#57 Demystifying Meditation

October 09, 2024

Meditation can often seem mysterious. How can anyone be expected to create a practice around something that seems to have so many definitions. And why is a certain body position required? Why do you have to close your eyes? Get the simple straightforward answers in this episode.

What is your biggest struggle with mediation? Grab a time on my schedule to chat and get on your best plan. Absolutely free!

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Episode Transcript

Hello and

welcome

to The Own

Your Health

podcast,

I'm Cyndi Lynne,

and I can't

wait to help

you step into

your health

power.

So today we're

going to talk

about meditation,

and

I've mentioned

meditation

before as a

tool that's very

valuable to use.

I've mentioned

different

techniques of

meditation

and I've gotten

all kinds of

questions, but

one of the most

fundamental I've

gotten

is really around

the mystery of

meditation.

And meditation

not intended to

be mysterious at

all.

Meditation is a

very basic

practice

that anyone can

do. I also get

a little bit

of fear around

meditation or

fear

of the unknown.

And I've had

people say,

well, I don't

meditate,

I pray. The

two aren't

mutually

exclusive.

I encourage you

to do both

if that's

something

that you want

to do.

There isn't

anything

magical about

the

position we sit

in or the

things that we

think or the

way that we

breathe.

They're simply

all tools.

So today I

thought I would

demystify a

little

bit of this

and just talk

about why we

do what we

do when we

meditate.

So first of

all, the way

that we sit.

Generally speaking,

people

are encouraged

to sit in an

upright

position.

And this is

pretty

straightforward.

You can sit

on the floor,

and if you

can sit

comfortably

on the floor

with your legs

crossed in a

lotus position,

power to you.

But it's not

critical for

meditation.

The point of

finding a

comfortable

seat in

meditation

is simply so

you're not

distracted

by your body

sending you

messages

saying, oh, my

calf is cramping

up and my

toes hurt and

my hips are

kind of stiff.

We want the

body to be

free of all

those messages

flying

around in our

brain.

So if people

are brand new

to meditation, I

encourage them

sit upright in

a comfortable

chair.

And this may

be a chair

that's more like

a dining room

table chair, a

kitchen table

chair

where you're

actually

sitting quite

upright

as opposed to

a recliner or

some sort of

tv watching

chair.

And you sit

up in that

chair and you

have your feet

flat on the

floor.

And generally,

in order to have

this be in

a comfortable,

restful

state, you need

to have your

legs, your knees

apart almost as

wide as your

hips.

So in other

words, if you

try to hold

your legs very

tightly pressed

together

with your feet

on the floor,

again, you're

going

to be getting

these distracting

messages

saying, I don't

know how long

I can hold

this, and this

is a lot

of work.

And oh, my

muscles are

working hard.

We don't want

those distractions.

So, let your legs

come about hip

width apart and

then your feet

flat on the

floor.

And this is

very grounding.

This is to

plant yourself

the earth or

the floor.

And simply

because

it's much more

sturdy and

stable

than if we're

to prop up

on our toes

or roll on

the outside of

our feet or

cross our legs

and have only

1 foot on the

floor. This just

keeps both feet

firmly planted,

feet

right under the

knees so they

aren't, again,

tucked

under the chair

where they can

get cramped up

and sore.

All of these

recommendations,

again, they're

for comfort.

There isn't

anything

magical about

them.

They're usually

given

as recommendations

for

people who are

starting out who

kind of don't

know what to

do with their

body parts while

their mind is

engaging in this

activity.

So these are

a very good

starting point.

Now, as you

develop your

practice,

if you have

other ways of

sitting that are

more comfortable,

absolutely

adapt. But for

starters,

this is what

we recommend.

Next,

we want the

spine fairly

state

straight, not

stiffen,

as if there's

kind of a

board behind us,

but also not

slumped over.

When we're in

a poor posture,

when we're

schlumped

over, we tend

to have a

little bit more

difficulty breathing,

we breathe more

shallow,

we start to

yawn, and we

start to get

sleepy again,

another

distraction that

we don't want,

especially

as we're

beginning

to meditate.

And then we

want our

shoulders in a

comfortable

position with

our

elbows hanging

down below our

shoulders

and our hands

resting in our

laps.

So we don't

necessarily want

our

hands way out

forward on our

knees, because

that leaves our

elbows

suspended, not

protected,

and not

comfortable

for a long

period of time.

So again,

finding

comfort, elbows

underneath

the shoulders,

hands

resting in the

lap. And then

finally,

and this is

one of the

trickiest parts,

because

we're often

unaware

of where our

head is in

space.

As funny as

that sounds. We

want our head

stacked right

over

our shoulders.

It's common to

kind of lean

forward and have

the chin come

forward.

We want to

pull that chin

back, tuck it

a little bit

so the back

of the neck

is long, and

then we can

relax in this

supported

position.

Now, if you're

unaccustomed to

sitting

this way, it

may feel

strange.

If you're used

to being

supported

all around you

by a chair,

it might feel

strange.

Or if you're

used to sitting

very forward,

you would if

you were working

at your desk,

working on your

computer.

These are all

postures that

we're

much more

accustomed to.

So a good

seated, good

seated

chair meditation

posture may seem

strange

at first, but

it's very useful

and very

valuable.

The second thing

that we look

at, we talk

about when we

meditate, is our

breath.

And again, we

want this breath

to serve us.

And for many

who are starting

out meditating,

the breath is a

good focal point

because it's

something

we all do.

It's something

we do all day

long. It's not

introducing

something new.

And one of

the meditation

practices

that's very

common,

for example, is

to watch our

breathing.

And we do

that simply by

watching the

inhale

and watching the

exhale.

And if we

need a little

bit more of

an anchor, we

can even say

to ourselves in

our minds,

inhale

and exhale.

Just label what

our body is

doing, and that

helps to keep

us right in

the moment.

Because if our

brain is

labeling

what we're

currently

doing, it can't

be off wandering

the fields of

a million other

thoughts.

Most specifically,

it can't be

worrying

about what came

before we sat

down to meditate

or worrying

about

what's coming

after we're done

meditating.

It keeps our

mind where our

body is.

And that is

one of the

most valuable

aspects

of meditation.

Finally, the

last

piece I'm going

to talk about

today is what

we do with

our eyes.

And for most

of us, it's

very comfortable

once we're in a

state stable,

steady

situation, obviously

not

in traffic, not

driving, not

walking down the

sidewalk,

but we simply

close our eyes.

And for some

people, that can

be a struggle.

So for those

folks, we

recommend

just softly

gazing down.

And when we

say, let your

gaze soften, we

mean don't focus

specifically on

the

piece of carpet

that's in front

of you or

the desk that's

in front of

you or the

ends of your

slacks that

might

be in front

of you.

But just a

soft gaze, that

doesn't make you

focus on

anything.

And again, the

whole purpose of

that is nothing

magical or

mystical.

It's simply to

eliminate the

distractions,

the things that

can catch our

eyes otherwise.

So I welcome

you to sit

down in this

posture, find

the comfortable

meditation

posture,

align up all

of your body

parts, not

because

there's anything

magical

about it, but

because when you

get in this

position and

when you get

comfortable

here, I think

you're going to

like it.

I think it's

going to provide

a good basis

for you to

move forward

should

you decide that

a meditation

practice

is something

that you want to

do for yourself.

And for the

first couple

days, if you do

nothing else but

find your

comfortable

seat in a

great space

where

you enjoy being

and count your

breaths away

from

dogs barking.

Oh my gosh.

And count your

breaths for two

minutes. It's an

absolutely

great start to

meditation.

So if you

have any other

questions about

this,

let me know.

I hope this

dispels some of

the mysteries

about why we do

what we do.

It's actually

very

straightforward.

The magic, if

you will,

happens

when you can

learn to have

your mind be

in the same

space and time

as your body is.

As always, if

you found this

helpful, or know

someone

who you think

would enjoy this

podcast, like

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share it.

Subscribe if you

want to be

sure not to

miss any.

And if you

have any

questions

or want to

get started on

a meditation

practice,

reach out.

I'd be happy

to talk with

you. Until next

week,

let's go out

and own it.

#57 Demystifying Meditation

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