The philosophies behind yoga and meditation, while focused on slightly different areas, have plenty of parallels. These similarities make the collaboration between a Milton resident with a growing meditation instruction career and a Milton-based yoga studio a likely paring.

In late October, Andy Kelley, a Chopra-certified meditation instructor known as the Boston Buddha, held an introduction to meditation class at Milton Yoga. Sean McCarthy owns the yoga studio, which is located in the Carriage House School on Randolph Avenue.

The successful session, which drew 20 participants, was set up when the men met at a mutual friend’s birthday party.

“I think it was well received tonight,” said McCarthy after the session, adding he’d like to have Kelley teach a monthly class at Milton Yoga.

Most of the participants of the evening class were Milton Yoga students. McCarthy felt meditation, specifically the mantra-based method Kelley introduced, would be helpful to his students.

“With yoga you always come back to the breath,” said McCarthy.

Kelley explained that both disciplines center on flexibility, just of different areas.

“For me, I always say that meditation helped me become more mentally flexible,” Kelley said. “I think yoga does the same thing on a physical level and when you combine the two there's a balance— body, mind and spirit.”

For the introduction course, which was attended mostly by women—many of whom had little knowledge about meditation, Kelley explained a simple style he calls So Hum.

During meditation a person repeats the mantra while sitting quietly, eyes closed. The mantra allows the person to focus and can eventually be stopped and only repeated if a thought enters the mind.

“We have this incredible ability to be able to self reflect while we're in the moment,” Kelley said. “Meditation helps you harness and develop this ability.”

Prior to actually practicing the technique, Kelley explained his background. He told the story of how he went from a television producer who was skeptical of meditation to being a daily practitioner, to eventually changing his career entirely.

During his PowerPoint presentation, Kelley also explained a diagram called Software of the Soul or the Wheel of Time, based on a cycle of action, memory and desire.

“It is like playing a game that continues to direct, limit and reinforce our choices based on our past decisions,” Kelley said.

Meditation allows people to be aware of their choices, creating more opportunities for unconditioned choices as opposed to preprogrammed responses.

To learn more about Milton Yoga, visit www.miltonyoga.com. For information on Andy Kelley and the Boston Buddha, visit www.thebostonbuddha.com.