Meditation in Holistic Health

From the Yoga Tradition to Professional Application in Yoga Therapy

Compiled by: Sahar Yazdani

Yoga & Meditation Teacher

Professional Member of the International Holistic Yoga Therapy Institute (IHYTI)

Introduction

When we talk about “meditation,” we often picture a person sitting silently, eyes closed, trying to calm the mind. But for those of us working in yoga, yoga therapy, and health, this image is not enough.

Meditation is not simply sitting in silence; it is not merely controlling thoughts; and it certainly does not mean completely emptying the mind. Meditation is a collection of practices for cultivating attention, awareness, observation, emotional regulation, and, in some traditions, spiritual development and deeper self-understanding.

From a holistic perspective, we do not view a person merely as a body, a mind, or a medical diagnosis. A human being is an integrated whole: the body, breath, thoughts, emotions, relationships, lifestyle, meaning, beliefs, and living environment all play a role in health and suffering.

Therefore, meditation should not be regarded merely as a “relaxation technique.” It can be a way of helping an individual return to a more conscious relationship with the totality of their experience.

In yoga therapy, meditation is one of several potentially useful tools alongside asana, pranayama, relaxation, sound, mantra, contemplative practices, and lifestyle modification. However, its selection and application should be individualized, purposeful, and safe. The International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) recognizes meditation, breath practices, asana, relaxation, sound, and prayer among the tools used within the field of yoga therapy.[1][2][3]

What Is Meditation?

A Simple Definition

Meditation is a practice for training attention and awareness. In meditation, an individual intentionally directs attention toward the breath, body, a sound, a word, a mental image, an emotion, or the ongoing flow of moment-to-moment experience.

In contemporary scientific approaches, mindfulness refers to awareness of one’s internal state and surrounding environment, accompanied by observation and a reduction in automatic reactivity. The American Psychological Association describes mindfulness meditation as a practice associated with aspects of psychological and physical health, although its effects depend on the type of intervention, the population involved, and how the practice is delivered.[4][5][6]

What Meditation Is Not

To avoid misunderstanding, it is important to clarify that meditation is:

• Not an attempt to eliminate all thoughts.
• Not forcing oneself to be calm or positive.
• Not enduring pain, distress, or difficult memories at any cost.
• Not a substitute for medical evaluation, psychotherapy, or medication when these are necessary.
• Not a single method that produces the same effect for everyone.

The human mind produces thoughts. In many meditation practices, when we notice that the mind has wandered, we have not failed. That moment of noticing is itself an act of awareness.

The practice is the gentle return of attention.

Meditation in the Yoga Tradition

Within the yoga tradition, the inward journey is often described through concepts such as pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi:

• Pratyahara: withdrawing, redirecting, or gathering the senses away from external distractions.
• Dharana: stabilizing and sustaining attention on a particular object or subject.
• Dhyana: a more continuous and uninterrupted flow of attention.
• Samadhi: a deeper philosophical concept interpreted differently across various yoga traditions.

However, traditional dhyana should not be equated exactly with every modern form of mindfulness. The language of the yoga tradition and the language of medical and psychological research overlap in certain areas, but their underlying frameworks and goals are not identical.

Holistic Health and Meditation

In holistic health, our question is not only:

“What symptoms does this person have?”

We also ask:

• What is the body communicating?
• What is the person’s breathing pattern like?
• What emotions are they experiencing?
• How do they relate to their thoughts?
• What is the quality of their sleep, nutrition, movement, and relationships?
• What sources of meaning, hope, connection, and support are available to them?

Meditation can play a role within this broader framework by helping individuals step back from automatic reactions and observe their experience more clearly.

Dimensions of Meditation’s Potential Application

Here, the term holistic does not mean rejecting evidence-based medicine or psychology.

A professional holistic approach does not place medical, psychological, physical, social, and spiritual care in opposition to one another. Rather, it sees them as complementary dimensions of care.

Major Types of Meditation

Meditation is not a single method. For professional application, it is often more useful to categorize meditation according to the purpose of the practice rather than simply according to traditional names.

1. Focused-Attention Meditation

In focused-attention meditation, the individual maintains attention on a specific object or point.

The focus may be:

• The breath
• A mantra or word
• A sound
• A candle flame
• A mental image
• The sensation of the body contacting the ground

When the mind wanders, the individual gently and without self-criticism brings attention back to the chosen point of focus.

Potential application: Training attention, reducing mental distraction, and developing greater attentional stability.

Yoga therapy consideration: Prolonged or forced concentration on the breath is not appropriate for everyone. For some individuals with panic symptoms or trauma histories, focusing on the feet contacting the ground or on sounds in the environment may be more tolerable.

2. Mindfulness Meditation

In mindfulness, attention does not necessarily remain fixed on a single object.

The individual observes thoughts, emotions, sounds, and bodily sensations as they arise, without immediately labeling them as good or bad, suppressing them, or trying to change them.

For example, rather than saying:

“I am an anxious person,”

the individual may observe:

“At this moment, anxiety and worry-related thoughts are present in my mind and body.”

This subtle shift can help an individual experience thoughts and emotions as aspects of their current experience rather than as the entirety of their identity.

3. Body Scan

In a body scan, attention moves gradually through different areas of the body, for example from the feet toward the head or from the head toward the feet.

The individual may notice warmth, cold, pressure, pain, pulsation, itching, numbness, lightness, or no particular sensation at all.

The goal is not to create a special sensation. The goal is to observe bodily experience.

Professional boundary: A body scan should never become a forced confrontation with a painful or traumatic area. The client should always have the option to stop, change position, or open their eyes.

4. Loving-Kindness and Compassion Meditation

In this practice, the individual gradually offers wishes of well-being toward themselves, loved ones, neutral people, and others.

For example:

“May I be safe.
May I experience peace.
May I be kind to myself.”

In Buddhist traditions, this practice is commonly associated with metta, or loving-kindness.

Potential application: Working with self-criticism, shame, anger, and difficulties in one’s relationship with oneself.

Important caution: A client should not be asked to offer goodwill toward someone who has harmed them before they are ready. Compassion does not mean abandoning boundaries or justifying harm.

5. Mantra Meditation

In mantra meditation, a word, sound, or short phrase is repeated, either silently or aloud.

A mantra may be religious, traditional, or secular.

Potential application: Providing an anchor for attention, supporting continuity of practice, and helping some individuals reduce mental chatter.

Ethical consideration: The choice of mantra should respect the individual’s cultural background, beliefs, preferences, and consent.

6. Movement Meditation

Not everyone benefits from prolonged sitting.

In movement meditation, awareness is integrated with physical movement, such as:

• Mindful walking
• Gentle hand movements
• Gentle asana practiced with awareness of the breath
• Tai chi
• Other contemplative movement practices

This approach may be more appropriate for individuals who are restless, physically tense, fatigued, or uncomfortable with closing their eyes.

7. Guided Visualization

In guided visualization, the individual uses active imagination with the assistance of a teacher, recording, or verbal guidance.

They may imagine:

• A safe or peaceful place
• Light
• Nature
• A healing image
• A calming scenario

Potential application: Relaxation, restoring a sense of safety, and supporting concentration.

However, visualization is not suitable for everyone. Some individuals have limited ability to form mental images, while for others, mental imagery can increase anxiety or distress.

8. Vipassana and Traditional Buddhist Meditation

Vipassana should not be reduced simply to “body scanning for relaxation.”

Within Buddhist traditions, vipassana is associated with careful observation of experience and the cultivation of insight into impermanence, suffering, and patterns of mental reactivity.

Modern mindfulness has been influenced by several Buddhist traditions, but it is often presented in a more secular framework, with an emphasis on psychological goals such as stress management, emotional regulation, and well-being.

9. Tibetan Meditation

“Tibetan meditation” is not a single technique. It refers to a broad range of practices within Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

These may include:

• Mantra
• Visualization
• Compassion practices
• Tonglen
• Analytical meditation

Using a Tibetan singing bowl or Tibetan music by itself does not constitute Tibetan meditation.

In a professional presentation, it is useful to distinguish between the use of sound-based tools for relaxation and the deeper contemplative traditions from which particular practices originate.

Meditation in Yoga Therapy

In yoga therapy, the central question is not:

“What is the best meditation?”

Rather, the question is:

“For this individual, with this particular condition, at this stage, what type of practice is likely to be useful, tolerable, and safe?”

A Framework for Selecting a Practice

Meditation in yoga therapy can be integrated into a simple sequence:

1. Arrival and assessment of the client’s current state
2. Gentle movement or asana
3. An appropriate breathing practice
4. Relaxation or body-based grounding
5. Brief meditation
6. Gradual return and closing conversation

This sequence helps prevent meditation from being viewed as something completely separate from the body and breath.

Scientific Perspective and Evidence

It is important to discuss both the potential benefits of meditation and the limitations of the evidence.

Systematic reviews have found that some mindfulness-based programs may produce small to moderate improvements in anxiety, depression, and certain aspects of stress compared with no treatment. However, this does not mean that meditation is superior in every case to cognitive behavioral therapy, medication, exercise, or other active interventions.[7][8][9]

The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) also reports that mindfulness and meditation practices may be helpful for some people in areas such as anxiety, depression, stress, certain sleep problems, and some forms of chronic pain. However, the strength and quality of evidence vary depending on the condition and intervention.[10][11]

Therefore, the most accurate and responsible way to communicate the evidence is:

“Meditation may be beneficial for some individuals, under some circumstances, as part of complementary care; however, the type of practice, quality of instruction, individual characteristics, and coordination with other health services are all important.”

Safety and Professional Boundaries

Meditation is generally considered low-risk for many people, but it is not completely risk-free.

Research has documented that some individuals may experience anxiety, low mood, pain, restlessness, or unpleasant cognitive experiences in connection with meditation practice.[12][13]

Safety Principles for Teachers and Yoga Therapists

• Closing the eyes should always be optional.
• The individual should be free to change their body position.
• Breathing practices should not involve force, strain, or unnecessary breath retention.
• Clients should never be pressured to tolerate pain or distress.
• The teacher’s language should be invitational rather than commanding:
  “If you would like to…”
  “You may notice…”
• A client’s experience should not immediately be interpreted using claims such as “energy cleansing” or “trauma release.”
• If anxiety, dissociation, insomnia, symptoms of mania, psychosis, or thoughts of self-harm intensify, the practice should be stopped and appropriate professional referral should be considered.

Meditation can be a complement to treatment, but it is not a substitute for medical diagnosis, medical treatment, or psychotherapy.

The World Health Organization also emphasizes the identification of mental health needs, appropriate support, and referral when necessary.[14][15][16]

A Short Closing Practice

You may conclude the presentation with the following brief practice:

“If you are comfortable, find a seated position that feels both stable and soft. You do not need to close your eyes.

First, notice the contact of your body with the chair or the ground. Simply notice how your body is being supported right now.

Then, without changing your breathing, feel three natural cycles of inhalation and exhalation.

If a thought arises, you do not need to push it away. Simply notice that a thought has appeared, and gently bring your attention back to the sensations of the body or to the breath.

At the end, take a moment to ask yourself:

‘What is happening in my body, my breathing, and my mind right now?’

There is no right or wrong answer. Simply observe.”

Final Reflection

From a holistic perspective, meditation is not a technique for escaping life. It is a practice for being more consciously present in life.

Meditation may help an individual:

• Listen to the body more carefully.
• Become more aware of breathing and physiological arousal.
• Create space between a thought and a reaction.
• Respond to emotions with greater kindness and responsibility.
• Connect more deeply with values, meaning, and the direction of their life.

However, in professional yoga therapy, meditation becomes most valuable when it is individualized, choice-based, appropriate to the client’s capacity, guided by clear professional boundaries, and aligned with evidence and safety.

Holistic health means seeing the whole person.

Meditation can be one of the ways of returning to that sense of wholeness—not as an answer to everything, but as a conscious, humble, and deeply human practice.

References

[1] International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT). Yoga Therapy Definition.
IAYT – Yoga Therapy Definition

[2] International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT). Current Illustrative Scope of Practice.
IAYT – Current Illustrative Scope of Practice

[3] International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT). Scope of Practice.
IAYT – Scope of Practice PDF

[4] American Psychological Association. Mindfulness.
APA – Mindfulness

[5] American Psychological Association. Meditation.
APA – Meditation

[6] American Psychological Association. Mindfulness and related psychological research.
APA – Continuing Education / Mindfulness

[7] PubMed. Systematic review/meta-analysis.
PubMed – PMID 24395196

[8] PubMed. Systematic review/meta-analysis.
PubMed – PMID 24501780

[9] PubMed. Systematic review/meta-analysis.
PubMed – PMID 29126747

[10] National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). Meditation and Mindfulness: Effectiveness and Safety.
NCCIH – Meditation and Mindfulness

[11] National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). Eight Things to Know About Meditation and Mindfulness.
NCCIH – Eight Things to Know

[12] PubMed. Meditation-related adverse experiences.
PubMed – PMID 32820538

[13] PubMed. Meditation-related adverse effects and safety.
PubMed – PMID 35464906

[14] World Health Organization. Mental health guidance.
WHO – Mental Health Guidance

[15] World Health Organization. Evidence review on anxiety.
WHO – Anxiety Evidence Review

[16] World Health Organization. Mental health guidance and referral.
WHO – Mental Health Resources

Additional Persian-language resources provided in the original material:

Wikipedia – Holistic Medicine (Persian)
TVF – What Is Meditation?
Yoga Therapy Resource
Snapp Doctor – What Is Meditation?
Yoga Therapy Resource

International Holistic Yoga Therapy Institute (IHYTI)
www.ihyti.com