One of the most common questions I get asked in relation to my meditation practice,
When I'm teaching it online or for my books or podcast or blogs or whatever it is,
Is how do I sit?
What posture do I sit in?
Are my eyes opened or closed?
Those kind of questions.
And it always makes me chuckle a little bit because the answer is simple.
Whatever works.
There's this traditional approach to mindfulness practice that encourages people to sit with lotus position and certain eye posture slightly open and our hands in a particular mudra and all these little things that.
.
.
They work in the sense that it gives you a specific focus and structure to follow but it can be overwhelming and intimidating and in the case of the seated lotus it can be impossible for some people.
Obviously there are variations taught but remember our goal isn't to meditate correctly.
Our goal is to attain mindfulness.
So in terms of the appropriate position for our eyes and our hands and our legs and all that sort of stuff.
It's what works.
So let's define what works here.
What works is a position that enables you to sit or stay still for the duration of the session and maintain meditative mindful focus on the meditation object.
So that may mean that you're sitting cross legged or on a stool or a chair or a pillow.
Your legs might be out and extended or in and drawn in.
It doesn't really matter.
I would encourage a nice strong posture that is shoulders back and head up like imagining a rope pulling the top of your head up to the ceiling.
And the only reason I encourage that is for longevity and feelings of comfort.
You don't need to be in pain to meditate and if pain comes I encourage you not to martyr yourself but to rather mindfully move to a more comfortable position.
So if you feel pain during the meditation acknowledge that pain,
Investigate it,
Feel it as a focus of mindfulness and then slowly and gently and mindfully move.
That's okay.
You can of course practice mindfulness meditation,
Moving or walking or anywhere really.
So you can vary a formal practice by standing up or laying down and the same caveats apply.
As long as you're comfortable and can maintain mindfulness,
Go for it.
Should your eyes be opened or closed?
How should your hands sit?
Once again,
Find something comfortable that you can maintain that posture for the duration of the sit.
The only caveat I would mention with laying down with your eyes closed is that there's a risk of falling asleep and that's not our goal.
Our goal isn't to bliss out.
It isn't to fall into a state of deep sleep.
It's to mindfully observe the meditation object or rather to attain the mindfulness state.
So if you find that laying down is the only position you can meditate in,
That's okay.
But be aware that there's a risk of falling asleep.
So if you get sleepy,
I would suggest doing a couple of big sharp breaths just like that.
In,
Out,
In,
Out to sort of revitalize your mind.
Another alternative that I've heard people use is to hold their hand up.
As in just rest their arm on their elbow,
Sort of in a balanced vertical position.
The idea being is that if you fall asleep,
The hand will fall and wake you up.
Then you get back to your practice.
My personal preference for position for meditating is with my legs gently crossed on a couch,
Arms folded in my lap.
That or standing up with my arms clasped behind my back.
In both positions,
I have my eyes half opened,
Half closed and my back in a good posture.
But like I said,
Sit,
Stand,
Move,
Have your body in whatever position you like.
Provided that you're able to maintain focused attention on the meditation object,
You're good.
Happy meditating.
