To meditate in ease and comfort we need to find a suitable position.
And there are many different positions in which you can meditate,
The most common being seated.
You can also meditate lying down,
Standing up and walking.
So to meditate in a seated position we need to find relaxation of the body without being uncomfortable.
In order to do this there are certain things to follow.
So find yourself a comfortable seat where your feet are firmly planted on the ground and your back can be supported in a way that enables the spine to be straight.
Now it's best not to have a chair that you lean back into because the spine is not then straight.
The position of the head should be level and the shoulders dropped.
And with a straight spine you're then going down through your legs with your feet uncrossed.
Your legs should be not too far apart.
Your arms loose by your side and your hands clasped in front of you.
They could be one on either thigh,
Palms down or palms up.
A traditional posture is to place the right hand on top of the left hand with the thumbs touching and just let your hands loosely relax in your lap.
So we now arrive at the face,
The eyes lowered.
It's usually easier to meditate with the eyes closed but again the traditional position is to have them half closed.
And this is quite useful if we are drowsy,
Letting some light in.
If our eyes are half closed we allow our gaze just to fall a few feet in front of us comfortably and stay on one spot.
The jaw should be relaxed,
The chin just slightly lowered so the back of the neck is straight.
And the tongue resting behind the top teeth.
And the lips lightly together or just parted.
So as we breathe in through the nostrils we allow our abdomen to rise and fill.
And then as we breathe out through the nostrils the abdomen lowers.
This may be a bit different from what you're used to as many people breathe from the chest which is shallow and doesn't oxygenate the brain in the same way.
So this is a very good method for training us to breathe in a more beneficial way.
Now often when we start meditations we'll start with three deep breaths.
Now these three deep breaths involve breathing in through the nostrils and holding the breath.
And then it's very nice to just blow softly out through the lips in a very gentle,
Regular,
Disciplined way.
And having done those deep breaths three times we then resume the natural breathing.
And of course if you're lying down,
If you prefer to meditate lying down as we regularly do with the body scan,
Then all the same ideas apply.
But it is better that the hands and arms lie next to you rather than on top of the tummy because that restricts our breathing.
