I have included the use of two different mantras in the practice section and on the CDs (or tapes) included with the bookset. In the text I have and suggested several different ways to use each of them. If you try each of these options for a while you will soon discover which one suits your temperament the best and which one works best for your situation.

   Trataka means steady gazing. It is a very simple and beautiful meditation technique. In the method I have included, a regular candle is used, however any other object of attraction can also be used. The candle is set up at arm's distance, level with the eyes, and steady gazing is first done with the eyes open. After some time, the eyes are closed, and the after image inside the mind is used for gazing.
   Most people find this a very attractive and easy meditation. From the very first moment, you will feel the technique begin to work on many levels. Firstly, one begins to feel very calm and peaceful - an inner warmth and glow seems to awaken in the heart centre. After some time, a highly disciplined mind is developed. Another effect is to strengthen the eyes, both the two physical eyes as well as the eye of intuition.
   One aspect of trataka many students find challenging is perfecting the attitude of a relaxed concentration. The image upon which you are concentrating can seem to wander around a lot and this clearly shows up the nature of the meditator's mind! Not just a meditation outcome, this also becomes a valuable lesson for daily life.

   Chakra Anusandhana means "discovery of the chakras". It is a compound technique combining mantra yoga, raja yoga, kundalini yoga and kriya yoga, so its effects are deep and wide ranging. It helps to correct energy imbalances in the chakras, individually and by harmonising them all together.

The Benefits of Meditation for Women's Health and Pregnancy
   Not only does a woman need an understand-ing of her body and the womanliness it encompasses, but she also needs to have a connection with the essence of her true self, her true nature, her soul nature. This true self is an identity beyond everyday change. It is beyond gender, beyond the fluctuations of hormones, beyond the layers of socialisation, family expectations and other superimposed personality patterns.

  
   We begin life as someone's daughter, and become someone's lover, someone's wife, someone's mother. Yes, but who am I - who am I really? The reality of discovering the essence of oneself is not as easy as it first may seem. Just when you think you know who you are, it all changes again. This process of self-discovery (or re-discovery if you once knew it) involves stripping off false layers of identity, going back through all the conditionings, realising - "I am not that, and not that, and not that", right back to a sort of nothingness (shoonya) , an emptiness out of which arises the realisation - "Ah ha! I am that".
   The place for this revelation is not the psychotherapist's couch, the matrimonial bed, the wine bar, the mothers' group or even a yoga retreat, but within your own private meditation times. Yoga and meditation allows us to see that this essential true self is always there, right inside us, and hence, that is the only place we need go.
   And ironically, pregnancy and motherhood afford us this the same opportunity. Along with the creation of a new life, and all the new external things that brings with it, we have the chance to explore a new internal world. For those who seek it, pregnancy can be a 9 month meditation trip inwards, to help discover our true nature.
   For therapeutic purposes, meditation can help to resolve the deepest of neuroses, fears and conflicts which play their part in causing stress and ill-health. In combination with asanas, Yoga Nidra and pranayama, meditation works to integrate the inner life with the outer life, creating better harmony between yourself and others.
   For mothers and mothers-to-be, meditation puts you in tune with your babies. After the birth, daily meditation becomes a precious time to refocus and make sense of the many new thoughts and feelings which can be running through your mind, brought about by the events of childbirth and new motherhood.

Conclusion
   So to summarise the major points regarding meditation, we see that:

·    Yoga = meditation
·    Meditation is both a goal and a process
·    The different stages of meditation should all be integrated into one homogeneous practice routine
·    The gains of meditative experience can and should be applicable in everyday life