Is it normal to have numb legs?
Is numbness a sign that I am getting better at meditation?
Yes.
There are people who does not have numb legs from the very beginning.
However,
Most of the people in this such a lotus position,
Because the blood doesn't flow through the legs,
They feel numbness.
Especially practitioners in the West who are more used to civilization based on chair sitting,
Because they haven't done this position before,
Most of them will experience numbness in the beginning.
Also,
A lot of the Asian young people,
Because they are not used to the Western style mode of sitting on a chair,
They will experience that numbness as well.
But once your body gets used to this sitting posture,
It won't be numb anymore.
But I say that you do this meditation about 10 sessions a day,
And if you do that a week straight,
Then this numbness will go away.
But it's going to take a lot longer if we do this sporadically,
Like once a week like we do today.
If you ever sign up for a 10 day straight meditation course,
In the beginning the numbness or the pain is going to be great,
But it will soon go away.
Yes.
So when you start in the beginning,
You will experience things like sleepiness,
Legs aching,
Your lower back hurting,
Or your hands swelling up.
But I say you meditate the whole day,
And sleep will go away in about two days.
The pain in your legs will go away in about five days.
However,
The thing that's going to stick with you for a long time is the distractions of your thoughts.
This sometimes gets worse as time goes.
So the important point is not for you not to experience the sleepiness,
Or the legs aching,
Or the distractions.
It's that how do you maintain the mindfulness in midst of all this?
So whether I can sustain my focus on my breath in midst of all the symptoms.
The longer we can sustain the focus on our breath,
The lesser impact will all these different symptoms,
Whether those are distractions,
Or legs aching,
Or sleepiness,
Will have on us.
So meditation is not about the absence of the sleepiness,
Or legs aching,
Or distractions.
It's the sustainability of the focus,
For you to maintain that focus in despite of these.
The contradiction here is that while the objective is for you to be mindful of the breath,
You don't want to make an effort to attain that mindfulness.
Because if you make an effort,
Then you tense up,
That leads to stress,
And stress as it builds up,
Will make you not want to do it anymore.
But if you allow yourself to be in a place in which your body and mind is totally relaxed,
And you don't make an effort to do this,
And you don't do anything,
You come to a sense of total idleness,
Then the awareness of breath will automatically come to you.
So distraction becomes a distraction because you are imbuing that piece of thought with meaning,
And creating a narrative around it.
It's as if the heat will evaporate as still water.
Just let the steam naturally rise.
So if you stay still,
Then all these different thoughts will naturally rise as evaporating water.
So you have to just let them be.
If you don't give meaning to anything,
And just let your body and mind stay still,
Then only the breath will remain alive,
And you will be able to notice it clearly.
If you maintain that level of comfort,
Then you won't be tired at all,
You won't make an effort,
And you won't tense up.
Because you have nothing else to do at this time,
Because you have done everything else,
So you have nothing else to do,
And you bring that sense of idleness to your meditation practice,
Then you allow yourself to be totally relaxed,
Mind and body,
And you are allowing that awareness of the breath to come to you naturally and automatically.
So as if the still water,
Or water that's still,
Acts like a mirror,
That mirrors you,
It reflects your face.
If you stay still in your mind,
All these distractions,
All these thoughts,
A float sample of thoughts will come unbidden to you,
And rise up to the surface.
As long as you don't imbue them with any meaning,
They'll rise and disappear,
Rise and disappear.
Just as if you're relaxing your body,
You are letting all intentions go from your mind,
And just be aware of the breath.
And if you lose that focus on the breath,
Don't make an issue of it,
You just regain that focus.
