Meditation Inquiries

[dee]

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Edited March 23, 2014 by dee

[Spotless]

I prefer a cushion that is about 9 inches high. Sometimes when sitting for long sessions I prefer to sit in a chair.
I typically sit for 1-4 hours and consider a long session well past that. If you do yoga postures or Qi Gong, it can be very helpful to do an hour or so of this prior to meditation for long periods.

Make your legs comfortable and not beyond your abilities ( an uncomfortable full lotus does nothing for you but give you discomfort).
Spine straight is very important.

You should consider not drinking too much 1 hour prior to the sitting and typically it is ok to have a water bottle or tea.

If your legs go numb do not worry for some time but if they start becoming cold and numb straighten your leg or legs for a time while maintaining your inner space.

I might meditate for 18 hours but it does not mean I do not go to the bathroom if necessary or have some tea at my side. In a group setting, if you have to leave for the bathroom, do not engage in conversation, so know where the bathroom is before sitting so that you do not need to ask anyone.
Do not wear perfumes, do not have any snacks with you at the sitting itself. If you find yourself yawning uncontrollably this is actually another way for compressed energy to release - but try to keep it as noiseless as possible.
If you happen to have gas - just let it out - do not become preoccupied with any thoughts about it or trying to hold it.

Contrary to what you might imagine, typically as the time goes by it is easier and easier. After the first hour you will generally find that you are settled in and in a much cleaner space than before. By around 1.5 to 3 hours you will find body issues gone or at least pretty much so. Beyond 4 or 5 hours your back will probably be straight as an arrow and you will be wide awake but quit separated from bodily issues - you may still reposition your legs but it is with little effort and they may actually be doing very well, meaning that you are experiencing no blood flow problems.

Perhaps initially in a group setting your biggest work is vanity issues / ego. In stead of asking yourself if you are doing it right or being still enough, or worrying about all possible outcomes and problems - just know that you are doing everything right just by making it there!
Be in your space, breathe, spine straight and if you need to adjust, adjust without any self conscious affliction to your meditation space.

If you find yourself fading increase your breathing to the point of really oxygenating yourself a bit more than normal - unless you are actually exhausted (in which case you should not push yourself) you are hitting and releasing energy that has been compressed in your space - this is the source of the unconsciousness - breath past this, it is a very good sign of progress and you will see the fruits of it in only about 15 minutes with a renewed awareness.

Have a great retreat!

Edited April 11, 2014 by Spotless

[thelerner]

I also prefer a higher cushion. I like crescent shaped ones, I think mines stuffed with sobakawa beans. A thinner under cushion helps quite a bit with the legs and knees. I have a small sheep skin from Ikea, but that might get funny looks from the vegan crowd. Get it early and get in time on the mat.

 

For long sits (I am nowhere close to Spotless level), I'll do small, natural rocking movements ala Stillness/Movement meditation (and keep hands pressed lightly against lower dan tien). It helps me be comfortable for longer sits.

 

 

I've never used meditation beads. The Bai Hai temple near me has a gift store with some good looking meaningful ones. I'll have to try it.

[dee]

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Edited March 23, 2014 by dee

[Gerard]

Is this to be held in SE Asia? If so, plenty of places to buy them around the temple/monastery that is hosting the retreat.

 

For example:

 

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photography-prayer-cushions-thai-buddhist-temple-image17178012

 

Accepted?

 

The Dharma is open to everyone, it is a true gift to humanity from a perfected being like the Buddha, so a place that charges for it or is selective should be avoided. You probably meant you'll be attending, right?

[dee]

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Edited March 23, 2014 by dee

[Spotless]

I have never found what I would consider to be reasonably priced cushions but then again I have never made them myself and a great many sold are hand made which would be a preference. They seem to run in the $40-80 range.

 

I actually like mine around 9" high which is 2-4 inches higher than most.

Edited April 11, 2014 by Spotless

[king]

Where should the awarenes be during meditation and should the hands be in some mudra?

[Spotless]

Where should the awarenes be during meditation and should the hands be in some mudra?

 

This would be best asked of your teacher or of the tradition of your teaching.

 

Regarding the hands - if you do palms up or down - touching the fingers to each other has consequences - they are hand postures that have definite effects. Also in some teachings palm up is if you have low or reqular blood pressure, palm down for high blood pressure.

 

Again - your questions are practice specific - at least until you are aware of where and what you are doing inside.

[C T]

have heard rave reviews about meditation stools from this craftsman

http://www.sui.ie/stool.html

[SonOfTheGods]

Source?

( an uncomfortable full lotus does nothing for you but give you discomfort).

[Tibetan_Ice]

http://thetaobums.com/topic/30758-my-no-pain-meditation-seat/?fromsearch=1

 

Absolutely no pain for extended meditations..

 

 

[dee]

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Edited March 23, 2014 by dee

[Tibetan_Ice]

I've been looking on ebay and there are some for $30 with shipping included. I'm still going to wait before looking up reviews.

 

 

 

Would you do me the honor of making/selling me one.

 

I'm very sorry to disappoint you, but you will have to make it yourself.

 

[Spotless]

 

Spotless, on 04 Mar 2014 - 12:13, said:

( an uncomfortable full lotus does nothing for you but give you discomfort).

 

 

Source?

Answer:

 

Me

Edited March 5, 2014 by Spotless

[SonOfTheGods]

Spotless, on 04 Mar 2014 - 12:13, said:

( an uncomfortable full lotus does nothing for you but give you discomfort).

 

 

 

Answer:

 

Me

 

Ok- that's an Opinion of Yours.

 

 

Spotless, on 04 Mar 2014 - 12:13, said:

( In My Opinion an uncomfortable full lotus does nothing for you but give you discomfort).

 

Fixed it for you

 

Classic texts, yogis and monks (and many posters here) would disagree with you Spotless.

 

And So would I.

 

If you meditated in Full Lotus for 2 hours- you might not need to meditate for 4 hours In MY Opinion.

[Green Tiger]

Ok- that's an Opinion of Yours.

 

 

 

Fixed it for you

 

Classic texts, yogis and monks (and many posters here) would disagree with you Spotless.

 

And So would I.

 

If you meditated in Full Lotus for 2 hours- you might not need to meditate for 4 hours In MY Opinion.

 

If you can't relax into it, wouldn't that make for an unproductive meditation?

 

I have to get my hips warmed up before I can assume full lotus comfortably. Usually I don't do it if it doesn't happen easily. I've always heard you can hurt your knees if you try to force it.

[SonOfTheGods]

Make your legs comfortable and not beyond your abilities ( an uncomfortable full lotus does nothing for you but give you discomfort).

Spine straight is very important.

 

 

Spotless, on 04 Mar 2014 - 12:13, said:

( an uncomfortable full lotus does nothing for you but give you discomfort).

 

 

 

Answer:

 

Me

 

 

Ok- that's an Opinion of Yours.

 

 

 

Fixed it for you

 

Classic texts, yogis and monks (and many posters here) would disagree with you Spotless.

 

And So would I.

 

If you meditated in Full Lotus for 2 hours- you might not need to meditate for 4 hours In MY Opinion.

 

 

If you can't relax into it, wouldn't that make for an unproductive meditation?

 

I have to get my hips warmed up before I can assume full lotus comfortably. Usually I don't do it if it doesn't happen easily. I've always heard you can hurt your knees if you try to force it.

 

Full lotus is almost always uncomfortable, for most people- when they start out.

But saying it is "useless", is an absurdity.

 

What is so "special" about full lotus?

http://thetaobums.com/topic/12514-what-is-so-special-about-full-lotus/

 

Full Lotus is a "Mudra" for your legs.

 

It opens the Kua, and closes the circuit/legs - opens the Perineum.

 

Your body is tranformed into a pyramid structure.

 

The central channel becomes highly charged.

 

So just to discard Full Lotus because it is uncomfortable- which then makes it "useless" - is counterproductive IMO.

 

Don't get hurt doing it- but practice it until the discomfort goes away.

 

I stay in Full Lotus all day, and meditate in it 2 hours every night.

It was uncomfortable for me too, when I first started out.

 

Some teachers will even go as far as saying meditating in Full Lotus for 20 minutes is equal to 4 hours of Non-Full Lotus

Edited March 5, 2014 by SonOfTheGods

[SonOfTheGods]

http://thetaobums.com/topic/22481-navel-chakra-kidneys-full-lotus/

Chunyi Lin says that 20 minutes of full lotus is equal to 4 hours

 

I won't derail the thread- although Full Lotus is not straying from the OP discussion of Meditation.

 

I would be glad to further discuss "Why Full Lotus is Not Useless IMO" on my PPF if Spotless is up to the debate.

___________

 

 

If you read "Miracle Healing from China" by qigong master Dr. Effie Chow she says that full-lotus is called "Five energy points facing heaven." That's why it's the best position because it maximizes the chi energy -- the five points being the two center of the feet, the head and the two centers of the hands.

These points are then resonating through complementary opposites -- so the head is shooting energy towards the hands -- I call this the "Yan Xin Secret" -- and the feet/legs are crossed and the hands are crossed. This way the energy channels have their circuits connected, connecting positive to negative.

Qigong master Chunyi Lin says that 20 minutes of full-lotus is worth 4 hours of any other meditation but it's important to realize this is based on the electromagnetic fields created. Most posture focus these days is just from the perspective of stretching and flexibility. The whole point of full-lotus is to go beyond feeling the body because the electromagnetic fields are so strong.

So it's best to first do active excercises along with mind yoga and the small universe or microcosmic orbit. Then AFTER the electromagnetic fields get strong enough you can then go into full-lotus. Then after the third eye fully opens up you can sit in full-lotus as long as you want.

So qigong master Chunyi Lin says that if you want to see if someone is real master just see how long they can sit in full-lotus. Wang, Liping sits in full-lotus 4 hours a night as described in Opening the Dragon Gate. John Chang relies on Full-lotus. Yogananda and his lineage all rely on full-lotus.

It's not just a posture -- it's the resonance of complementary opposites that is the secret of the full-lotus. It's also the secret of "pyramid power" and why nature creates spiral vortices.

 

 

Are you familiar with cranial-sacral osteopathy? Allopathic medicine has yet to acknowledge that there is a significant respiration in the changes of fluid-volume in the dural sac (around the brain and spinal cord and all the way to the tailbone), but I think Sutherland was onto something. Upledger convinced me, through his writings.

ok, cut to the chase, the volume of fluid changes in the tissue sack that surrounds the brain, according to Upledger about 14 times a minute. Pressure changes in a closed system are instantaneous throughout the system, per hydraulics. The spine flexes and extends with the changes in fluid, and the arms and legs rotate inward and outward. The sacrum pivots on the pelvis, forward and back, side to side on the diagonals, and even around the vertical axis of the spine. The sphenoid and occiput in the skull flex and extend. The nerves that control the changes in fluid volume are in the sagittal suture, at the top of the skull.

When you sit the lotus, you isolate the movement of the sacrum on the pelvis. You can observe the stretches in the ligaments between the sacrum and the sit-bones of the pelvis, between the sacrum and the tuberosities of the pelvis in front on either side, and between the sacrum and the pelvis. You can observe actions in the muscles of the legs and pelvis that occur involuntarily as a result of these stretches, and the reciprocity of actions between paired muscles. You can observe action initiated by the cranial-sacral rhythm through the stretch of ligaments between the sacrum and the pelvis.

"The empty hand grasps the hoe-handle
Walking along, I ride the ox
The ox crosses the wooden bridge
The bridge is flowing, the water is still." Fuxi, approx. 500 C.E.

Yes, consciousness is the bridge, yet the right amount of openness to feelings of pain and the right amount of detachment from the pleasant is necessary if we are to sink and realize our involuntary motion; I myself needed a way to say, yes, this is part of the stretch in existence as my consciousness occurred just now, so that I could relax and stay open. I can sit the lotus, usually 30-40 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes at night. Sometimes my feet go to sleep, less so as I realize that I belong to these respirations and this consciousness, they do not belong to me. So to speak.

I think my explanation is more straightfoward at the website below my signature; thanks, all, have a good night-

 

 

Chen, on Nov 25 2009, 01:41 AM, said:

Biff,
if you mean J.C when you say Pak John,I have a lot of reasons to beleive that he relays in Full Lotus,as Level 1 Lotus meditation is an exersice for life regardless the Level achieved.
There was another thread few months ago about the Full Lotus position and a lot was written.
In Inner alchemy the full lotus must be used in combination of certain mudras. Although half lotus is more easier and also the simple cross leg stance,you have a lot of unlocked points that redirect the chi to be wasted or circulated among the body instend to be stored in Dan Tien .
In general I agree with drewhempel , one unit of achievment in full lotus, needs 3 times more time in half lotus and 20 times more time when just X-legged.
From the other hand ,full lotus is just the one way that you have to follow depending on goals and school that followed.

 

_______

 

http://thetaobums.com/topic/22481-navel-chakra-kidneys-full-lotus/?p=320650

 

Mantis Wrote:

A word of caution when bringing up full lotus, a lot of people say its "useless" or "unnecessary" simply because they themselves cannot achieve the position.

Edited March 5, 2014 by SonOfTheGods

[dee]

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Edited March 23, 2014 by dee

[Spotless]

To be perfectly clear for those that might benefit from further explaination:

 

Make your legs comfortable and not beyond your abilities ( an uncomfortable full lotus does nothing for you but give you discomfort).
If you aspire to a full lotus - and indeed there are certainly some benefits, do so gradually. First simply cross your legs, then later put one leg ontop of the other and alternate this for each leg. Gradually draw each leg in.

At some point, you will find that you can sit in a lotus position. Do not push yourself to injury in the process.

 

As in my original post:

Make your legs comfortable and not beyond your abilities ( an uncomfortable full lotus does nothing for you but give you discomfort).
And distract you and possibly injure you.

Edited April 12, 2014 by Spotless

[doc benway]

If you aspire to a full lotus - and indeed there are certainly some benefits, do so gradually. First simply cross your legs, then later put one leg ontop of the other and alternate this for each leg. Gradually draw each leg in.

At some point, you will find that you can sit in a lotus position.

Here's a good resource for approaching the lotus - http://zenmontpellier.voila.net/eng/lotus/lotuseng.html

Another good resource is the book - Becoming the Lotus.

[Spotless]

Here's a good resource for approaching the lotus - http://zenmontpellier.voila.net/eng/lotus/lotuseng.html

Another good resource is the book - Becoming the Lotus.

Perfect!