Since meditation offers relaxation, it helps to remove all tensions, stresses and strains of the mind. A ray of hope shines in the despairing mind and it becomes tolerant and restrained. In short, it can be said that the mind obtains fresh vigor or new life through the practice of meditation.
Self-analysis and self-observation are the keys to progress on the spiritual path. If you do not practice self-observation your decisions will not be the right ones, your conclusions will not be true. You cannot come to accurate self-observation and analysis immediately. It is a gradual process. Peace of mind, complete honesty, and objectivity are essential. When you are able to observe everything that happens in your life with keen awareness and draw inspiration from each action, then you will really be able to grow.
Even though you practice regularly, it is not always possible to achieve the same quality of meditation. Sometimes the body, and more often the mind, creates obstructions. On such occasions find out the cause of the trouble to ensure that it does not happen again.
A unique aspect of yoga sadhana is that the wholehearted practice of any one technique spontaneously elicits the entire spectrum of yogic techniques in a natural way. As a result, the initial stages of yoga prepare the groundwork for the more advanced stages.
On the yogic path, various experiences occur which help increase the sadhaka’s faith, courage, knowledge, enthusiasm, devotion to his Guru, devotion to yoga, and finally his or her devotion to God. Initially, the sadhaka gains an understanding of the lower chakras; later the understanding of the middle; and finally understanding of the higher chakras unfolds. Besides this, the understanding or various asanas (postures), mudras (gestures), pranayama (breath control), pratyahara (withdrawal from sense objects) and jyoti darshana (vision of divine light) is accessible through experience. Thus the practice of yoga itself unfolds the knowledge of more advanced states of yoga.