Hakalau Meditation: Ancient Hawaiian Huna
Recently, I came across a new meditation technique. It's called Hakalau Meditation and comes from ancient practices in Hawaii. What struck me with this meditation is how simple it is and how much of an effect it has had on me within a short period of time.
The word Hakalau translates to "eyes wide open" and the meditation helps you to both focus and expand your peripheral vision. I thought this article would complement the existing how to series we have developed, as it's not a very well known meditation, yet it's highly effective.
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What Is Hakalau Meditation
Hakalau Meditation is an ancient Hawaiian practice that uses peripheral vision to bring you into a meditative state. This is because when you are seeing through your peripheral vision, your physiology is more relaxed and calm. You may remember that we included Hakalau Meditation as one of our hacks to reduce anxiety.
How To Do Hakalau Meditation
In order to practice Hakalau, you start by:
- Ho'ohaka. Staring on a fixed spot in front of you (preferably a little above eye level).
- Kuu. Focus all your attention there and try to let go of thoughts as best you can.
- Lau. As you do this for a minute or two, you'll notice that your vision begins to spread out. Allow your visual field to spread out more and more.
- Hakalau. As you continue to do this, see that you shift your attention to the peripheral part of your vision without moving your eyes. Gradually, you lose focus on any fixed thing and take in as much of your visual field as possible.
- Ho'okohi. Stay in this state for as long as you can. Notice how it feels. Notice the calm feeling you have. As you broaden your awareness, thoughts recede into the background. This is also what can naturally happen when you're looking at a sunset, for example.
On your first practice, you can do this seated and for about ten minutes. As you continue to practice, you can increase the time and try it standing, then developing it into a moving practice, if you want.
Stresscoach Meditations
If you enjoyed Hakalau Meditation and are interested in other techniques, I recommend you check out some of our other articles on this topic:
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation
- Pranayama Breathing
- Mindfulness
- Walking Meditation
- Loving Kindness Meditation
- The Benefits Of Meditation For Anxiety
Learn to manage anxiety in only 5 minutes per day