Meditation

“The purpose of meditation is personal transformation. The you that goes in one side of the meditation experience is not the same you that comes out the other side.  Your mind becomes still and calm. The precision of your thought increases and gradually you come to a direct knowledge of things as they really are, without prejudice and without illusion. Thus meditation properly performed prepares you to meet the ups and down of existence. It reduces your tension, your fear, and your worry...Things begin to fall into place and your life becomes a glide instead of a struggle.  [But]...there is only one way you will ever know if meditation is worth the effort. Learn to do it right, and do it. See for yourself.”

-- from Mindfulness in Plain English,
by Venerable Henepola Gunaratana

Preliminaries: Mindfulness of Posture and Conditions

1. At the beginning of each meditation session, going through a couple preliminary “set-up” routines can pave the way for a more productive meditation
   

2. •The first preliminary set-up routine consists of scanning various elements of the posture, which can help create more stability in the lower body and more spaciousness in the upper body, as well as lessen the physical discomfort that might otherwise occur from sitting with poor posture
   

3. •The second preliminary set-up routine consists of briefly scanning all of the various conditions that constitute the present moment, such as sounds, the temperature, physical sensations and mental/emotional states; checking in with these conditions at the outset will help you make peace with them, decreasing the likelihood that they will distract you later on
   

Mindfulness of Posture (2-5 Minutes)

1. Come into a comfortable seated position with your hands in dhyana mudra
   

2. Lean left and right a few times, cultivating an awareness of where your weight is on your sitting bones
   

3. •Does your pelvis feel tilted more to the left or the right? 
   

4. •If so, it’s likely that one knee is lower than the other -- if you prop it up with a folded blanket or block it might help bring balance to your pelvis
   

5. Next, tilt your pelvis backwards and forwards a few times, and then settle in with the weight just slightly forward on your sitting bones
   

6. •If it is difficult to tilt your pelvis forward a bit so that you have weight toward the front your sitting bones, consider using a taller cushion, angling your cushion a bit, changing to another seated posture (such as Diamond pose), or even using a chair
   

7. •With a slight anterior tilt in your pelvis, the lower back should fall into its natural concave curvature, ensuring that the muscles of your upper back don’t have to work excessively to keep your spine upright
   

8. •NOTE: the key to back comfort while sitting is that your pelvis is in a slight anterior tilt
   

9. Draw your shoulders back a bit to broaden your collar bones, but be mindful not to thrust the chest forward as you also want the upper back to remain broad
   

10. Get grounded by becoming aware of the weight of your body on the cushion, and with each exhale releasing the body down into the cushion
    

11. Stay grounded at the base of your seat, but with each inhalation cultivate a feeling of buoyancy in your upper body
    

12. Maintain the effort to sit upright by lifting the crown of the head toward the ceiling, but relax within this effort so that you don’t become rigid; perhaps visualize yourself as a tall reed in a pool of clear water... gently swaying with the ebb and flow of the current, but reaching upward toward the sunlight above
    

13. Soften the facial muscles, and perform a “half-smile” to broaden the face and encourage a feeling a goodwill toward yourself and the practice
    

14. Check the mudra again... is it still there? thumbs lightly touching, space between the index fingers and thumbs?  The mudra serves as a physical manifestation of your mindfulness practice, so come back to it whenever you notice it has fallen away
    

Mindfulness of Conditions (2-5 minutes)

1. Begin to allow your awareness to expand, taking in the conditions that make up the fabric of the present moment...
   

2. Listen to the sounds that might be present, as well as the space between the sounds... not judging any sound as good or bad, just noticing everything that is there; try not to analyze or investigate the sounds that you hear... just allow yourself to hear them as if for the very first time
   

3. Feel the temperature... not judging it as too hot or too cold, but just noticing
   

4. Scan the body and notice the physical sensations that may be present: the pressure on the buttocks, legs and feet; the contact of one hand against the other, and of both hands on your lap; the light touch of the clothing against your skin; itching, tingling, pain... whatever is there, allow yourself to notice and be with it, without trying to fix or change anything
   

5. Check in with how you’re feeling mentally and emotionally... do you feel awake and alert? tired? happy? sad? anxious? relaxed? impatient? bored? neutral or apathetic? You’re not trying to change anything here... you’re just noticing and being with things as they are
   

6. The idea during this stage is to recognize and be at ease with things as they are... not attached to seemingly positive conditions, nor averse to seemingly negative conditions
   

Shamatha Meditation (Calm Abiding Meditation)

Introduction

1. Shamatha can be translated as “concentration” or “tranquility,” and is commonly referred to as “calm abiding”
   

2. A foundational meditation technique, shamatha develops concentration, mental stability, and the ability to peacefully abide in the present moment
   

3. Be sure to become fairly established in the shamatha practice before proceeding to the vipassana practice that follows
   

Technique

1. While there are many potential objects of concentration in shamatha, in Zenyasa we focus on the breath -- first by counting the breath to develop our concentration, but eventually just following the breath without counting it
   

2. Below are a few suggestions for counting the breath, in progressive order of difficulty:
   

1. 1.Counting From 1-10 (on both inhale & exhale)
   Breath in, 1. Breath out, 2. 
   Breath in, 3.  Breath out, 4.
   Repeat until you reach 10, then begin again
   

2. 2.Counting From 1-10 (on exhale only)
   Breath in… Breath out, 1.
   Breath in… Breath out, 2.
   Repeat until you reach 10, then begin again
   

3. 3.Counting Backwards from 50
   Breath out, 50… Breath in, 49.
   Breath out, 48… Breath in, 47.
   Breath out, 46… Breath in, 45.
   Repeat until you reach 20, then:
   Breath out, 20… Breath in.
   Breath out, 19… Breath in.
   Breath out, 18… Breath in.
   Repeat until you reach zero, then:
   Just follow the breath without counting, or
   begin again at 50, or
   begin again at 20
   

4. Practice a simple belly breath with your counting... letting the belly expand outward as you inhale, then relaxing it as you exhale
   

5. Ultimately, we are trying to develop our ability to concentrate on the sensation of breathing (not counting), so:
   

6. •While you are inhaling, be present with the sensation of inhaling and then mentally note the appropriate number at the top of the inhale
   

7. •While you are exhaling, be present with the sensation of exhaling and then mentally note the appropriate number at the bottom of the exhale
   

8. If you lose your place in the count, be easy on yourself, take a fresh start and just begin again
   

9. When your concentration becomes strong you can try letting go of the counting technique and just concentrate on the breath alone:
   

10. •As you are inhaling, pay attention to your in-breath and know that you are inhaling...
    

11. •As you are exhaling, pay attention to your out-breath and know that you are exhaling...
    

12. •When your mind wanders, just notice that it has wandered and then bring it back to your breath
    

13. •If you are wandering a lot, feel free to go back to the counting for awhile
    

Vipassana Meditation (Insight Meditation)

Introduction

1. Be sure to spend a fair amount of time developing  your concentration with the shamatha practice before beginning the following vipassana practice
   

2. Vipassana can be defined as “insight,” which here means a clear awareness of exactly what is happening as it is happening
   

3. In the vipassana practice, we continue to concentrate our awareness on the sensation of breathing, but now begin to let our mindfulness notice more precisely where our mind goes when it wanders off, thus developing insight into the impermanence of passing phenomena and the nature of the mind itself
   

Technique

1. After going through the preliminaries (scanning the posture and conditions, as above), spend five to ten minutes practicing shamatha... either working with a counting technique or just following the breath itself
   

2. Then, continue to practice mindful breathing but begin to loosen the reins of your concentration a bit
   

3. When you notice that your mind has drifted off in pursuit of a thought and you are no longer aware of your breathing, mentally note what you have been thinking about, and then return your awareness back to your breathing
   
   Examples:
   

4. •if at some point you realize that you have been thinking about what your are going to have for breakfast when you are done meditating, you could mentally note “thinking about breakfast”
   

5. •if you notice you have been thinking about an argument you had with your sister, you could mentally note “thinking about the argument I had with my sister”
   

6. •if you have been having a very long string of thoughts and you’re not sure how to note it, just note it as “thinking”
   

7. Use the noting technique sparingly -- you don’t have to note every fleeting image or thought that races by while you are observing your breath; rather, save it for when you have really been wrapped up in a thought about something or other
   

8. In addition to noting the more developed thought streams that arise, if a strong condition arises that draws you away from the breath you can note it and be with it for awhile, and then return your awareness back to your breathing
   
   Examples:
   

9. •if at some point you hear a siren, you could mentally note “hearing a siren,” and then perhaps notice the arising, abiding and dissolving nature of the sound
   

10. •if at some point you begin to feel cold, you could mentally note “feeling cold,” and then perhaps notice where exactly you feel cold, if all of your body feels cold or just parts of it, and the arising and abiding feeling of being cold, as well as if the feeling of cold seems to dissolve a little (or even completely) under your continued observation
    

11. •if at some point you begin to feel anxious, you could mentally note “feeling anxious,” and then perhaps notice where precisely you are feeling the anxiety, its arising and abiding nature, and if the intensity of the feeling dissolves a little (or even completely) under your continued observation
    

12. With practice, you will become more adept at which conditions and thoughts to let pass and which to note -- the idea is to strike a balance between concentration on the breath and the mindful observation/investigation of where the mind goes when it wanders via the noting process