this merely masks our agitated nature for a while.
It might be wiser to try to slow down the agitation within us and to try to stop the background programs. This will allow us to increase our concentration and therefore lead a better, less stressed life, and above all to step out of reactivity. No longer being life's plaything, but playing with our life!
People today have a few seconds of concentration before a thought carries it away; studies show a capacity of 12 seconds in ordinary mortals...
A Yoga text says that one must concentrate for 3 hours and 30 minutes before entering meditation.
The practice of Yoga through these 8 limbs makes it possible to master all these tasks running in our heads, and so it becomes easier to hold concentration for longer.
As soon as the mind and intellect are stabilised, and with plenty of energy, it becomes possible to know the next activity, meditation: Dhyana
Enjoy your practice!