Red Light Meditation

by Tihch Nhat Hanh
Red light meditation works best if you are driving, late and in a hurry when the light turns red just as you approach.
If you feel frustrated and annoyed, smile to yourself. You have been given perhaps a whole minute to stop and do nothing. One whole minute to breathe softly. Let yourself sigh deeply, lingering on the out breath. Check your body for excess tension. How are you holding the steering wheel? Are your face and neck muscles tighter than they need to be? Settle back into the seat and let your belly soften. Breathe consciously. The exercise finishes as the light turns green. Now devote all your attention to the task at hand: driving safely. And look forward to the next red light.

Yoga is

The following are translations of the the second yoga sutra (I.2) – citta vritti nirodha – 

“The restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff is Yoga,” Sri Swami Satchidananda, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 2003

“Yoga is the ability to direct the mind exclusively toward an object and sustain that direction without any distractions,” T.K.V. Desikachar, The Heart of Yoga, 1995

“Yoga is the control of thought-waves in the mind,” Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, How to Know God, 2007

“Yoga is the suspension of the fluctuations of the mind,” Gregor Maehle, Ashtanga Yoga, Practice & Philosophy, 2006

“We become whole by stopping how the mind turns,”  Geshe Michael Roach & Christie McNally, The Essential Yoga Sutra, Ancient Wisdom for Your Yoga, 2005