Stress, restlessness, and anxiety – your mind today is rarely at rest. Notifications and screens are constantly vying for your attention, boundaries between work and personal life are as blurry as the
screens you strain to look at late in the night, and being hunched over your laptop has become the norm.
From an Ayurvedic lens, this constant mental stimulation aggravates Vata dosha, leading to restlessness, scattered focus, and a persistent sense of inner noise.
We speak to Dr Partap Chauhan, Ayurvedacharya, to understand how meditation can help us live a more grounded, calm life and that it is now not about escaping the world but about training the mind to remain steady within it.
Cognitive overload isn’t a personal failure but a result of the life we now lead. Ayurveda recognises that the mind, like the body, needs regular cleansing and rest. Meditation offers this reset. When practised daily, these techniques help you respond to life rather than react to it.
These 5 meditative practices are rooted in Ayurvedic wisdom and can be easily integrated into daily life to reduce cognitive overload:
Breath Anchoring for Mental Reset
Before any deeper meditation begins, the breath must be steadied. This practice centres your awareness on natural inhalation and exhalation without controlling rhythm. You simply observe. Sit comfortably. Close your eyes. Notice how the breath enters and leaves. When thoughts wander, and they will, you bring attention back to breathing. Over time, this trains your mind to pause rather than react. It sounds simple, maybe too simple, yet its effects are quietly profound.
Trataka to Sharpen Focus
Trataka involves gazing steadily at a fixed point, traditionally a candle flame. In a distracted world, this practice builds single-pointed attention. After lighting a candle, sit at eye level and gaze softly at the flame for about one minute. Blink naturally. When the eyes close, visualise the flame internally. This practice strengthens concentration and calms visual overstimulation caused by the screens.
Body Awareness Meditation
Many of you live in your heads while the body waits patiently for attention. Body awareness meditation restores that connection. You mentally scan from toes to head, noticing sensations without judgment. The mind begins to slow when attention moves into the body. Some days feel easier than others. That is fine.
Mantra Meditation for Mental Rhythm
Mantras introduce rhythm to the mind. Repeating a sound like Om or a personalised mantra aligns mental activity and reduces thought clutter. The repetition does not silence thoughts instantly. It gently reorganises them. With consistency, mental chatter loses its urgency. You may feel this shift subtly, almost unexpectedly.
Silent Sitting for Emotional Balance
This practice involves sitting in silence after meditation without technique or effort. You simply remain. Silence allows emotional processing that constant input often suppresses. Initially, discomfort may arise. Stay with it. Silence has its own intelligence.
