Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
Repetitive problem
Fenix
Veteran
Please forgive me, for this topic brings such hate to my heart. I will crudly tell you exactly whats happening and which I can not seem to get rid of. I meditate. Heres the problem, I cant find a balance when I meditate, making me constantly trying to take rest in some position, in vain.
So, I roll back and forth on my pelvis for a while until I get frustrated and then take on some of the advice I´ve got. Effectivly I fall off my chair. There is a certain point when I no longer can ignore it and have to correct myself.
No problem though, cause I´m not in a hurry. And such as "Ok, focusing...O I am falling down...there we go, now, focusing...O I am falling down..." but it only gets worse.
Its no matter where i sit Im always slumping so annoyingly. Im currently doing all I can to gain a stronger back and posture, such as stretching, actively sitting right during day time.
Its also just a twobarrel thing. I cant do it without it, cause that would just being spoiled and some discomfort is ok and thats cool, but I cant do it with either, I CANT SIT. I have asked this from a meditation teacher, looked up lots and lots of articles and videos, asked from here a couple of times.
I know I should not just ignore or just go with it ´cause its not just some minor "o, this is not nice, buhu" its me literally falling off my chair until I deliberatly hold myself straight only to come to the point when I start to relax and its starts all over again. I dont even know why Im posting here, I just wish it would go away cause I could really well meditate if I can confine myself to a single still supporting
So, I roll back and forth on my pelvis for a while until I get frustrated and then take on some of the advice I´ve got. Effectivly I fall off my chair. There is a certain point when I no longer can ignore it and have to correct myself.
No problem though, cause I´m not in a hurry. And such as "Ok, focusing...O I am falling down...there we go, now, focusing...O I am falling down..." but it only gets worse.
Its no matter where i sit Im always slumping so annoyingly. Im currently doing all I can to gain a stronger back and posture, such as stretching, actively sitting right during day time.
Its also just a twobarrel thing. I cant do it without it, cause that would just being spoiled and some discomfort is ok and thats cool, but I cant do it with either, I CANT SIT. I have asked this from a meditation teacher, looked up lots and lots of articles and videos, asked from here a couple of times.
I know I should not just ignore or just go with it ´cause its not just some minor "o, this is not nice, buhu" its me literally falling off my chair until I deliberatly hold myself straight only to come to the point when I start to relax and its starts all over again. I dont even know why Im posting here, I just wish it would go away cause I could really well meditate if I can confine myself to a single still supporting
0
Comments
While posture is important to meditation, nobody is going to force you to sit ram-rod straight for hours while you suffer. There is no benefit in that, and you're more likely to give up the practice if you feel uncomfortable. My friend has kyphosis and knee problems, so it is not possible for him to sit up straight or sit cross-legged. He meditates while lying down and was told that as long as he does not succumb to sleepiness and drift off, this is fine.
The point is to be aware, whether you are sitting, walking, or lying down. Awareness is the key.
Oh? And what did they say? What tradition were they from? What you describe sounds common, its surprising that a meditation teacher could not properly address the problem.
Try focusing instead of relaxing. Relaxing isn't really the point, is it? Perhaps what you're noticing is a physical loosening of the body when you're relaxing instead of focusing. That's great! Many of our minds do exactly what your body does, and instead of having a reminder to focus, we doze off. What a blessing your physical reminder would be to me!
With warmth,
Matt
It's probably worth experimenting with different postures - have you tried sitting on cushions or a meditation stool?
P
you can sit on as much cushion as you want to, if the discomfort is the reason why you sit on a chair.
Try meditating with eyes open crosslegged with palms on knees. Cushion under butt.
What I cant do though is think of two things at the same time.
I kneel.
Or I sit on a meditating stool.
Or I sit up in bed.
Or I lean against a wall.
Or I lie down.
Or I stand.
I vary what my position is according to how I feel.
I never used to meditate.
I still don't do so enough.
But when I do, I position myself in such a way as to be as comfortable as possible, for that moment, as I need to feel.
I don't think anyone was suggesting there was something wrong with you. If you're having difficulty, it may help to try different positions.
Perhaps I misunderstood your question? I'm not sure exactly what kind of advice you're looking for. I reread your original post and it's not clear to me which part of meditation you're struggling with.
It's not required that you think of two things at the same time. Your posture should be natural and easy enough to hold that you don't even have to think about it almost at all; leaving your attention to be filled with the meditation object.
Tight muscles and pain are normal in meditation, specially if you're not used to sitting straight, but slight posture corrections during the session (like you mentioned you do) should help you with that and if these aren't enough then other measures have to be taken, like the people here have suggested.
It sounds a bit like you're relaxing your body too much and that's causing it to slide off the chair. But then you say you could sit on that chair for a week if you wanted to, so it's a bit confusing to say the least.
You've gotten some good advice from the other posters, I hope some of it helps.
In addition, I wonder whether the problem that you have is actually your mind trying to 'wriggle out' of meditating....
Metta
There is nothing wrong with you. You are exactly where you're supposed to be at this time. Which, apparently, is a time when you need to do some real thinking into the strict boundaries that you're setting for yourself. True, everyone else is sitting, but if lying down WORKS for you then why wouldn't you meditate lying down? And at least try some other positions! Let go of the craving you have to belong to those around you sitting. You still belong, even if you aren't doing everything exactly the same way that they are.
If you belong to some sangha where strict rules are in place for laypeople, then perhaps try to work on the different meditation postures at home, and hopefully that will translate into better focus and posture during your meditation around others.