Monday, February 13, 2023

I don't know how to meditate!

Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly; Wikipedia edit asana

The initial effort becomes ease.
How does one meditate? "It's natural; it just happens" is one popular answer one almost never hears. It should be said out loud because the meditation instructions are usually so feeble that they amount to next to nothing to do: Just sit down. Close the eyes. Breathe. Don't fall asleep. When the mind wanders, and it will because that's the nature of the mind, bring it back. Start again. Do not scold it. Love it like a wayward child that can't relax. Stroke it like a nervous chicken that will, before long, settle down. Don't ruffle its feathers. If its feathers are ruffled all day, don't be surprised if when sitting down its feathers take a long time to settle. Be calm most of the day and, hey, whaddyaknow, it settles sooner.


What are the Eight Factors of Raja Yoga?
When that doesn't work, we can get meticulous and fall back on the long tradition of India and proto-India, which describes YOGA ("union" of breath/spirit, body, and mind) as ashtanga or "Eight Limbs" or arms or factors of union:

The Eight Limbs or "Factors of Union" are, in order, the:
  1. codes of social conduct (yamas)
  2. self-observances (niyamas)
  3. postures (asanas)
  4. breath work (pranayama)
  5. sense withdrawal (pratyahara or non-attachment)
  6. concentration (dharana)
  7. meditation (dhyana)
  8. coherence (samadhi or union with Brahman).
Yoga Teacher Nina Mel (Kennguru)
Postures, along with breath work, are the physical movements of yoga. Patanjali's Yoga Sutras describes asana as a "steady and comfortable posture" [19], referring to the seated postures used for breath work and meditation, where meditation is the path to samadhi or the transpersonal realization and stillness of a coherent mind/heart.

The Yoga Sutras do not mention a single seat or asana by name, merely specifying the characteristics of a good one: स्थिरसुखमासनम् ॥४६॥ sthira sukham āsanam. "Seats" [should be a balance of] "effort and ease" or "Seat means a steady and comfortable posture" (Yoga Sutras 2:46).

The sutras (threads, sutures, aphorisms, or terse sayings) are embedded in the Bhasya commentary, which scholars suggest may also be by Patanjali [23]. It names a dozen seated meditation postures, including lotus pose (padmasana), hero's pose (virasana), bound angle pose (bhadrasana), and accomplished pose (svastikasana) [24].

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