Is this normal for beginners?

Genryu1989

I tryed meditating for the first time today in the full lotus position for about 20 minutes. It was very to concentrate and stay completely still, i was just wondering, does it get easier as you practice more and more? oh and when i was done my legs hurt soooo bad lol

Jeffrey

Your mind will still be drifting off 20 years from now. There are many other positive changes that will happen. Not just during meditations but also positive changes between meditations.

You will have some periods where the meditation is really not working in some way often painfully so. Just when you think its at its darkest the first light of dawn will come.

fivebells

Just bring your mind back each time it wanders. Doing that is the training, not the still mind. The still mind is part of the eventual goal.

Deshy

It happens. Two months into the practice I still get it and I am sure I will have to bring back my wondering mind for many months and years to come. It can get really frustrating sometimes. As fivebells says this IS the practice.

But I can tell you this much. It gets better and with so little time into the practice I already feel a substantial amount of happiness and calm during my day to day life. I find practicing a lot easier than when I first started. I don't think I could even sit still for five minutes back then
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blueface

I have been amazed how the time factor has changed over the last few months of mneditation. At the start i though 'wow i've done that fore 5 whole minutes!' Now 45 mins feels like 5 mins.

I wonder whether sometimes people can become too attached to the niceties. For example you must sit in a certain position, you mustn't move etc. I guidance i have received allows me to use a hard backed chair and if i need to move i have the option of either moving mindfully or staying with the discomfort as you would stay with a stretch sensation in mindful yoga. Also i have enjoyed watching the thought process rather than th breath on meny occassions. If you can observe the thought and when/if you get pulled into the stream of thinkking you can refocus.:rolleyes:

fivebells

blueface wrote: »

I wonder whether sometimes people can become too attached to the niceties. For example you must sit in a certain position, you mustn't move etc.

Yes, the Buddha explicitly warned about this.

RichardH

Genryu1989 wrote: »

I tryed meditating for the first time today in the full lotus position for about 20 minutes. It was very to concentrate and stay completely still, i was just wondering, does it get easier as you practice more and more? oh and when i was done my legs hurt soooo bad lol

When sitting for the first time, it felt like being made to stand in the corner at school . Being unaccustomed to seeing thoughts arising and passing made for a real struggle. There was a lot of compulsive thinking, trying to figure my way to ...something. One thing that really helped was when a teacher told me..”It's not about having an experience, but knowing what experience is present.”




Now (after around twenty years), meditation quickly settles into “just sitting” . Thoughts do not entangle and come and go unobstructed. It is the same with feelings and impulses. There has been a growing degree of sanity and peace.


This seems to be the typical progression.

PietroPumokin

keep sitting and it will become much more natural and even pleasant, preferable to other activity, try too to sit in more casual ways as well, it's not always necessary to do full lotus.

Genryu1989

Okay, thanks guys, alot, it puts me at ease knowing it will get better.