sitting meditation

Meditation Posture: The Zen Way

Sitting in Zen…

There are many ways to practice meditation: sitting, standing, lying down, walking, moving, dancing, jumping up and down (yep, it’s true), spinning around, standing on your head… I imagine you’re getting the picture.

What’s the best posture? I strongly feel that the best posture is the one that works for you!

If you do like to sit, and you like the idea of sitting on the floor, this video nicely describes several ways to do that. Two of them, sitting in ‘seiza,’ on a cushion or bench with your thighs parallel, is a nice variation that many of us chair bound people can actually do!

This video from the Hazy Moon Zen Center explains how to sit on the floor in relative ease. These are the classic posture instructions for many seated meditation practices, so you can use these instrction for most sitting meditation practice.

If you would like to do zazen (zen sitting meditation), this video gives instructions for that, too. “Zazen is a romanized Japanese term. ‘Za’ literally means to sit or sitting; ‘zen’ means to meditate or concentrate.” (from ZaZenGuide.com).

For written instructions, see the  video transcript.

Enjoy sitting!

 

 

 

How Can Sitting (Meditation) Be Easy?

Having a hard time meditating while sitting on the floor with your legs crossed? How can you make it easier?

Simple. Either don’t do it or sit for short amounts of time & build.

Remember that you can meditate in any position, so sitting isn’t necessary. You can do your ‘sitting’ practice while standing, sitting in a chair, lying down, in downward dog, etc.

If you really want to sit on the floor with your legs crossed, start sitting for an amount of time that is comfortable, like 1 or 2 or 5 minutes, do that for awhile to let your body get used to it and then add a bit more time when you feel ready.

2 Ways to Improve Depression & Anxiety

Many people suffer from depression or anxiety. Sometimes both.

Two ways to address these issues are physical exercise & mental practices.

By physical exercise I mean good old fashioned walking, running, swimming, tennis, volleyball, etc. Whatever you like to do is best.

By mental practices I mean things that focus your mind on creative, enjoyable or positive things. This could be anything from art to cooking if you love them. To be really sure that you’re focusing on positive things, it can be doubly helpful to engage in things that are designed to be theraputic, because they will have this bias built in. Art therapy, dance therapy, psychotherapy (depending on the therapist), etc.

Interestingly, meditation also helps for the mental focus aspect, because it has the natural outcome of letting your mind rest.

Why are these 2 things important? Because they change the chemical habits that you’ve gotten into. They offer natural a natural way for your mind & body to reset to happy versus sad.