Preliminary steps to meditation

[Ima Freeman]

I practice meditation consistently for some time now, sometimes doing phases of krya yoga.


Recently I read the Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Meditation is only the seventh limb of his system.
Before that there is a lot of preliminary work to do, like moral conduct or concentration.


I heard Sadhguru talk about mediation in the west as sleeping in an upright posture.
And looking at my practice, that’s what I do most of the time.
I sit there and try to watch my thoughts, but most of the time my presence is cut of and random racing thoughts dominate my mindscape.


On other occasions I heard too, that one should prepare themselves for meditation and that there are many preliminary steps beforehand.


But many spiritual mentors in the west, Leo included, suggest everyone to meditate daily.
Is there a misunderstanding in how to achieve the state of meditation in the west? Should one practice meditation, even if it is apparent that there are serious blocks present?

[BipolarGrowth]

When you’re meditating, remember that the thoughts mean almost nothing to the process. You can have a weak session with little to no thoughts and a great session while plenty of thoughts are occurring. What you’re trying to do is stabilize your attention on something enough to gain some penetrative insight. You can still stabilize your attention to a great degree even while “distractions” such as thoughts or other sensations arise. 
 

As far as preparing to meditate goes, being in a calm and alert state prior to meditation will make it easy to get the ball rolling. Hatha yoga puts me in a state which is quite conducive to meditation, so you could give that a try before meditating if you haven’t already. 

[Ima Freeman]

On 5.3.2023 at 9:47 AM, BipolarGrowth said:

As far as preparing to meditate goes, being in a calm and alert state prior to meditation will make it easy to get the ball rolling. Hatha yoga puts me in a state which is quite conducive to meditation, so you could give that a try before meditating if you haven’t already. 

I always do some leg and back stretching before meditation, so I can comfortably hold my posture.
What practices do you mean?

What I originally meant was preparation in an larger context.
Like, when you enter a gym for the first time, you wouldn't bench press your own body weight in the first attempt.
Theres a lot of training that goes before that.

[Salvijus]

As far as i know both ways are valid. U can prepare your body, the flow of chi, mind and then develop meditation as a natural quality. Or u can simply jump into meditation from the start... 

Hmmm... it's just that there more then one way of achieving something. Hence u get different suggestions on how to achieve meditation. But both ways are legit imo.

But talking about u in particular, simply sitting and dreaming may not be of most benefit. So in your case preparing the body mind and energy first through other practices would be more helpful perhaps. 

See. It depends on the individual. There're as many paths as there're people. Simply jumping into meditation from the start works as well for some people.

Edited March 6, 2023 by Salvijus

[PeaceOut96]

@Ima Freeman You need to be awake and present. Just sit upright with a straight back. U can even sit on a chair you don't need to sit cross legged. Just allow everything to come up. Radical acceptance, and than just observe. Don't have any goals. Just observe in a alert state and allow everything to happen. 

Edited March 6, 2023 by PeaceOut96

[tuku747]

 

meditation is very, very, very, simple

 

very, very, very, simple...