(Adapted from Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn 1990, 2013)
Sitting meditation is quite straightforward. You simply observe your breath[1] as it flows in and out. You can focus on the sensation of it coming in and out of your nostrils, or filling up, and emptying your chest or your belly. Whenever your attention wanders away, just note that it has, then let that go and gently come back to your breath, back to the feeling of it coming in, and going out. Coming in, filling you up, and emptying you out; the simple exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide with the environment.
When your mind wanders to other things, that is fine. It is natural. It doesn’t mean you are failing at meditation. What is important, when this happens, is to notice that it is happening. And when you do, you can note briefly what was on your mind, what carried you away from your breath, then gently bring yourself back to your breath. No matter what carried you away. That in itself is a wonderful challenge. The ability to let go of whatever you are thinking because some thoughts are very hard to let go.
By doing this you are training yourself to be less reactive to life’s situations and experiences, and more stable. More emotionally resilient. You are also making each moment count. You are taking each moment as it arises, and not valuing one above any other. In this way you cultivate your natural ability to concentrate. By returning to your breath (or whatever it is you are focusing on) your concentration builds and deepens, just like your muscles do with exercise.
How to
To practice sitting meditation, it helps to make a special time and place to do it. When you sit, adopt an alert yet relaxed body posture, one that is comfortable enough to maintain for a period of time and with little movement. It helps if you hold an erect and dignified posture, with your head, neck and back aligned vertically. This allows your breath to flow more easily. It also reflects the inner attitudes of self-reliance, self-acceptance, and alert attention. As well, try to relax your shoulders and find something comfortable to do with your hands – for example palms down on your knees, or palms facing towards the ceiling, a gesture that suggests an openness.
You can practice this meditation either on a chair, or on the floor on a cushion. If you choose a chair, the ideal is to sit on one with a straight back and that allows your feet to be flat on the floor. Also, if you can, sit away from the back of the chair so that your spine is self-supporting. However, if you have to, leaning against the chair is fine. It’s important that you are not straining yourself. If you choose to sit on a cushion, make sure it’s a firm, thick cushion that raises your buttocks off the floor three to six inches (a pillow folded over once or twice works, or you can buy meditation cushions specifically for this purpose).
But it’s boring
In a sense, meditation is very boring. That’s because you are neither busy doing something nor are you being entertained. In this culture many of us spend a lot of time doing one of these two things. And now many of us are absolutely hooked to our cell phones and social media as a way of filling up our time. So sitting meditation, in comparison, is very boring. So how do you deal with that? Just as you notice your thoughts then let them go, so you do with feelings of being bored, or impatient to get up and do something … anything! You simply acknowledge “I’m bored”, let it go and come back to your breath.
I feel physically uncomfortable
A big source of distraction when sitting can be your body. Normally, when you feel uncomfortable in your body, you try to change it. You shift your position or scratch that itch. However, when doing meditation, if you can, try to resist that first impulse to respond and simply be aware of the sensations of discomfort. If you can, welcome the feelings.
Why do this? Because the moment you are aware of the discomfort is the moment it becomes part of your present experience. Present experience is what you want to observe and be curious about because then you can see how you react automatically to things, without thinking about them, without being aware of how they are making you feel. You then have the chance to see how your mind gets lost in the discomfort, how it gets carried away and becomes agitated. You can also see how you have strayed from awareness of your breath (or whatever your focus).
Instead of trying to push away the feelings of discomfort you can include the sensations in your field of awareness, to accept that they are happening and that it’s okay. You can let them happen. Of course, if you are extremely uncomfortable then take care of what you need. This isn’t a challenge or test to see how much discomfort you can bear. It is only the acceptance of whatever is happening that will strengthen us in so many ways.
Meditation above all is about cultivating and building awareness and stillness – to hold steady no matter what is going on within us or around us. It creates a feeling of spaciousness with life as well as brings us home to ourselves and who we are in this moment. It also enables us to sit outside of our dramas and, in a sense, be liberated from them.
About commitment
We suggest you be gentle with yourself if you want to make a commitment to meditate regularly. Some of us make commitments and are then disappointed in ourselves when we fail to stick to them. We may fall back on our self-judgment and give up, thinking ourselves a complete failure at anything. Instead of committing to regular meditation, choose the commitment to be gentle and patient with yourself in this process. Remember to have as much compassion as you can for your endeavours. It is not always easy to simply sit and be with ourselves. For some of us, it may be very painful indeed. Sit when you are able and have compassion for yourself when you are not. That is part of present moment awareness as well.
[1] You don’t have to use the breath as a focus. You can also focus on an object, or on sounds, or on physical sensations. Whatever seems to work best.
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