Posture: April 16 - 22

You’ve created a welcoming space. You’ve arrived. Now pay attention to your physical posture. Be upright but not uptight. In other words, look for the sweet spot between attentiveness and restfulness. Too hard, too much effort, and you may experience pain or strain. Too soft, too relaxed and you may drift off or zone out. Be like Goldilocks and find the place that is “just right.”

My teacher, Jack Kornfield, advises us to sit on the earth as a king or queen, dignified and magnificent. A Serbian proverb says, “Be humble for you are made of earth. Be noble for you are made of stars.”

It doesn’t matter if you are sitting, standing, or lying down. Take whatever posture works best, which may differ from day to day. No bonus points for remaining perfectly still. You are not a monk. Move when you must, but move mindfully.

Practice

Inhabit your body. Bring all of you into your practice: mind, body, and heart. Listen to all three sources of knowing as you enter meditation. Discover the wisdom of the body. Use the breath as a way to tune into the aliveness of your being. Sit and know that you are sitting. Use all of your senses as a direct experience of life. Practice in this way and you might just get out of the head and discover a whole new way of being in the heart and in the world.