Laya Yoga

By yoga one usually means laya yoga. For any other form they usually specify what form of
yoga it is – for instance mantra yoga or kundalini yoga. This is because this method does
not implicitly, but explicitly mentions its goal – laya or dissolution (of mind in self).
Meditation is the means in laya yoga. Mind and life are mutually dependent, and so are the
states of mind and breath. One controls mind through the control of breath, so that full
concentration is possible in meditation. Through meditation, one’s consciousness merges in
the object of meditation and one realizes Atman. The state in which the difference between
the one who meditates, the act of meditation and the object of meditation dissolves, is
called samadhi or sayujya.
One also observes during meditation one’s own being, the different sheaths of his own being
and consciousness. There are five kosas or sheaths of consciousness of being
- annamaya (physical), pranamaya (vital-life), manomaya (mental), vijnanamaya (intellect-
knowledge) and anandamaya (causal - blissful). The first is gross, next three comprise
subtle and the fifth causal being. The causal being is Isvara who resides in all beings. He is
the one Who actually causes the cosmic sport through veiling and unveiling Himself to the
beings. Binding of a being is because of that veil, and liberation is when that veil is lifted. It
requires efforts of the being as well as the grace of Isvara, and a total surrender of the
being for this to happen. The cosmic sport of Isvara can be seen in karana-akasa or the
causal space.
However Isvara is all pervading and not limited to the causal plane. Being the causal
principle, He is the origin of gross and subtle, and also pervades them. In Vaishnava schools
the causal being is represented as Isvara. In Saiva-Sakta schools the causal being is
explained as an inseparable dual of two principles – the dynamic and absolute. Isvara
Himself being absolute, the dynamic principle that causes the cosmic sport is the primal
rhythmic energy, Sakti or Maya. She being the dynamic half of Isvara, does it for Him.
According to Mandukya Upanishad, the gross (sthula), subtle (sukshma), causal (karana)
and absolute (turiya) are the four states in which Brahman manifests. Realizing eternal
through meditation is laya yoga. In Laya yoga one, through meditation, identifies himself
progressively with the inner sheaths, and finally with the inner most being – Atman. The
Mother is said to reside in and beyond the five sheaths – Panca kosantara sthita. Thus the
seeker achieves oneness with the Mother through laya yoga.
Coming back to meditation as a means to achieving Samadhi, there are five states of mind.
The first two are restless and dispersed states. The third is the state of concentration, in
which mind is focused on the object of meditation. The fourth is the state of pure
consciousness where mind gets to differentiate between its object and other objects. The
fifth is the state of dissolution where mind dissolves completely into the object of
meditation. This is called Samadhi.
The entire process and ways of controlling mind through breath and achieving Samadhi, is
enunciated as Astanga Yoga or yoga of eight limbs, by Patanjali Maharshi. There are eight
steps in sequence to achieve Samadhi. They are:

1. Yama: Yama in general, speaks about restraint and practices that help cultivating
austerity. There are many aspects of yama, however Patanjali gives five of
them. Ahimsa or non-violence is the first of them. Satya or being truthful is the
second. Asteya or belief in divine, being content and satisfied comprise the
 third. Brahmacarya or sexual fidelity is the fourth. Aparigraha or non-coveting is the
fifth.
2. Niyama: Niyama is a regulation. While yama is more of a restraint to overcome
obstacles in achieveing austerity, niyama is a practice or method to actually achieve
it. There are many niyamas such as doing worship, taking sacred vow, giving alms,
however according to Patanjali five of them are important. They are sauca (purity),
santosha (happiness and contentment), tapas (austerity), svadhyaya (scriptural
study) and Isvarapranidhana (surrender to divine).
3. Asana: Asana is the posture required for practice. While padmasana is the most
practiced posture, there are many others that are used contextually.
4. Pratyahara:Pratyahara is literally abstention. This step is about internalizing one’s
consciousness, withdrawing mind from external senses and directing inwards,
cultivate inward-looking or antar-dristi.
5. Pranayama: Pranayama is the control of breath. There are three stages in
respiration, puraka (inhaling), recaka (exhaling) and kumbhaka (holding the breath).
By systematic practice of breath and doing these three proportionately, one can
achieve prolonged kumbhaka, during which one can eventually attain Samadhi. It is
during kumbhaka that one attains stillness of mind, which is fertile ground
for dhyana.
6. Dharana: Dharana means bearing or wearing. This is the step of concentration. The
seeker directs all his concentration and invokes divine consciousness in the various
limbs of his body in this stage. This precedes dhyana.
7. Dhyana: Dhyana is the stage of concentration, where the seeker has totally
developed inward-looking and concentrates on the object of meditation, isolating
totally from his environment and external consciousness. Dhyana is usually of two
kinds, one with a seed or beeja, an object of meditation and one without a form to
concentrate on or seed of meditation.
8. Samadhi: Samadhi is the state of actual union of the seeker’s consciousness with the
object of meditation. It is also called laya. There are two forms of Samadhi,
savikalpa and nirvikalpa. In the first, there is still a vikalpa or alternative, which
means that the seeker is still aware of something other than the object of
meditation. In nirvikalpa Samadhi, the object of meditation alone remains, and
nothing else remains in the consciousness of the seeker – neither the process nor
himself nor anything else. It is in this state that one realizes self.

Laya yoga is usually the basis for other methods too, though they employ other means to
dissolve mind in self. This involves specifying different objects and forms of meditation,
controlling mind through chanting instead of breath and so on.

What is the meaning of Laya Yoga?

Laya yoga is an ancient form of meditation, with concentration on energy centers or
chakras. ... Laya yoga attempts to locate these energy centers and channelize them through
meditation. Laya essentially means to dissolve all Karmic patterns or conditioning and
merge into the transcendental reality.

What is Laya Yoga state its process?

Laya yoga is the process of reabsorption and marks the beginning of freedom from the
fluctuating tendencies of the mind caused by the element wind

Definition - What does Laya Yoga mean?

Laya yoga is a yoga form in which dissolution of self and merging with the Supreme
Consciousness are achieved. Laya is a Sanskrit term meaning "dissolve." Laya yoga leads to
the state of samadhi, which is the highest unification with the Divine. It leads the mind from
the state of manifestation and dissolution to moola prakriti, meaning "original state."

Though it may also be referred to as Kundalini yoga as it awakens the kundalini power, Laya
yoga works from the sahasrara (crown chakra) at the top of the body and flows down
through the lower chakras to awaken kundalini.

Yogapedia explains Laya Yoga

Laya yoga was created by sage Gorakhnath who was the disciple of sage Matsyendranath.
The aim of Laya yoga practice is to alter the conscious level of the mind to a higher state by
making the mind listen to the inner sound. Practicing Laya yoga includes asanas,
pranayama, mudras, mantras and bandha.

Other than elevating one's consciousness, some of the other benefits of practicing Laya
yoga include:

Alleviates stress
Cures mood swings
Promotes emotional stability
Cures addiction
Improves immune system

Definition - What does Laya mean?

Laya is a Sanskrit word that may be translated into English as either “extinction,”
“absorption” or “dissolution."

Laya yoga - which is an alternative name for Kundalini yoga - is a type of yoga practice that
has strong influences from Tantra and Shaktism.

Yogapedia explains Laya

Laya yoga is also given the name of “the yoga of awareness.” In this type of yoga, the
kundalini energy is awakened through a combination of mantras, asanas, meditation,
Tantric practices and breath control. In the "Shiva Samhita" it is said that there are four
yogas that can awaken kundalini: Mantra yoga, Raja yoga, Hatha yoga and Laya yoga.

This ancient form of yoga was revived in the 1960s and has become relatively popular in the
West since then.

Laya means "absorption" or "dissolution". Also known as the yoga of dissolution, this system
deals with the psycho-energetic centers (chakras) of the subtle body that run parallel to the
spinal cord. Although there is no mention of the chakras in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, they are
frequently mentioned in Hatha, Tantra, and Kundalini yoga. Not surprisingly, therefore,
when the well-read seekers initially come to Sahaj Marg they often want to know more
about them.

The principal chakras (illustrated in In His Footsteps, Vol. 1, p. 64) are:

Mulaadhaara chakra — situated at the sacro-coccygeal plexus

Svaadhishthana chakra — situated at the sacral plexus near the 4th vertebra
Manipuraka chakra — located at the navel
Anahata chakra — situated at the heart
Vishuddhi chakra — situated at the throat (corresponds to point 5 in Sahaj Marg)
Ajna chakra — located between the eyebrows (as it is associated with power, we do not
touch upon it directly in Sahaj Marg), and
Sahasrara dal kamal — situated at the crown of the head.

LAYA YOGA

Laya Yoga or The Yoga of Dissolution is described as the loss of the individual self or
consciousness. The true essence returns to the source, were no concept of future, past or
space remains. All idea of I-ness, subjectivity or objectivity departs.

The Means of Absorption

Although it is commonplace to translate the term ‘yoga’ as union, explanations of what is to be
united by this process are varied and contradictory. Most ancient texts speak of four kinds of
yoga or methods of practice – Mantra, Hatha, Laya and Raja.

The Yoga is of four kinds: First mantra yoga, second hatha yoga, third laya yoga, fourth raja yoga,
which discards duality.  (Shiva Samhita 5.9)
Without guidance and without completing for oneself the process these four enfold, it is easy to
misunderstand the relationship between them. In practice it is through Hatha yoga that the
methods of Mantra and Laya yogas are utilised so that the fourth – Raja yoga – can manifest.
As the Shiva Samhita states, it is only with the achievement of this fourth state that duality is
discarded and so union achieved.