How to Start Meditating - Begin at the Beginning
Successful meditation at every level relies on one’s ability to relax. As obvious as this sounds it is more challenging than it appears at first. We begin with the physical body. Try thinking of the body as an instrument that is always speaking to and reacting to the physical environment. So, the first step is to get comfortable, free of any physical discomfort.
Meditation Posture - poised, and relaxed
Think about every statue of a sitting Buddha and what it teaches us about meditation. Although the posture is erect, the body is not rigid but rather poised, balanced and relaxed. Looking at such a statue, you get the sense that a person sitting in such a way could maintain that pose with ease for a very long time.
Emulating the Buddha is an excellent first step. If you cannot sit comfortably, cross-legged on the floor, then sit in a solid chair with your feet flat on the floor, back straight and, if you can, sit forward on the seat away from the back rest. Rest your hands comfortably on your legs or folded in your lap. You are now ready to relax…
Physical Relaxation
Utilize the breath to induce relaxation, take several deep breaths, at least three. With each breath take in energy, vitality, and poise. Exhale slowly any tension, pain, or discomfort. Do this silently with awareness and notice the effects of this exercise without mentally commenting on what you are noticing.
After your initial exercise, if there is residual tension anywhere in the body move your attention to that specific area and release the tension following the same procedure. Take this time to practice appreciation for and loving kindness toward your body.
Emotional Relaxation
After completing your physical relaxation, turn your attention to the emotions. Your emotions can also be thought of as an instrument. They are always reacting to your thought-life, your perceptions about what is occurring in the environment, what is being said by others and so forth. Again, start with the breath.
Breath in calmness, serenity and a buoyant feeling of joy and well-being. Let any negative feeling evaporate like a cloud in the expanse of the blue-sky. Visualize a pool of still water with a mirror-like surface with the sun shining into it. The sun represents your mental nature.
Relax the Mind
Now it is time to turn your attention to the mental nature. You are not your thoughts, and your thoughts are not your mind. Thoughts have a life of their own. They arise in our mind like a porpoise in the sea. The thought rises to the surface and quickly dives back down into the depths unless we “seize” the thought. In that case the thought becomes like a label or an object. If we continue to entertain it, it becomes a story.
The story is generally something about dwelling on the past, musing on the present or something we want or don’t want in the future. In meditation we learn to let go of thoughts and not to indulge in creating such stories. We learn instead to cultivate the mind as the observer of the “now”. To attend to the “real” and therefore learn to appreciate the marvelous in our life.