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Systematic
Yoga Meditation is Systematic, going from gross to subtle...

Yoga meditation is the art and science of systematically 
observing, accepting, understanding, and training 
each of the levels of our being, 
such that we may coordinate and integrate 
those aspects of ourselves, 
and dwell in the direct experience 
of the center of consciousness.

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Practice Systematically 

At the time of meditation, it is extremely useful to deal with each level, one at a time, going from outer to inner, from gross to subtle. The process is like this: 

• Practicing systematically means first having a good environment that is clean, comfortable, and reasonably quiet (an advanced meditator can meditate even with external sounds in the environment). 
• Then you prepare the body by washing and emptying bladder and bowels.
• Then you work with the body, whether through yoga postures or another form of making the body flexible. 
• Then comes the breathing practices. 
• Then deal with the levels of mind. 
• Then begin to go beyond the mind.

(See also the article What is Systematic Meditation?)

Systematic definitely does not mean rigid. There is a great deal of flexibility in which the individual student does practices which match personal predispositions. 

The principle of doing meditation "systematically" is so simple that it is easy to not see it, like not noticing the nose on our own face. A little reflection will make this clear. 

Often, a student of meditation will just sit down and try to start meditating. What usually happens is the the mind is noisy and chattering, and the body is restless. Sometimes when sitting in a group, one may open an eye to peek at the other people. It can look like they are all still, and meditating. We can be left with a feeling of frustration, while internally asking "What's wrong with ME?" It looks like others are still and quiet, while we are sitting there in a forced way that is really not pleasant. It can seem like what is needed in more "discipline". When sitting alone, it's easy to become a clock watcher, waiting for our "meditation" to be finally finished. 

What is usually happening in such moments is that we are not ready for meditation itself. If we try to go directly to meditation it usually doesn't work. In the science of yoga, the process has been described in eight stages (See Yoga Sutras 2.26-2.29). In those eight steps, the state of meditation is step number seven. The fact that we do not attain the state of meditation means we are not prepared for meditation. 

This preparation is where the "systematic" process of yoga comes in. In a general sort of way, it is very useful to develop healthy relationships with other people, get to know ourselves at the personality level, work with our body, the breath, and the mind. Each of these aspects of our being may be lived and practiced independently, each as their own important activity. 

There are many different techniques of working with the various levels, but the important thing about the "systematic" process is that you do the practices in a sequence, or order, which takes you progressively inward. By "walking" these steps inward, like stairs or a ladder, the state of meditation becomes much easier to reach. 

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