There’s a lot of information online about how to start meditating so my two cents are hardly needed, but here goes nothing…
When I start, I like to focus on a few simple things:
- Sit up straight
- Stay still
- Stay relaxed
- Wait
I tend to use a Zafu, a Zabuton and sit in Half Lotus (my left knee has suffered several injuries over the years)
Let me cover each of these 4 concepts in a little more detail.
Sitting straight means gently pulling the crown of your head toward the ceiling and tucking your chin slightly in to help elongate the back of your neck. During group meditation, Nishijima Sensei used to get up, walk across the Zendo, and adjust peoples necks. He adjusted my neck many times during my first year at the Dojo.
Staying still means just trying to stay still. Actually, there is no “still” in reality. Everything is always moving and changing. When I’m at my stillest I feel my heart beating and my body rocking back and forth to each beat. Just by trying to be still you notice your perpetual movement and end up staying in the present.
Stay relaxed means trying not to allow tension to grow anywhere in your body. This will help a lot once you start sitting longer or join a meditation retreat where any slight tension will grow into pretty significant pain over time. Scanning your body for tension will also help you stay in the present.
Wait means just waiting until your done meditating. This can be done with a timer or with a bell ringer if you’re sitting with a friend. Sometimes I stop just a few minutes after reaching a quiet state of mind if I’m not using a timer.
Here’s a few ideas regarding not thinking.
- It’s not special, it’s just the normal way your mind already is.
- Any focus that helps you stay in the present will help quiet your mind.
- You are already always in the present, you just might not always be aware of it.
- You can meditate sitting on a zafu, bench, chair, whatever works for you. A quiet mind is not dependent on any specific posture.
Other issues that come up:
Knee pain?
Generally speaking, I think that associating meditation with pain is not great for your long term relationship with the practice. Many schools of thought recommend suffering through the pain. This may have some benefits (self control/delayed gratification) and I certainly took this approach when I was young. Nishijima Sensei said many times that if you were uncomfortable you could adjust and move as needed. Now I think if you have a lot of pain you should re-position your legs/knees as needed. A little pain can be experienced for a long time but a lot of pain is there for a reason; you are injuring yourself. If you feel you should move, and you’re meditating with others, just try to be quiet and respectful. Remember, you can move with a quiet, aware mind.
Saliva, swallowing? Salivary glands are controlled by the autonomic nervous system. They help maintain the health of your gums, prevent tooth decay and provide disease-fighting substances to prevent cavities and other infections. Don’t worry about your saliva, just swallow as needed like you’ve done since you were born. Some practitioners and teachers get good at letting saliva drain down the back of their throat, or just holding the saliva until the end of the period, of course either way is fine and preferred in some circles but swallowing is a natural animal behavior and you should be able to do it without disturbing your quiet mental awareness of the present.
Back pain? As with knee pain, re-adjusting can be very helpful and allow you to get back to a more peaceful, comfortable state. If you want to power or suffer through it, than by all means, go for it. Now days I feel that life is hard enough, and I don’t want to make meditation hard as well.
The back extension exercise below has really helped eliminate back pain while sitting in meditation.
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Lastly, I practice Shikantaza which roughly means “just sitting” in Japanese. If you want more information regarding this specific type of meditation, google will give you a lot of good information. Below is a video of Zen Master Nishijima explaining the Zazen practice or Shikantaza.