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Introduction.
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What is meditation?
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An
ancient technique that has been practiced by billions of people for over
5,000 years to train the mind.
o
Practiced
by professional basketball teams, race car drivers, golfers, billions of
people over the last 5,000 years, to improve concentration; also, used for
health, anger/stress management, learning improvement.
o
Non-sectarian:
no religion required or used.
o
No
one way: many methods and teachers.
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Why meditate?
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o
Reduce
stress
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Control
anger
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Reduce
blood pressure
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o
Sleep
better
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Build
willpower
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Break
habits
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When to practice. In the beginning, practice
mini-meditations (described below). Add on 1-5 minute daily morning and/or
evening sessions of meditation practice (described below). If necessary,
substitute meditation for sleep. Meditation will rest your mind and body to
make up for the sleep reduction. Extend the sessions to 30 minutes or more. “Unproductive”
time is a good time to do a mini-meditation, e.g., while waiting for
something or someone; when you have nothing to do; TV time.
Meditation while sitting.
Keep
your back vertical (ears over the shoulders) to allow natural breathing in
and out of your lungs.
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Figure 1
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Chair-sitting. Keep back straight
without leaning on the chair and feet flat on the floor or some solid
object so your feet are comfortable. Hands can rest on your knees, or place
the right hand (palm up) over the left palm in your lap. Sit on a pillow or
folded blanket to keep your knees lower than your hips with your body
supported equally over your legs and butt.
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Figure 2
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Alternative: cross-legged sitting. Sit on a pillow or
folded blanket to raise back so knees can rest on the floor. Right foot on
left thigh, and left leg on floor in front of, or under, right leg. Place
back of left hand on right ankle or lap, and back of right hand on left
palm; touch tip of thumbs to each other.
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Basic Instruction
Part 1. Concentrating
on (“guarding”) the breath
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Observe
the breath through your nose (close mouth): feel (without forcing) the air
of the natural in and out breaths touching your upper lip
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Goal:
sustain your concentration on your breath. If your mind is “distracted,”
name it as described in Part 2 below, and gently return to observing your
breath.
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Temporary
aid to concentration: mentally count, e.g., “one” on the in-breath (count
up to 10 then begin again).
Part 2. Dealing with
mental “distractions”
When
you notice that your concentration has been interrupted, do the following:
1.
Generally observe the distraction,
2.
Name the type of distraction,
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Name
noises in your mind: "sound, sound, sound"
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Name
physical sensation in your mind, e.g., pain ("pain, pain, pain"
but try not to move) or itch ("itching, itching, itching" but try
not to scratch).
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Name
thoughts: "thinking, thinking, thinking" but don't get involved
in the thought process.
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Name
any feelings in your mind: "sad, sad, sad" or "happy, happy,
happy" or "angry, angry, angry" or "pain, pain,
pain."
3.
Return to concentrating on your breath.
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Mini-meditation
1.
Practice concentrating on (“guarding”) your breath for 10 breaths.
2.
Do this mini-meditation:
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once in the morning,
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once in the afternoon,
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once in the evening,
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whenever you feel stress or anger arising
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