Three easy ways to know if you have reached a state of meditation

According to scientific research, the benefits of meditation are so numerous that it is actually difficult to list them all. For starters, though, meditation stabilizes brain waves into alpha waves, reduces oxygen consumption by 16 to 17 percent less than normal, improves blood circulation, and decreases stress levels.

However, for Dahn Yoga practitioners, it is not even necessary to measure results in the laboratory because those who focus and follow instruction well in their classes will experience immediate physiological responses.

How do you determine, then, if you have reached a state of meditation? In fact, there are three responses that indicate this state of mind, and they are easily determined during or right after your Dahn Yoga class.

Firstly, sweet saliva pools in your mouth. This phenomenon occurs when you are relaxed and the water energy in your spinal cord and brain flows smoothly.
Conversely, anyone with nervous tension can probably remember having a dry mouth. This means that your mind was not able to maintain a meditative state and that water energy doesn’t flow well in your body and brain. In fact, the incredible taste of the tea after class is due to the sweet saliva in your mouth produced by the Dahn Yoga exercise!

Secondly, your head becomes cool and your lower belly becomes warm. This is the effect of Water Up Fire Down, a phenomenon in which water energy from the kidneys circulates upward to the head and fire energy from your head and chest flows downward. This same phenomenon also brings warmth to your hands and feet.

Thirdly, a smile spreads across your face. This means that idle and negative thoughts and emotions have decreased and you’ve reached a positive state of awareness. This is reflected in your smile after Dahn Yoga classes—a smile that is purely natural and authentic because it bursts automatically from your heart without thought or judgment.

If you have experienced these conditions after a Dahn Yoga class, it means that you did indeed enter a meditative state. These three ways of checking the state of your mind and condition will be a helpful reminder for you to bring focus and energy back to your body, your dahnjon, and your smile!

— Lynn Moon