WEEK 2 TAKING A GOOD SEAT AND FOLLOWING THE

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Week 1- Taking a good seat, and Following the Breath

Week 2- Taking a good seat, and Following the Breath

What is meditation?

John Kabat-Zinn defined mindfulness as paying attention to something, in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally. It is this sense of grounded-ness, or mindfulness that most people seek in a practice of meditation.

Don’t think that meditation is a refuge from the world. Rather, we go deep into ourselves, into the utter solitude that is within, to find balance and a sense of grounded-ness. Real meditation is our willingness and work to be aware of what we are in relationship within ourselves 24 hours a day. Being mindful is what we practice in meditation.

Meditation means different things to different people. To some it could be a form of prayer, introspection, self-analysis, mindfulness, self-awareness, etc. Whatever your tradition, a meditation practice can be of benefit to you. To answer the question of what the best form of meditation is, you have to try on a few practices and decide for yourself. What works for you?

Research has shown many benefits of meditation to include:

More in tune with own emotions/emotions of others
Stress reduction
Physiological benefits such as reduced blood pressure (AHA study)
Greater mental clarity
Improved memory (Forbes)
Better focus

The importance of Community or “Sangha”

A sangha is a group of people practicing together in order to bring about and maintain awareness. When practicing with others, their energy contributes to the collective energy. The collective energy of the group supports and elevates the energy of the individual and can restore your balance, strength, understanding, compassion and confidence, both in the room and as you attend to your personal practice at home. In this program, Meditation Ambassadors create this sangha.

What to do:

There is a Zen teaching that says “The most important thing is remembering the most important thing.” It is helpful to recall at the start of each sitting what matters to you, what draws you to meditate. Take a few moments to connect in a sincere way with your heart’s aspiration. You might sense this as a prayer that in some way dedicates your practice to your own spiritual freedom, and that of all beings.

Wear something comfortable – tight clothing can keep you from feeling relaxed.
What you eat matters – what you eat makes a huge difference in how alert you are. Eat something light so you don’t feel drowsy during meditation. Preferably eat after meditation, not before.
Make sure your environment is not too warm or you will fall asleep.
Be sure to get a comfortable chair (with no arms and firm back that does not lean) or soft cushion to sit on during your meditation session.
Pick a place to meditate at home and meditate in the same place every day, if possible. It can be in your basement, a quiet corner in a room you don’t use often in your home, or in a fairly empty closet. The thought process behind this is similar to sleep. If you use your bed primarily for just sleeping and not reading on the iPad, surfing on the internet on your cell phone, or watching television, you will train your brain and body to respond in-kind. So whenever you see the bed and lay in the bed, it will automatically tell your brain it’s time to sleep, and you won’t have that same restlessness you may have had previously.
At work, try to get a colleague(s) that is (are) interested in relaxation and meditation to join you. Start off small and find an empty office, and use that quiet space for 10 mins. of solitude. Encourage the work-life balance committee at your place of work, to turn a spare office space into a wellness room. Steal a few moments during lunch or if you have regular break times at work, to sit in silence at your desk or another quiet place at work.
After you end your meditation, try to maintain your silence/peaceful presence as long as you can before returning to the hectic-ness of your work environment. Don’t dive right back into that if possible. If you cultivate that inner peace it will grow over time and you will be able to carry it with you and draw upon it in wherever you are or whatever the energy of that place. Make this part of your meditation practice.

What not to do:

Lying down to meditate, is not typically recommended. Sometimes the yoga asana, or posture, of Savasana is confused with meditation. Savasana ( śavāsana ) or “corpse pose” is a yoga asana, or body posture, often used to begin and conclude a yoga session. It is a relaxing posture intended to rejuvenate body, mind and spirit. While savasana is a good way to reduce stress and tension, it is not recommended for meditation as it has a tendency to induce sleepiness.

Two concepts to consider when getting started:

Cultivating a witnessing awareness: Being aware of awareness is a revolutionary idea for many people. You simply notice what’s arising, when it is arising. This includes the awareness of thoughts, feelings, body sensations, and physical surroundings. It involves paying attention to what is happening in the moment, acknowledging it, and then dismissing it. The goal is to remain aware, and to notice, without engaging with anything.

For example: What is my body doing? What am I controlling? How am I focused on my breath? What is that noise in the hall? Am I engaging with it and allowing it to be a distraction? Or am I just acknowledging it and then dismissing it, thereby releasing my attachment to it, so that it is not a distraction or an irritation.

Exercise:

Stop. Pause for a moment.

Notice what is arising, as it is arising.

Pay attention to thoughts, feelings, body sensations, surroundings.

Just be aware without engaging with anything or trying to change anything.

Just notice. Then release.

As you notice a distraction, remember your intention, and gently bring your attention back to what is arising.

Taking a good seat:

Alertness is one of the two essential ingredients in every meditation. When we practice meditation we need to have a comfortable seat and a good posture. The most important feature of the posture is to keep our back straight. We can sit in the traditional cross-legged posture or if we wish, we can sit in a chair. The most important thing is to keep our back straight to prevent our mind from becoming sluggish or sleepy.

To help us do this, if we are sitting on a cushion we make sure that the back of the cushion is slightly higher than the front, inclining our pelvis slightly forward. Sit on a chair, cushion, or kneeling bench as upright, tall and balanced as possible.

A sense of openness and receptivity is the second essential ingredient in every meditation. Open sensitivity can be supported by intentionally relaxing obvious and habitual areas of tension. Around an erect posture, let the rest of your skeleton and muscles hang freely. Let the hands rest comfortably on your knees or lap. Let the eyes close, or if you prefer, leave the eyes open, the gaze soft and receptive.

Please don’t skip the step of relaxing/letting go! You might take several full deep breaths, and with each exhale, consciously let go, relaxing the face, shoulders, hands, and stomach area. Or, you may want to begin with a body scan: start at the scalp and move your attention slowly downward, methodically relaxing and softening each part of the body. Consciously releasing body tension will help you open to whatever arises during your meditation.

When we have settled down comfortably on our meditation seat we begin by becoming aware of the thoughts and distractions that are arising in our mind. Then we gently turn our attention to our breath, letting its rhythm remain normal. When the mind is resting in open awareness, attention may naturally settle on the breath since this is the main thing going on, and doing so has calming qualities.

Following the breath is a commonly taught beginning meditation technique, and there is no “one right way” to do this. There are many schools of thought, and differences exist in this training. The following exercise represents just one way of doing this. After the explanation of the exercise below there is some additional information on types of meditation.

Following the breath is a meditation for beginners, that teaches you how to concentrate but also to observe. Please keep in mind that this is only one, of many possible techniques.

Follow your Breath Meditation
Kind of meditation	Concentration/observation
Degree of difficulty	beginning
Recommended duration	5 to 45 minutes
Posture	Sitting
Advantages	It improves your concentration It gives you a clear, calm mind It improves your breathing It removes feelings of stress It makes you get to know your body

We try to focus on the rhythm of our breathing. Follow your breath from the point where your breath enters your nose. Follow the breath into your lower belly. Then follow your breath again to your nose where the breath leaves the body. In this way there is one object of meditation, while at the same time you are not focused on a stationary point.

In this meditation we direct our focus to the observing of everything that has to do with our breathing. We can pay attention to the way in which the air passes through your nostrils in and out or the expanding and shrinking of your belly with every breath. If you like you may switch your attention between your nose and your belly, but the best thing to do is to maintain your focus during your entire meditation. Every time we wander away in our mind, we return to our breathing and we focus our attention again on our nose or our belly.

Thoughts, dreams and all sorts of diversions will most certainly enter your mind during your meditation. This is quite normal and only goes to show how active our mind is. In the course of time you will certainly succeed in focusing your attention on your breathing uninterruptedly for ever longer periods and to deepen your meditation. There is a good chance you will start to enjoy the sensations brought about by your breathing. Discovering things like itching, dizziness, goose-flesh or a warm feeling in certain areas is quite possible and you should not be alarmed by this. It is all part of the experience and goes to show that your body is getting relaxed.
Also try to experience the connection between relaxation and breathing during this meditation. See how your body reacts to breathing in and breathing out and how your body behaves as the relaxation gets deeper. As is the case with every form of meditation we try not to judge, and we try not to be too goal-oriented. If you find that you have lost focus and are thinking about something, just simply begin again.

Follow the Breath Exercise

Sit down, close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. Be aware of every in breath and out breath. Breathe automatically and freely, do not try to control your breathing.
Pay attention to how the air slowly passes through your nose, fills up your lungs and goes out again.
Try to find out whether you breathe through your belly, your diaphragm or the upper part of your chest.
If, after taking a few breaths, you feel fine and at ease you start to focus.
With every breathing in you focus on the sensations that you feel when the air streams in through your nose or when the air fills up your belly.
With every breathing out you focus on the sensations that you feel when the air streams out through your nose or when your belly sinks down when the oxygen leaves your belly.
If you start to think of something else instead of your breathing or you start to feel something else instead of your breathing, be aware of this and just return to your focus.
Breathe automatically and freely, do not try to control your breathing.
Try to become totally one with your breathing.
Focus on the sensations that you feel when the air streams in through your nose or how the air fills up your belly.
Focus on the sensations that you feel when the air streams out through your nose or how your belly sinks down when the oxygen leaves your belly.
Is the temperature of the breath that leaves your nose different from the breath that you breathe in?
If all of a sudden you notice itching or discomfort in your body, or relaxation reactions in your muscles, that is fine……notice it and return to your breathing.
Continue doing this until the time that you have set apart for this exercise is over.
Now slowly take your thoughts back to the rest of your body and the sounds in the room. Move a little, stretch your muscles a little and open your eyes.

Developed by : CAPT Candace Y. Hander RDH MS, and CDR Indira Harris. Jan 19, 2017

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