(Technique — Tratak)

In a dark room. A candle flame. And you.

Sit about two feet from the flame. Your spine comfortable and natural. Take three slow breaths.

Now look at the flame without blinking.

Simple enough. And yet — extraordinarily difficult for a mind that has been trained to jump from thought to thought, screen to screen, worry to worry.

The flame will blur. Your eyes will water. Thoughts will drag your attention sideways. And you will come back. Every time, gently, come back to the flame.

This is Tratak — steady, unwavering gazing. And it does something to the mind that almost no other practice replicates.

Ordinarily, attention is like water in a leaky vessel. It goes in many directions at once. Every sound, every sensation, every memory takes a little piece of it. Tratak plugs the leaks. It collects attention and holds it in one place.

Hatha Yoga Pradipika calls Tratak one of the shatkarmas — the six cleansing practices. It is said to purify the eyes, strengthen the optic nerves, and — most importantly — train the mind in the single-pointed focus (dharana) that is required for deeper meditation.

Practice for five to seven minutes, then close the eyes. You will see the after-image of the flame behind closed eyes. Hold this internal image as long as you can. When it fades, open the eyes, look at the flame again, then close and hold again.

Over weeks and months of practice, the mind becomes noticeably more stable. Distraction decreases. The ability to stay with one thing — a thought, a task, a person — deepens.

Everything becomes meditation when the mind learns to stay.