1. Your spine should be upright, following its natural tendency to be
slightly hollowed. You should neither be slumped nor have an exaggerated hollow in your lower spine.

2. Your spine should be relaxed.

3. Your shoulders should be relaxed, and slightly rolled back and down.

4. Your hands should be supported, either resting on a cushion or on
your lap, so that your arms are relaxed.

5. Your head should be balanced evenly, with your chin slightly tucked
in. The back of your neck should be relaxed, long, and open.

6. Your face should be relaxed, with your brow smooth, your eyes
relaxed, your jaw relaxed, and your tongue relaxed and just touching
the back of your teeth.

What Should We Sit On During Meditations?

There are various ways in which we can sit while we are meditating. We can meditate on a chair, a cushion, a wooden stool, or just sitting on the ground. According to the ancient theories it is best to just sit on the ground because then you are firmly earthed. We make a connection with both the earth and heaven. We sit like a mountain, firmly nailed to the ground and we radiate balance and presence.

Sometimes it is said that it is good to look in the direction of the magnetic poles of the earth, so towards the north or the south. In our view it is not necessary to sit on the ground or facing the right direction. Do not make things too hard for yourself at first, experiment and experience the differences. On the other hand it is important to bring about a certain pattern in your posture after some time so that your body will recognise this posture as your meditation posture and will associate it with relaxation. This will help you to reach a deep state of meditation faster and with greater ease as soon as you start to meditate.

Unfortunately sitting on the ground without any support causes back problems for many people and this makes it necessary for many of us to sit on a chair or a cushion to meditate.

Meditating on a chair

Many people start with a posture that is too hard for them. It is best to start meditating while sitting on a chair. If you want to meditate in a chair take one with a straight back that is not too high. See to it that your upper legs and your lower legs form an angle of 90 degrees and let both feet rest flat on the ground. If you do not meet these requirements there is a good chance that your body will start to compensate and you will begin to sit crooked or with a hollow back. And this can lead to aches and irritations. If it is possible try not to let your upper body rest against the back of the chair. If we are supported we will have to change our position sooner or later because we are sitting in a position that is not natural. It may help to choose a chair of which the seat slightly slopes down. If you feel you have to lean against something, then that is not such a problem at first. But, the more we can sit straight without any support the better we will develop alertness and awareness.

Meditating on a cushion

Though sitting on a chair is a fine posture it does not feel so satisfactory as sitting on the floor. When we are sitting on the floor we feel better earthed. Many meditators sit on a special meditation cushion, called zafu, because sitting on the ground without a cushion often leads to back aches. The most important thing we should pay attention to when buying a zafu is the height. When the zafu is too high we will often sit with a hollow back and when it is too low we will have a tendency to bend. When you can sit up straight easily the height is all right.

What do we do with our Body when we are Meditating?

In Meditation, proper posture is very important. It involves the right positioning of the different parts of the body. In this section, know what to do with your body while meditating.

What to do with the eyes

Seeing and observing through our eyes is one of our five senses which influence our meditation. When we look through our eyes we direct our attention outwards. Stress and tension often go together with restless eyes. When there is danger our pupils become wider, when we relax our pupils become smaller. Our eyes have a direct relation with the activity of our thinking. We can meditate with our eyes open or closed. We can also meditate with eyes that are half open. Experiment with the various possibilities and discover your own favourite eye position. Here is an outline of the various characteristics of the different positions of the eyes.

1. Closed eyes
   When we keep our eyes closed, it helps us to direct our focus more inward and we are not easily distracted by things or situations that we can see in front of our eyes. A disadvantage of closing eyes is that we will more easily start to daydream, to think or to fall asleep.
2. Open eyes
   Keeping our eyes open will help us to focus more on things that are taking place outside ourselves. This makes it easier to apply the technique and the philosophy of meditation in our normal daily lives. But, a good concentration is a necessary requirement. Both internal and external stimuli can distract you and this makes this position for many people a bit more difficult than the closed eyes position. If you prefer to meditate with your eyes open it may help to sit down in front of a wall or in very peaceful surroundings to minimise the risk of distraction. Keeping your eyes open is also useful in avoiding sleep during meditations.
3. Eyes half open
   The half open but staring position is a combination of the possibilities mentioned above. As we get more restless we close our eyes a little more and as we get sleepier we open our eyes more. This position is also called looking with a soft focus. Sometimes during your meditation your eyes will automatically open or close and that is fine. Those who wear glasses should do their own experimentation as regards the question whether they like meditating with or without their glasses better. However, meditating with your eyes open without wearing your glasses can cause sleepiness.

What to do with your head

The position of the head is very important. Visualise as if a string is attached to the top of your head and that this string keeps your head in its position. The head should be well balanced and without any effort it should be suspended on top of your spine. The chin is a little drawn back and this causes the neck and shoulders to relax. If you draw back the chin too much and your head hangs forward this may make you sleepy and bored. If your head hangs too much backwards this makes your thoughts become more active and you become more restless. When you sit up straight with an outstretched neck it feels as if your head becomes more or less weightless. This means that it is important to be well balanced so that you can be aware of your thoughts without getting lost in them.

What to do with your mouth, your jaw and your tongue

We often close our mouth slightly when we are meditating. This means that in general our mouth is closed without pressing the jaws together. The jaw is an area where tension easily manifests itself. When we relax we often see that the lower jaw more and more begins to droop and the mouth opens a little in the form of a circle. It looks a bit as if you get a lazy, soft look on your face. That is fine and a sign that you are relaxing. It is a good thing to keep your tongue against your palate. This means that it cannot start to roll and it also helps to stop your inner dialogue.

What Do We Do With Our Hands

The arms are very heavy. When the hands do not rest on something the shoulders have to carry everything. During our meditation our hands rest on our knees or in our lap. As a result of this, the arms can relax. The tradition is to let the hands rest on the thighs or the knees with the tips of the thumbs and the forefingers of either hand touching each other in chin mudra. In the chin mudra position the Chi, Ki or Prana (energy) in the meridians is supposed to be able to stream freely to the fingertips and back through the arms. If you do not like this position then you let your hands rest in an open position on your thighs or knees.

The Dalai Lama and many monks often meditate in the position of meditative equilibrium. In this position you place your hands four finger-widths under your navel, the right hand on top of the left hand and you put your thumbs together in such a way that they form a triangle. The placing of the hands in this way has to do with the area in the body where the inner warmth is produced.

In magazines you often see pictures of hands in a prayer posture. Some people use this position before or after a meditation to express their gratitude for the session or for other things but this is certainly no obligatory part of every form of meditation.

It is good to experiment with various positions of your hands. In the long run it is important to get a fixed pattern in your posture so that your body will recognise this posture as a meditation posture and will associate it with relaxation. This will help you to get into a deep meditative state more easily and faster as soon as you start to meditate.

How to Deal with Physical Pain?

When you are meditating it is generally advisable to resist a first impulse to change your posture as soon as you experience physical pain. We direct our attention to the experience of the ache and try to welcome it as a challenge instead of something unpleasant. This gives us a chance to observe our automatic reactions and the process that we go through when our concentration is disrupted and we get irritated. Observe how the body and the mind react to each other. Learn to accept the aches and learn to stay relaxed in spite of the aches. If you accept the pain, the character and the intensity of the pain will change. If you cannot avoid it, then change your posture. Do this with great awareness. Starters in the field of meditation experience most trouble with aches in the back, the legs and the knees. The right meditation posture may be hard for them to put into practice because they have little experience with meditation. When you are a beginner do not make things too hard for yourself and do not hesitate to start meditating on a chair or a cushion. Realise that when you meditate more often in the course of time most aches will disappear.

Tip: When you regularly experience slight aches in your body while meditating it is advisable to do some stretch exercises before you start meditating.

Practising meditation

Whatever your preferred technique, it helps in the beginning to have a quiet place, a comfortable sitting position and around five minutes to half an hour without outside distractions. Set an alarm if you don’t want to lose track of time. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to sit cross-legged on the floor in order to meditate. You can sit in a chair or sit up in bed. You might just fall asleep, however, if you try to meditate lying down which defeats the purpose of doing it.

Meditating every day at around the same time can help to develop a regular habit and make it easier and quicker to slip into deeply meditative states. Although you can master meditation by yourself, some people prefer to attend classes and learn in a group from an experienced teacher.

Trying too hard
Trying to meditate is a lot like trying to sleep – attempting to force it can often make it more difficult. Thinking of a meditation session as a chance to relax rather than as a discipline you have to master, can make a great difference. If your attention wanders, practise acceptance and avoid getting annoyed with yourself. Simply direct your attention back to what you are doing and experience the moment.

Special considerations
In the instance of serious mental illness, meditation should be used under expert guidance, and if done alone extreme caution should be exercised.

Where to get help

• Your doctor
• Yoga, Qi Gong and Tai Chi teachers
• Meditation teachers

Things to remember

• Meditation is the deliberate focusing of attention to bring about feelings of calm and heightened energy and awareness.
• Regular meditation offers many health benefits, such as reduced stress.
• Reduced blood pressure, and enhanced healing.
• There are many different ways to meditate, such as using a mantra, looking at an object, or focusing on the breath.