this is kind of a silly question, but i need to ask it... i have been interested in meditation off and on for awhile, but one thing that keeps me from feeling relaxed is the sitting position. Maybe i just need to try meditating a few more times, but when ever im sitting "indian style", it just bothers me to much...i mean i feel fine if im just sitting and doing nothing, but it keeps me from trying to meditate. i was wondering if it was possible to just lie on the ground and meditate, or would that not work...i really dont know much about meditation, so really any begining advice actually would be helpful
Well I've been on a bit of a journey when it comes to meditation and comfort... it took me months to begin to awarefully understand my body, and how to balance it so that I'm comfortable and relaxed, yet alert. Still working on it, actually, but it's gotten much better. The discipline of an organized meditation retreat is very helpful. Are you using a cushion? do you look something like this (ignore his hand position for now) http://www.funkyraw.com/magazine/issue2/pics/devin-half-lotus.jpg if you aren't using a cushion, get a firm one and basically perch/balance on it like he's doing http://www.mro.org/zmm/images/01meditation_images/burmeseside.jpg I also recommend researching 'The Alexander Technique." It's quite brilliant and practical. Try alternating lying down with sitting.
sitting indian style w/o anything to support my back can become quite uncomfortable for me... is it ok to lean against something? and i love your sig picture its like... so calming.
NatureFreak, I wouldn't necessarily open it up so much as Eklavya did, and of course go with what is right for you. It's good to go by "sit so comfortably as that you forget your body," however I would add that you sit in a way that is healthy for your body. Meditation is a discipline. Only you know how uncomfortable it is to sit 'indian-style.' When I sit that way for hours and hours, my knees begin to feel like the cartilage in the joints is cracking and splitting. --Very painful. However, with persistance and not changing how I sat, it's gotten much easier to sit for lengths of time. If you are just beginning, then try lying down to meditate. A good way to align your body is lift both of your legs up together and then put them down, lift your head up, put it down. Palms up. Breathe into your belly. The 'meditation is easy' site resonates with me in many ways, and in quite a few other ways it does not. It operates on the premise that you have to love other people before you love yourself. In my experience that is impossible. Only with deep love towards oneself can we finally get over ourselves because we are so in alignment with truth. Cultivating a playful attitude towards your practice is most important
You can also try movement meditations like qi gong or tai chi. When I meditate in sitting position, I often get light-headed and have to stop. But if I'm doing movements, I'm fine.
the best thing i can recommand is either full lotus or half lotus, if you do the half lotus make sure you set on something so your thigh bones are straight, in that way you don't hurt you knees if you practice long meditations. That the best advice i can give you.
You really dont have to sit "indian style" to meditate. I also find it quite uncomfortable and distracting. Many people like sitting indian stlye including the greatest meditators in history. I really never figured out why though. anyways in order to meditate and get all it's benefits you must make sure the spine is erect without any type of support (wall, seat back, etc.) This way it is easier to find your center. In my opinion the best way to meditate is in a chair sitting up with your spine as straight as you can get it.
i really need to take a refresher course in qi gong cause i forgot all the movements. i would really like to start meditating again. i realized the other day how much i was neglecting my body when i had a 30-minute chair massage on my back, neck, and scalp and i barely survived it. i almost blacked out. holy toxins! i realized that i used to drink around a gallon of water a day and now i drink next to nothing. silly me.
i always thought the whole indian style thing was just because it put your knees up higher so that you could rest your elbows and do the little finger-thumb circle thing and complete your energy circuit. if i'm going to do still meditation i do like to be sitting in a chair also, with my feet flat on the ground. i'm also a little confused about the straigh thigh bone comment. you can't really straighten and unstraighten your bones. perhaps you meant something else?
Whoa.. Jezmund, spines aren't straight--I'm sure you know this. They have more than one natural curve, and if you totally straighten the spine you're dead. (I suspect you know this and discarded it as obvious, however when I first started I tried to sit so straight that I strained my back... be careful with beginners--they might take you literally :E) It's ideal to have your mind relaxed yet alert, focused yet spacious, attentive yet open, etc... your posture at best would reflect all those. Try sinking youre energy, and let your head & spine rise up. Wiggle around, rock back and forth: where is the most relaxed and healthy place that you can be? Feel it out.
oh yeah. the spine thing. sorry about that you guys. basically make sure you have a good posture while meditating
it's perfectly OK to sit in a chair to meditate, or to sit cross-legged, or to kneel, perhaps on a kneeling stool if your knees can't take it, i personally have never heard of lying-down meditation, probably because it seems like it would lead to sleeping ... peace,
i just lay on my back with my legs kind of raised up like 0---^ that. it's more comfortable and it helps me concentrate.
