Week 2 formal practice: Sitting Meditation

[Su****]

Hello,

Oh my goodness, the sitting meditation was a bit difficult for me as I am always doing or thinking and I have not just sat down in a long time. I do plan to practice because I suffer from anxiety and my thoughts are causing me strife. Thank you for this!

[wa****]

I'm into Day 3 of my week 2 training. Though I'm a experienced meditator, I still very much enjoy my breath! It's a forever Truth to me, which craves nothing and just pure happiness.

[jo****]

The sitting meditation is physically very different than the body scan I do lying down. And I will experiment with other foundations beneath me to see what differences arise with different choices. There is evident skeletal stresses for me, and I eventually gave in to my body reminding me that it's not symmetrical, allowing my spine to swim to its natural inclination - that seemed to be a good choice! I felt more present, and less need to feel my body pains. On I go!

 

[Tine]

3 hours ago, jolaine said:

I will experiment with other foundations beneath me

This is exactly right - experimenting and listening to your body. I sometimes use a cushion, and for me, a meditation bend works really well too and changing thing around. For me, no setup will be right every day. Each day is a new exploration.

[jo****]

On 1/14/2020 at 4:41 AM, Tine said:

This is exactly right - experimenting and listening to your body. I sometimes use a cushion, and for me, a meditation bend works really well too and changing thing around. For me, no setup will be right every day. Each day is a new exploration.

Okay, thanks for sharing. I wasn't sure if there was a real necessity for, or a reason behind, the spine being aligned at 90 degrees. And yes, every day has been different for me...

 

[Tine]

@jolaine That is an excellent prompt.

The meditation posture is designed to support your practice. Sitting upright, relaxed and yet alert. You can catch yourself losing your focus on the breath either by becoming aware of your wandering thoughts or your position becoming more "slouching". Both can bring you back to the present moment and to your body. There, the mind-body connection emerges. There might be more to it that I am not aware of though. :-)

At the same time, not each posture works equally well for each of us. Some might be able to stay alert and focused lying down, others can't sit due to bodily restrictions. There are many reasons, and they are all personal. So it's up to each of us to find a posture that supports the practice as it supports ourselves on this particular day with the circumstances this day brings.

The sweet spot between being kind to ourselves and challenging ourselves/ between respecting our boundaries and gently pushing our boundaries.

[jo****]

Right. There is a fine line, isn't there? I do have chronic issues though, so for me there is another fine line between what is tolerable, and unnecessary torment, and with a tendency of being hard on myself, it's animperfect dance ? 

Edited January 17, 2020 by jolaine

[Tine]

Tara Brach has lots of inspiring pieces around the subjects of being too hard on yourself, feeling like not being enough. She calls it the trance of unworthiness.

There's one thing I'd like to point out regarding the MBSR course. If we have way too much on our plate, after the course, we will still have way too much on our plate. But we get assistance developing behaviours like knowing and setting boundaries and asking for help.

[CR****]

I kept forgetting to post during week one with the body scan meditation.  During that week, I kept falling asleep during the meditation, even when I did it during the day instead of after my boys were in bed at night.  Despite that, I feel more present than I did a week ago.

During the intro to week two, I admit that I know all the technical things presented.  However, as with the body scan, I anticipate that the actual practice will help with presence, which is the goal.

[Ro****]

Nice to read the other comments, I was in a great deal off pain all down my right side while doing the sitting meditation I tryed many times to reposition myself but the pain was just unbearable ,will it get less painful with practice. 

[Ri****]

Sitting at my table last night I tried being mindful of the week that was about to begin.  Working on mental health I need to make sure I’m centered each week so I can take good energy with me.  I like using little tea candles because Instead of using a clock I know I’m finished with the light dims out.  As if the light is now my energy. 

[Tine]

9 hours ago, Roadtorecovery said:

Nice to read the other comments, I was in a great deal off pain all down my right side while doing the sitting meditation I tryed many times to reposition myself but the pain was just unbearable ,will it get less painful with practice. 

I would suggest trying different positions, maybe sitting on a chair as we do a lot during the day anyway or lying down, some meditate standing up.
Week 5 of the course is explicitly looking at physical pain.

[Ud****]

Hello everyone,

I have enjoyed this week of sitting meditation and relaxations.  To be honest I am still falling asleep each time I try a guided relaxation but am awake and alert for the sitting.  I was concerned that my aversion to guided practices would be a barrier to the sitting practice but I have appreciated the simple natural breath awareness and the spaces between instructions.  Having practiced for a long time in the style taught by Goenkaji it is a big change  for me, but I am relaxed enough to follow the guidance.

This week I spent a couple of days  with my sisters and nephews and spent a lot of time running around here and there and each time I settled myself to sit, I noticed that I was holding tension in my body so it was good to simply stop and sit.  By the end of the sitting my body and mind were more relaxed.  Thank goodness for this wonderful practice,

 

Last week I decided that I would practice saying good morning on waking up each morning, but as I was somewhat forgetful I set my alarm with a Japanese song called sunshine.  It has a couple of lines of English in it saying, ‘Good morning everyone’, which makes me smile and wish good morning to the birds that I hear and all beings, both known and unknown.  It is a lovely way to start the day.  The other English line says, ‘Good day, it’s up to you’, which reminds me that I have a choice in how I approach the day and live it.    Wonderful to wake up with positive thoughts and intentions.

I’m  enjoying how the course is sparking creativity in practice.

 

Thank you

[Tine]

17 minutes ago, Udumbara said:

I set my alarm with a Japanese song called sunshine

What a sweet idea to use a song that sets a positive tone as your alarm ?

[Cl****]

I’m nearly at the end of week 2 and it has been a mixed bag. I’ve noticed:

1. i can sit with pain for longer than I would have imagined, the discomfort isn’t constant, it ebbs and flows, which is interesting

2. Scratching my nose with awareness and intention is incredibly satisfying!

3. I’m getting better at being aware of when my attention has wandered and I’m caught in the thought stream - and better at not judging myself for it.

4. I’m finding it hard to meditate without expectation - at times I’m terribly caught up in looking for things I can write about on my formal practice sheet! (And congratulating myself when I find something worth noting.)?

[Ri****]

Just did bodyscan and for the first time I was awake the whole time.   Had many thought going through my mind 

so it was difficult to focus and be present     During the moments I got back on track I felt at ease and not so uptight 

[td****]

I am really struggling with sitting meditation. I love the body scan and feel like I am really making progress. Last week, I did the sitting meditation and dreaded having to do it again. There is only one guided sitting meditation. Can anyone recommend another one that I might connect better with. For the body scan, there were 4 resources and I definitely connected with one better than the others. Any advise is welcome.

Thanks,

Temple

[Tine]

Hello @tdeplato,

from time to time I struggle as well. What is your main struggle? The posture, the guidance, the voice, the pace?

There might be some insight there to look into with curiosity.

I have added a sitting meditation to the overview led by Jon Kabat-Zinn the founder of MBSR.

Tara Brach also has a simple meditation which is suitable for the beginning of the MBSR course but it's much shorter. https://www.tarabrach.com/meditation-coming-home-breath/

[am****]

I love the body scan meditation & look forward to doing it but I've struggled with the sitting meditation so far. I am really fidgety & have lots of thoughts. I'm going to look for a different version on Insight Timer & see if I get on any better.

[hd****]

I have been doing sitting meditation before this week, so I am quite comfortable with it- but I wasn't at first. I felt like I had to get up and move, because I was sitting when I could have been doing something else. Also, I found that sitting meditation in a group is much easier than on my own. There always seems to be chaos around me when I am at home, and not enough time to be alone to practice unless I sit in the tub (and I still get interrupted!!). 

[Ol****]

Hello everyone,

I have just started taking this Mindfulness course. At first, I was kind of leery of how mindfulness could help me to destress. I have been doing the weekly formal and informal meditations. This course has changed the way I view mindfulness and the meditation techniques. I really like the raisin meditation and this exercise helped me to enjoy the most simplest object. I never knew that a raisin could taste so sweet. This course has taught me how to slow down and enjoy the present moment. This was a wise option to take this course. Loving it so far and now I am into Week 3. I am looking forward to this adventure and how this course is helping and changing my life.

Thanks,

Olympia

[Calvin77]

Olympia! So good to hear. Sounds like it is working wonders for you :)

[el****]

I depends so much on the day and what is going on around me. Some days, I'm calm and find more time to slow down by scanning my body. Some days, I seek calm with meditation and I find myself frustrated because I keep on looking and seeking calm and it doesn't happen, even after my meditation. 

One thing I'm finding very interesting, considering the amount of anxiety spread in the news about covid-19 right now, is to look at my monkey brain (and the monkey brain of a lot of people around me), to acknowledge that it's there and to choose my actions accordingly. It's interesting to see how anxiety can feel in the body, and it almost seems like when you pay attention to what feels weird and you choose to 'loosen it up' your body feels much better and can allow you to calm down a bit. 

The trick is to catch monkey brain when the monkey is the busiest,,,

[Je****]

So I wouldn't say I'm brand spanking new to meditation, but I am certainly no expert either.  Oddly enough, I've been finding the sitting meditation to be a very anxious experience this week.  This is really new for me.  Trying to work on letting go of the concept of "meditating the right way".

[Te****]

I find the sitting meditation makes me focus better. I feel myself more productive and more benefited doing in siting position.  I stay better with my body and doesn't make me feel asleep. however, I find myself sloughing slowly over the time as i continue. How can I continue to keep my back, neck and head straight up?