dhiaan in naam abhiyaas

Waheguru ji ka khalsa, Waheguru ji ki fateh.

Sadsangat jee,I have some questions regarding naam abhiyaas, could you please provide some sikhiaa:

1. Posture - I have a real bad habit of not sitting up straight when doing simran as I find it an unnatural position, and if I do make the effort, I do so only for short periods. How important is it to keep your back straight while practising naam.

2. Breathing - I am lazy and resort to doing abhiyaas where my inhale breath reaches my throat and chest only most of the time, feels nice and easy as it is a saihaj jap. Alot of singhs have told me that to reap more benefit from abhiyaas it is important to extend the inhale breath to the navel/belly. I have been trying this, but noticed that it takes alot of effort and some concentration is lost. Could you please advise this moorakh about breathing techniques.

3.Focus - Where should one focus their consciousness when japping naam ?, should it be towards the top of head (dasam dwaar area), the bridge of your nose, looking straight ahead with eyes closed, please advise piaarayo.

Sorry if these questions are of a basic nature, but if I can get some tips from the sangat, it will go a long way to helping this mughad.

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BalihaareeGurApne

1. Posture - I have a real bad habit of not sitting up straight when doing simran as I find it an unnatural position, and if I do make the effort, I do so only for short periods. How important is it to keep your back straight while practising naam.

Ones spine should be straight when sitting for abhiyaas in my personal opinion. Many naam abhiyaasis/raseyaas that dass has observed keep their spine straight.
To be honest, for the past 10++ days my thoughts have been hovering on writing about this matter on gurmatbibek.com . Now that you have raised it, if Guru Sahib wills , will try to make an attempt if Guru Sahib does keerpa.
Didn't use to keep my spine straight in the begining, now that dass does. Going to samadhi is more fun, as one doesn't get tired fast.

Chota veer

keeping the back straight will allow you to sit longer in one position. if it feels "unnatural", it means the muscles in your spine are weak and need some exercise. yoga is good for this kind of posture strengthening.
i also don't sit straight and i notice i get tired of sitting very quickly. i also need to do some exercise to correct this.
if you watch elder gurmukhs in samagams, notice how straight their posture is... they can sit for hours and hours with no breaks. while those of us with bad posture have to shift and move. so i think we should probably fix it.

The reason you cannot sit straight is because your back muscles are not strong enough yet. If you make an effort to sit straight (and try to ignore the pain) this will strengthen your back muscles which will allow you to sit longer with a straight back. Try to site for one hour during abhyas without moving (then move to give comfort to the body), then the second day try to beat that record and do this everyday. It's all about conditioning your body and mind.

If you hold your back straight it help you to make concentration and helps you to sit for a long time.

daas,
khalsaji.

The comments made above by Gursikhs about straight spine are good and correct. Bhai Sahib has also mentioned this (reed di hadi).

The rest of your questions jee, I don't think are appropriate for public forum. Please get together with senior Gurmukhs in your local area to discuss this in sangat, or see Panj Pyare.

They are very good and valid questions, that most people do not even think to ask. For further info please also see Bhai Sahib's Naam Japan Di Jugti (last chapter of Gurmat Naam Abhiyaas Kamaee) and small section in Anhad Shabad Dasam Duar.

Please also read here: [www.tapoban.org]

Some relevant Gurbani pangtees, regarding the questions as well:

ਧੁਨਿ ਮਹਿ ਧਿਆਨੁ ਧਿਆਨ ਮਹਿ ਜਾਨਿਆ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਅਕਥ ਕਹਾਨੀ ||੩||
dhun mehi dhiaan dhiaan mehi jaaniaa guramukh akath kehaanee |3|
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ਰਾਮ ਨਾਮ ਸੁਨਿ ਰਸਨਾ ਕਹਤੇ ||
raam naam sun rasanaa kehathae |
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ਸ੍ਰਵਣੀ ਸੁਣੀਐ ਰਸਨਾ ਗਾਈਐ ਹਿਰਦੈ ਧਿਆਈਐ ਸੋਈ ||
sravanee suneeai rasanaa gaaeeai hiradhai dhiaaeeai soee |

I haven't included translations because I do not think they are fully correct

what sort of yoga exercises could you do? sangat jee please share

In Gurbani there is no mention of any posture while doing Naam Abhyaas. Gurmat Naam Abhyaas involves Saas Giraas Gurmat Vidhi and when doing Abhyaas loudly, how can the posture stay still? There is no need to subscribe to any posture when doing Naam Abhyaas because Gurbani has rejected all 84 Yogic Aasans (postures). If posture had been so important, it would have been mentioned in Gurbani, Bhai Gurdaas jee or by Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh jee.

Yes, one thing has been noticed that when Surthi rises, the posture becomes straight but this happens automatically and not artificially as it is being suggested. Amritvela Naam Abhyaas done with Gurmat Vidhi involves thundering sounds of Naam Abhyaas and there is at least some movement in the body. Where is there room for Yoga kind of still postures, when doing Naam Abhyaas? Please notice the word "Abhyaas". What has been written above is for Naam Abhyaas and not for situation when one gets Smadhi?

Kulbir Singh

I still think hat posture is very important, Dass suffers from severe neck and back problems after sitting for long periods, which I have been told is due to my poor posture. This battle against the pain of my body is just another fight on top of sleep, which I think could be avoided if I exercised probably, and kept good posture.

i think there is some confusion. i don't think people are suggesting specific yogic poses for naam abhiyas. only that sitting more straight helps with comfort and if you're not thinking about how uncomfortable you are, it's easier to concentrate.

yoga was a suggestion as a physical exercise that can strengthen the "core" muscles of the back and abdomen that aid in sitting straight and keeping comfortable. pilates is another exercise regimen that would help. any kind of stretching and strength building of the core muscles will make sitting for long periods more comfortable. of course, no yoga is necessary, if one wishes to avoid it.