In this video we’re going to go over one of the most common questions from beginning meditators.
And that’s the question of how to sit. Is there a correct posture for meditation?
Now from society and movies we get a lot of images of what a “good meditator” looks like. And usually, when we see it in the movies, they’re doing some sort of funky yoga pose or full lotus posture.
But, I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to do any funky yoga positions to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is really more about something we’re doing with our mind than something we’re doing with our body.
So, you can really do mindfulness in any position; whether you're sitting, standing, walking, or lying down. Even when you're chopping vegetables or brushing your teeth.
So, in terms of how to sit, really just finding a comfortable place to sit. And then once you're sitting, one of the important things is just to keep a straight back.
So, one way to do this is to just lengthen the spine a bit but we don't want to be too erect.
You'll see some people meditating and they're too stiff like this.
So, instead we want to be relaxed at the same time.
A good way to remember this is just to remember the phrase, “alert, yet relaxed” so we can lengthen the spine to be alert, and then we can relax the shoulders to be relaxed. And in this way we can have a nice, stable posture.
Of course, you can also do this practice lying down.
The one thing to mention about lying down, is that it can be hard to stay awake if you're doing a lying down meditation practice.
So, if you have some serious physical injury or sitting is just not available to you, feel free to do this lying down.
In the next video, we’ll learn how to set up the proper mental foundation for beginning our meditation practice.
I’ll see you there.
I like the fact that meditation does not require expertise on yoga. Alert yet relaxed is a balance that I can do.
Wonderful short explanation of how to sit for mindfulness. I loved the meditation. I am have a question of the meaning behind the bells and the number of times it is used?
I like the practicality of using mindfulness just about anywhere or whatever you're doing.
I love the calming nature in the voice and the emphasis of being present.