Vijnana Bhairava Dharana 4

Welcome! This meditation comes from the Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra, an ancient and highly respected Tantra from around the 8th century. The Vijñāna Bhairava comes from the Indian Tantric tradition of Kashmir Shaivism and offers 112 ways to experience the energy of meditation, the Kuṇḍalinī Śakti.

In this simple meditation, we will practice a dhāraṇā (centering technique) from the Vijñāna Bhairava. We engage with a dhāraṇā to experience the energy of meditation. Here we will practice dhāraṇā 4, which focuses on a practice called kumbhaka, breath retention, to help us deepen our awareness of the "madhya" or "the middle", which we explored previously in dhāraṇā 3.

According to Kashmir Shaivism, awareness of the madhya helps us to enter the thought-free state, the state of Śiva, a state of expanded consciousness.