Meditation: Sitting

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The sitting part is probably less demanding than walking because we are not paying attention to a careful stepping execution plus the mid wanderings. There are many meditation methods, and two systems are well-known for using meditation as the main tool for their practice: Buddhism and Taoism.

Several meditation techniques will be discussed in later entries. Today, I am going to continue with the system I discussed the other day, which is Buddhist Satipatthana Vipassana (also called Insight Meditation).

After you finish walking, find a place that is quiet, comfortable and neither too cold nor too warm. Then sit on the floor cross-legged on top of a cushion or two in order to maintain your spine straight. Keep your legs rested on top of a thick yoga mat so they don't get numb during your practice. If you feel that crossing your legs is to hard, sit in another position that is as comfortable as necessary but not to the point of being too comfortable. Your back should not be resting against anything. Your hands need to be put one on top of the other facing up and thumbs touching at the tips (traditional method); alternatively you may rest your hands on your thighs either facing up or down.

After you set your self in the position just described, close your eyes to avoid anything that may distract you from the main point of focus: breathing and mentally repeating rising of the stomach (inhalation) and falling of the stomach (exhalation). The key point here is the focus on this breathing mechanism and the repetition of the words: rising...falling...rising...falling, keeping your awareness in the rising and falling of the abdomen.

That is it, very simple. However, the ego-mind is not easy to tame (monkey mind), as it will quickly wander around. Never mind, if those thoughts arise just observe and acknowledge them as will quickly go due to the fact that all phenomena in our reality is impermanent. Nothing has existence of its own and nothing will remain forever.

As long as you focus yourself in the breathing process and observe all the process that occur in your mind as well as in your external surroundings (noises, heat and cold, breeze, etc.) then your practice is following the correct way. Why? Simply because we are acknowledging all the factors that arise during meditation. If we start to feel pain in the legs, then we repeat: pain...pain...pain. And eventually the pain will go away. If it's cold what we feel, then we say to ourselves: cold... cold...cold, until it goes away. If we feel sad, then we say: sad...sad..sad, until sadness disappears.

By doing so, we are slowly calming down the mind and understand that everything is really impermanent; that suffering comes from us being attached to our external environment.

Gradually, this meditation system will bring calmness and happiness into your life, freedom from seeking constant pleasure from material things; increased awareness of the world, the people around us and all the emotional states that rise and cease inside of us in the present moment. Insight Meditation will actually help us to remain calm when all those conditions rise and cease because they are really impermanent, and clinging onto them only brings suffering and stress.

Points to remember:

1. Make sure you sit for the same amount of time you spent walking.

2. Do not expect quick results in this system let alone in others. Mind control is a very slow process. Takes years and years of practice but the benefits are enormous.

3. Purchase a timer. It is easy to give up or dedicate more time to either walking or sitting. A timer will facilitate your practice and help you establish a routine.