Posture As A Grounding Method

[shibumi]

Hello,
I've found that my magic number for meditation seems to be around 30minutes once per day in the morning. Anything more spaces me out for the rest of the day - anything less seems to give me anxiety for some reason. The standard 20 minutes a day puts me in a dazed and anxious state - can't for the life of me figure out why.

Now hitting 30minutes at times leaves me with a bit of residual energy release and at times slight agitation for a bit.
 
I've been playing with some techniques to ground myself and one thing that seems to work is if after my regular meditation I sit in an erect zazen type posture on the ground with eyes open. My attention is on my posture and my spine is erect. I end up sitting for about 5 minutes or less most of the time in this posture.

This seems to ground me some. My question is - is this a real grounding method - is this something that anyone knows is used in other traditions - does it seem like a legit method to ground?
I can't remember what made me start doing this. Has anyone else used something along these lines and am I hurting my regular meditation in some way by adding this at the end for 5 mins?

Shibumi

[JDH]

Resting for a while after meditation is highly recommended to avoid that agitated feeling.  So it's good to sit or lie down for 5 minutes afterward.  You might even call it the most important grounding method.

http://www.aypsite.com/plus/15.html

If you mean that this sitting on ground is in addition to your normal rest, then it's also fine.  Although I haven't tried it, lots of people on the forum say that walking barefoot on the ground, sitting on the ground, lying on the ground - are all good grounding techniques.

[shibumi]

I mean in addition to my regular meditation including my few minutes of rest at the end.
 
What I'm asking about has less to do with being on the ground (although this is where I sit afterward)and more to do with maintaining a still erect sitting posture in an effort to center or ground/calm the excess energy release. When engaged in my regular 30 minutes - I usually sit comfortably in an armchair.

[AumNaturel]

It is recommended that you use a comfortable position, so the armchair is probably a good idea.

You do bring a good question to which I don't know the answer to. Maybe my experience might help in figuring it out.

I've started meditation before coming to ayp with conventional cross-legged on a pillow and self-made wooden prop (not a good posture in any way) which naturally transitioned to burmese posture, with a sock, on a simple folded towel (legs parallel each other) though it isn't entirely good on the ankles and can't transition to quarter lotus without putting strain on lower back, to which a zazen pillow (zafu) might be the answer.

As much as I worry that the posture might be interfering with meditation and my energy levels due to not being entirely balanced and relaxed, it just feels very good. I don't know the true meaning of grounding or overloading (though in the past I did get persistent head pressure from standing meditation) even though I've done grounding practices in the past, yet there is something about sitting that makes all that worth it, part of which no doubt is the reward of a very gradual transition to becoming more stable and comfortable.

"Pranayama and meditation interact with the effects of siddhasana to greatly expand the flow of prana and pure bliss consciousness" -Lesson 75.

oh, and welcome to the forums, shibumi!

[Swan]

quote:Originally posted by shibumi

Hello,
 
I can't remember what made me start doing this. Has anyone else used something along these lines and am I hurting my regular meditation in some way by adding this at the end for 5 mins?

Shibumi

hi Shibumi ...

if you are doing the practices in proper manner, then resting also for couple of minutes - it sounds like you are doing well and your 'practice' session ends with the rest you are taking. Then you can go back to your daily life, and ofcourse you may sit erect for a while if you feel this helps.

I do not know excatly what kind of pose you practice (along with erect spine) but may be you are close to some asana - and yes, asanas have grounding effects also.

So I think you can continue with this, just be watchful for if anything changes.

you do not remember how you started it - to me this means that your inner guru may have chosen this for you. I believe this is a good sign.

all the best ...

[shibumi]

Thanks for the input all - it's much appreciated. Swan, for my regular deep meditation I sit in an armchair, with back support.  After approximately 30 minutes I rest in the same position for 2-5 minutes. Then I get up and using a zafu I sit on the floor in seiza (kneeling on my knees/using zafu). My hands are on my knees or folded in mudra on my lap, my back/spine erect and my eyes are open. I just sit and focus on maintaining my posture for about 5 to 10 mins. So it is like adding zazen for a few mins afterward. This seems to eliminate any foggy spaced out feelings and tames excess energy release for me dramatically.

[Swan]

Sounds like close to vajrasana or simhasana (minus the vocal exercise), but the point is - do not think too much about it. As Yogani says - it is a simple process but our mind has a tendency to make it complex.

As said above, I think sitting like that after practice will do no harm ... keep gliding easily

Love

[AumNaturel]

shibumi, I don't know about the anxiety and excess energy release portions, but after reading "spaces me out for the rest of the day..." and "foggy spaced out feelings" two questions comes up for you: do you experience the same symptoms if you try to take a nap at around your regular meditation times about the same length of time? Do other certain activities (like sitting at a computer doing nothing intently or watching a movie) also give similar symptoms?

I am asking because in the past (at least before doing regular sitting practices) any activity that did not involve some sort of physical and/or mental effort or concentration that would go on too long would scatter and dissolve my 'cohesiveness.' At one point, prior to mantra meditation, if I relaxed silently too much into sitting meditation (~1h of sitting silently), even that would cause me to feel the same symptoms you describe.

Then again you do mention anxiety and excess energy, so maybe the cause of what you describe might be more to do with opening and grounding than what I am pondering, but it's worth a try.

[shibumi]

Aum - I think you may have something there - if I spend time sitting at a computer or watching tv I do get similar symptoms. From your post it sounds like you experienced the same? How did you resolve it?

One thing that's been perplexing me for the past few years is my session length. I practice TM. TM and DM are pretty much identical. When I meditate for the suggested 20minutes or less - I feel anxious, spaced out and submissive, depressed and uncentered. Very much unlike my normal personality. I've tested this out again and again. The TM instructors have no answer for me - throwing out the usual 'stress release' jargon.
However when I meditate for 30 minutes or slightly longer I feel much better - centered, energetic, and 'freed up'. I only meditate once a day since I do the 30mins instead of 20. I know that Deepak Chopra's primordial sound and the Scandinavian ACEM meditation systems both use 30 or 45 minute sessions. I am certain both systems are re-packaged TM based on the reading I have done on them. I would just like to make sure I'm not doing myself any harm by meditaing 30 mins once a day vs 20 in the long run.

[AumNaturel]

shibumi, some suggestions are to keep up a healthy lifestyle (restful sleep, exercise, nutrition) and moderate activities to try and minimize stress and overworking. I am going by a few clues picked up from various sources and personal experience but don't have it quite figured out yet. I found spinal breathing to be helpful, as well as choosing a meditation posture that calls for a little bit of body-centered awareness (siddhasana is one recommended in ayp, or variations of it). The ayp asanas finished with siddhasana also allow the mind and body to tense and release to encourage relaxation that works somewhat like a power nap. But these little things can become a type of endless micro-managing that does not go anywhere, so the very best thing I believe is the continued cultivation of the witness. As it finds its way into daily life naturally, all those 'little things' will probably happen on their own. Until then, experiment for yourself and do whatever you need to keep up the DM until it feeds back to smooth itself out.