Extending Your Sitting Meditation Time

[Alchemistgeorge]

I've got a small hole punched out, the wire goes outside to a stake deep in the earth.

 

Yin chi flows through metal as does yang chi, and your body can only hold as much yang chi as you have yin chi and vice versa.

 

So if you are trying to accumulate chi, it will be impossible to progress if you are not grounded in meditation.

 

Sorry, gotta chime in here. Electrical Safety 101 here.

 

Grounding is good. But, if you want to use a grounding wire, you really ought have a very large resistor in the circuit, otherwise you are really asking for trouble if you should somehow come in contact with any electricity. The resistor does not prevent charge from moving to ground, it just prevents 5, 10, 15 amps of current from zipping through the wire and cooking you.

 

I work in the computer industry - if you handle chips or boards you learn that static electricity can fry components so you wear a grounding strap - but - one with a resistor. Here is a nice wikipedia entry on the topic - this is not expensive.

 

Here in California we have lots of mild earthquakes - or a truck could back into your building - or the cat goes after a moth - and a lamp falls on you and ....

[Spotless]

The longest continuous meditiation that i have engaged was 18 hours.

 

It was an amazing meditation but that is a different story. I have meditated many times for 4 - 12 hours. I like at least a 2 hour meditation and no less that 1 hour - but - in a pinch 5 minutes is good (does that even count?)

 

Regarding extending meditation time - many of the teachings have dogma regarding positions in meditation and what you can and cannot do. I can now say with certainty that they are in fact dogmas and not necessary in all but exacting exercises. The general outline of correct posture in meditation is very helpful and will naturally become more apparent as one becomes a solid meditator.

 

When you are meditating - and not engaged in a specific posture for a very specific purpose - such as a partial lotus with one heel under you in order to stimulate certain energy movements - when you are doing "your every day work meditation", you will find the following to be true:

 

1. You can sit in a chair or sit in a lotus position or you can sit in a crossed leg position - these are all optimal.

 

2.You can lie down, you can be relaxed and slouched, you can be laying sideways - generally not optimal and probably not very profitable - but - you can meditate in these positions and if you work at it - they can be very good as well.

If you are unable to sit up, or for some reason you need to lay down or lay sideways - don't listen to anyone who thinks you cannot meditate in these positions - they have as they say "a pole up their spine".

 

That said:

Typical meditation is best done in any of the positions mentioned in #1.

If you are sitting on a chair it does not need to be particularly comfortable - but it is OK if it is extremely comfortable as well.

When I meditated for 18 hours it was a sitting meditation on a plain metal folding chair - my feet were flat on the ground and my hands were palms up on my legs. My spine was straight, head slightly down, tip of tongue touching the forward top of my mouth and by about 2 or 3 hours into it I was sitting on the edge of the chair wide awake and pretty much stayed that way for the entire rest of the sitting.

 

Do not become identified with sitting in the perfect position and do not become identified with "how long" you meditate.

I once listened to a teacher telling the story of when he visited Thailand and was at a sitting in front of a teacher that was televised along with hundreds of other monks and lay people all meditating and not moving for 8 hours. He told us how he was in pain but that he would be damned to be the only one to move during the meditation with the cameras rolling and he being the only white person. And how at the end he had to be helped up by other people because his legs and back were frozen in place. I sat and watched him tell this story and I could see the pride in his aura, in his telling of the story and I lost all interest in learning from this teacher.

 

You do not need to have a stroke in order to learn this lesson and nothing is actually gained by the discomfort you may at times be experiencing. If putting on a hair shirt is your teaching - so be it - but it has nothing to do with what is required for the very best benefits of meditation.

 

Currently I typically meditate in a crossed leg position - I have always called it "indian style" as in American Indian. I did lotus many years ago when I first started and sat in a chair for many years. Sitting in a chair is probably best for long meditation simply because it is easier on overall circulation but in my experience, once you have passed the 2 or 3 hr mark you tend to have lots of energy and the overall circulation is very strong - even in the legs if you are cross leg or lotus.

 

If your teacher has instructed you specifically and you are in agreement with the teaching then follow it as best you can - but don't become the victim of "imperfect posture" - if "perfect posture" means pain and more pain then it is not "perfect posture" it is posture that is painful. If you are trying to become a successful fakir in the Gurdjieff sense of the word, then pay no attention to what I just said Your teacher will say the same thing - you can work toward an ideal posture but this is not Navy Seal training - overcoming pain while packing a machine gun with a knife in your teeth.

 

I would suggest the following:

I typically sit with water or tea at my side, I get up to go to the bathroom if I need to, I frequently adjust my position in the beginning if I am unconfortable and generally find that I do this less or not at all as time goes by. Sometimes my body will clearly have me doing some Qi Gong exercises or Yoga moves in the middle of a session - (this is how most exercises are invented) this does not happen frequently but when I know this is what is needed for some knot to be untied - and they willl let you know - then I stand up and untie the knot. ( I did not get to this point for many years.)

 

The "rules" are a starting point - if later on you find yourself watching the clock and monitoring your perfectness - you are not meditating - you are sitting uncomfortably while watching the clock and identifying with a picture of who you should be which is definitely not someone in the present:)

 

I have to admit - when I was beginning all of this I was pretty close to a perfectionist but I was also lucky - I had been a downhill ski racer and the training for that is lots of stretching. When I started yoga I could already put my legs behind my neck and lotus was not a learning curve - I just did it.

i was also very lucky with teachers - I had some good and some not so good - but my first teacher in Prana Yoga said we should not believe a word he said - that we should try what he said and if we found we did not like it or that it was not for us that we should leave and find another teacher.

He also taught us something that I have found to be most profound:

That if you learned the basics well and practiced them everyday with no further teaching - your practice would lead to all the other forms you would need to know.

 

I can tell you this is true.

 

I do not know if I would have played with my certainty in this regard if I had not been told this. And do not get me wrong - I am a very sincere believer in a teacher and doing research. I do not force energy and I do not guide it around with abandon just to see what happens - particularly now that I can feel it clearly.

 

 

Lastly

You can also change from cross leg to chair. When I have meditated for long periods I generally did not plan on it - and so sometimes I have had to prepare along the way. Also - if you are sitting and the doorbell rings and you need to accept a package - do it with no bother - no consideration of loss - and do it without delay if it is important - let it not interrupt your meditation - don't identify with this as "an interruption" just take care of business and sit back down all the while viewing the experience - nothing lost.

Edited February 14, 2013 by Spotless

[C T]

He also taught us something that I have found to be most profound:

That if you learned the basics well and practiced them everyday with no further teaching - your practice would lead to all the other forms you would need to know.

 

I can tell you this is true.

I can tell its true too.

[RiverSnake]

Thanks for such a thorough post spotless. Much appreciated, my practice continues to grow.

 

My 2 cents, Peace

[JustBHappy]

Don't elevate the knees. Keep your rear above your knees, there should be a slight downward angle. If you can get both knees flat on the ground with the rear sitting up on a cushion, this is best.

 

Also, don't sit too high on the cushion this will put pressure on the knees. Use a low cushion, just enough to get off the ground.

 

Once this is done, experiment with forward and backward. If you lean too far forward, you will put pressure on the knees, they will fall asleep and hurt and it is possible to do damage if you sit for many many hours. A tiny miniscule change can make a huge difference.

 

The main point is relaxation, but this needs to be balanced. For most westerners the main problem is lack of relaxation. I've seen very few westerners who fall asleep often in seated meditation. It's entirely ok to let the concentration and focus wane, let go of the idea of 100% concentration. "I must focus, I must concentrate!"

 

Meditation is about finding that dynamic balance between concentration and relaxation. Ironically the perfect focus only happens with perfect relaxation, but until you get there, I would error more on the side of relaxation and drop the tension involved with intense concentration. If you find yourself falling asleep often, then slowly add more concentration. It's the old Buddhist analogy with the stringed instrument. Wind it too tight, or too loose, and you lose the sweet spot where it makes beautiful music.

Edited February 14, 2013 by JustBHappy

[hydrogen]

I don't have much experience with sitting meditation. I just started recently. I think I found something that it's not formally taught in the books that I read about meditation. I hope experienced practioners can confirm or correct my finding.

 

The body is alive in the meditation, not a dead wood. Total stillness isn't frozen in place. If your whole body move in the same rythem, you're still in stillness. Bagua is a good example.

 

So far, breath is the best corodinator. If every cell in your body resonates with your breath during meditation, you don't have a stiff joint afterwards, actually they feel softer afterward.

 

So far, I find a little body motion help to settle in. up and down, in and out. When I inhale, my physical body sink down, my qi go up. I exhale, my phsical body bounce up, my qi go down. After a while, the body movement is so small, that it looks like not moving at all. Then I feel my whole body (I'm not sensitive enough to distinguish qi and physical body now) go outward during inhale. And go inward during exhale.

 

My whole body is constant moving with my breath. In rare accassion, I don't feel the movement at all, and I don't feel feel my breath either.

 

I agree with spotless. That teacher needs to be held up after sitting meditation shouldn't be teaching.

[Spotless]

I don't have much experience with sitting meditation. I just started recently. I think I found something that it's not formally taught in the books that I read about meditation. I hope experienced practioners can confirm or correct my finding.

 

The body is alive in the meditation, not a dead wood. Total stillness isn't frozen in place. If your whole body move in the same rythem, you're still in stillness. Bagua is a good example.

 

So far, breath is the best corodinator. If every cell in your body resonates with your breath during meditation, you don't have a stiff joint afterwards, actually they feel softer afterward.

 

So far, I find a little body motion help to settle in. up and down, in and out. When I inhale, my physical body sink down, my qi go up. I exhale, my phsical body bounce up, my qi go down. After a while, the body movement is so small, that it looks like not moving at all. Then I feel my whole body (I'm not sensitive enough to distinguish qi and physical body now) go outward during inhale. And go inward during exhale.

 

My whole body is constant moving with my breath. In rare accassion, I don't feel the movement at all, and I don't feel feel my breath either.

 

I agree with spotless. That teacher needs to be held up after sitting meditation shouldn't be teaching.

 

All of us have our different proclivities and movement may be one of yours just as vocal may be what draws many to chanting.

Just as chanting has many benefits from the frequencies held and repeated - also group resonance and more, moving meditation could also have similar benefits. I have sat here rocking a bit in a meditative space and i can immediately see where benefit could be applied. The movements can be imperceptible in that they can start in a visible manner and settle into a motion that is more subtle and not physical/body.

 

I would be interested to know more about what you find out about this.

 

The obvious benefit for doing more traditional meditation is that you can from time to time research them in books and with practitioners and your choice of teachers will be much greater. At the same time, you may have an exceptional teacher that is creating a whole new practice.

 

I find that trying to meditate while lying down is very difficult, I also find it very hard when lying sideways but I am very certain that many who have applied themselves to these positions have been successful. I see no reason why some form of moving meditation like what you have proposed would not be possible. I do think you will also grow to find that still meditation is something you will also want to learn and perhaps that you will gently move from moving meditation to still meditation within the same sitting.

 

Your question about breathing is correct - it varies so much as your practice grows. In the beginning meditators often

do not breath enough because they are so concentated on trying to feel and still themselves. This can be the case for quite some time, then you typically learn breathing techniques and begin breathing into your space. As this progresses you direct the energy of your breath to specific areas or currents. As you progress you will feel your breath within your whole space extending well beyond your skin. Breath learned in practice can move along with you after you are done with your exercise.

Qi Gong sometimes leaves me with specific breathing for days - I have woken up still breathing in a practice style. It can be amazingly helpful for staying in the present and feeling ones aura and the space of self-remembering in a waking walking around state. I have also practiced Holotropic breathing at times and alternating nostril breathing - the breath is an amazing tool. (it should be noted that breath can be mis-used for forcing energies - do not do this - it can create serious setbacks with long recovery periods)

[joeblast]

Qi Gong sometimes leaves me with specific breathing for days - I have woken up still breathing in a practice style. It can be amazingly helpful for staying in the present and feeling ones aura and the space of self-remembering in a waking walking around state. I have also practiced Holotropic breathing at times and alternating nostril breathing - the breath is an amazing tool. (it should be noted that breath can be mis-used for forcing energies - do not do this - it can create serious setbacks with long recovery periods)

Awesome stuff, it is good to have you here My wife's told me she can tell when I am in good practice by the way I'm breathing when I sleep. Its what led me to the concept of focused conscious awareness reprogramming the subconscious breath protocol patterns, once sufficient habit-energy is expended on it then a lot of it carries forth of its own regard, then you're simply adding angular momentum every day like turning a prayer wheel. Good points on letting the unperturbed nature carry forth

[thelerner]

One thing I've picked up from Ya Mu's Stillness Movement meditation is to pick up a natural rocking when I sit. It relieves much of the built up tension and pain from the legs and knees. Once you practice it, it becomes relatively automatic as you find your 'bob'. Course I haven't pushed 2 hours in a while, unless you count meditating in bed, which is too easy.

Edited February 14, 2013 by thelerner

[joeblast]

I find that trying to meditate while lying down is very difficult,

I had thought of something recently regarding lying down in trying to teach integrated diaphragm-psoas action. Lie down, imagine the spine is a train track. Drive the train to the bottom of the spine on inhale, back it up to the solar plexus on exhale. "The train is the entirety of the breath mechanism."

 

Makes it a little easier to focus on breath, but its still more of a task than sitting up in my experience

[hydrogen]

All of us have our different proclivities and movement may be one of yours just as vocal may be what draws many to chanting.

Just as chanting has many benefits from the frequencies held and repeated - also group resonance and more, moving meditation could also have similar benefits. I have sat here rocking a bit in a meditative space and i can immediately see where benefit could be applied. The movements can be imperceptible in that they can start in a visible manner and settle into a motion that is more subtle and not physical/body.

 

I would be interested to know more about what you find out about this.

 

Why do we meditate? For me, I want to be happy in this life time.

 

I want to have the benefit of meditation during my daily life. I think the moving meditation is easier to transit into my day job than "traditional meditation".