108days

Day 37

Question of the Week

Some of us are dealing with the ordinary discomforts that can arise with sitting practice. Our legs fall asleep. Our knees hurt. Sometimes our backs and necks. Some of us are dealing with some more pronounced difficulties. For example, andree is dealing with the physical challenges of childbearing, and me... I've been having some issues with fibroid tumors that while benign have become acutely painful a few days out of the month. Discussions with my doctor have arrived at a watch and wait treatment plan, and conveniently this 108 day exercise provides an opportunity to watch in a new way.

When I first started feeling the pain, I would curl away from it and I definately wouldn't attempt sitting practice on those days. Instead, I'd practice a little self pampering (though sometimes I'll admit there was some self-pity involved). These past few weeks have given me a couple of opportunities to just be in my body with what I'm experiencing, and a new way of practicing with my body (instead of practicing in spite of my body) is emerging. I've actually been sitting with it, and sitting with it hasn't killed me.

Today's question of the week is really an online scavenger hunt. Get your google fingers ready and search for a teaching on Mindfulness of the Body, and come back and share it if you find it helpful. It can be anything... an audio teaching, a quote, a YouTube video, a blog post... anything. It doesn't really have to be anything online, either. We'll compare notes and talk a bit more about how to bring the body into a practice that as beginners we often approach as mind-centric.

Whether we're dealing with the usual sitting side effects, the natural (yet at times uncomfortable) progression of pregnancy or a particular health challenge, I think we will all benefit.

I'll be back to share mine later... I found something really good this morning.

Day 6

Awakening in the Body

Continuing yesterday's discussion on how to hold the body during practice, let's consider today another article from the Shambhala Sun archives... this one by Phillip Moffit called "Awakening in the Body." It begins:

Many meditation students view body awareness as just a starting point for their practice. They tend to skip over it in order to focus on their mind states and emotions, believing that’s where they will experience the deepest insights. But the truth is, your body is the ideal mirror for discovering the Buddha’s great truths of suffering (dukkha), change (anicca), and “not self” (anatta).

The full text can be found here. Come back and let us know what you think.

Day 5

Holding the Body

I wasn't sure what I'd write about this morning when I got out of bed. I thought about how easy it can be in many ways to slip back into practice after a long hiatus. Only my body seems to know it has been a while since I've been on the cushion.

I talked a bit earlier this week about warming up the body before sitting. This makes a huge difference for me... But I find myself needing a reminder on how to hold the body while sitting... what to pay attention to, what to correct.

So today I'm crossposting an entry from my blog... I originally posted this as the Daily Dharma entry on 20 September 2005.

The Six Points of Posture

Sitting meditation begins with good posture. Awareness of the six points of posture is a way to be really relaxed and settled in the body. Here are the instructions:

1. Seat: Whether you're sitting on a cushion on th floor or in a chair, the seat should be flat, not tilting to the right or left, or to the back or front.
2. Legs: The legs are crossed comfortably in front of you--or, if you're sitting in a chair, the feet are flat on the floor, with the knees a few inches apart.
3. Torso: The torso (from the head to the seat) is upright, with a strong back and an open front. If sitting in a chair, it's best not to lean back. If you start to slouch, simply sit upright again.
4. Hands: The hands are open, with palms down, resting on the thighs.
5. Eyes: The eyes are open, indicating the attitude of remaining awake and relaxed with all that occurs. The eye gaze is slightly downward and directed about four to six feet in front of you.
6. Mouth: The mouth is very slightly open so that the jaw is relaxed and air can move easily through both the mouth and nose. The tip of the tongue can be placed on the roof of the mouth.

Each time you sit down to meditate, check your posture by running through these six points. Anytime you feel distracted, bring your attention back to your body and these six points of posture.

[...from Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings by Pema Chödrön, pg. 15]

Today, I need the reminder... I hope you find it useful as well.

Day 3

Dealing with the Body

When I first started attending services at Still Point, I approached daily practice with my achievement mind. My achievement mind thinks there are things that I should do and it creates a lot of stress and drama around the doing and not doing of those things. I was very hard on myself for not sitting every day, and during rushed mornings when I'd overslept and needed to be getting ready for work, I'd rush to the cushion with my body still stiff from being inactive during sleep and I'd try to tough it out.

I call this sitting cold.

We all have a certain discomfort that replays itself when we meditate. Sometimes the discomfort is mild, other times severe. My particular discomfort was (and still can be) pain and discomfort in the legs. At times my legs would be so sore after meditation that I found it hard to get off the floor... so painful during meditation that they were the only things on which I could focus my attention.

For the past two mornings I've made the point to get a gentle yoga practice in before sitting. The particular program I'm doing is Rodney Yee's AM yoga program (part of the Living Arts AM/PM/Stress Relief Yoga DVD) Update: This is an old DVD program and it is no longer available for purchase. It  has been repackaged as AM/PM Yoga (Stress Relief Sold Separately). It is like a little magic for my leg pain problem. I find that I sit more comfortably after warming up my body. That particular program seems to have all of the right leg and hip stretches for me.

Do you have any particular nagging discomforts when you meditate? Have you found ways to deal with them?