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Samtalspartner helps people to reduce stress and tensions in body and mind. Our main tools are Gestalt therapy and Zen meditation
Zen meditation
Teacher: Per-Otto Sylwan
There are many different types of meditation. Some methods focus on parts of our consciousness and others are more focused on our whole being. Irrespective of method, meditation is mostly a good way to be with yourself, to come closer to yourself and to get more relaxed.
Zen meditation has been developed as part of the japanese zen buddhism. It is a very effective tool for deep relaxation bodily as well as mentaly. The art of Zen gives us better contact with the subconscious parts of our being and it helps us to link our hereandnow consciousness to our inner world. As the touch of zen thus will help us to link to our inner garden in time this will reduce stress in our systems for preparation and readiness and our level of tension will be reduced as well. When we get better contact with our inner self, we also automaticaly improve contact with the outside world. This will increase our vitality and joy of life and make us more creative. Regular practice in the art of zen meditation strengthens our conscious self, opens the heart chakra and improves balance bodily and mentaly. It also helps us to integrate parts of our beings which blocks perception and vitality. This gives us a more safe platform in life.
ZaZen / Zen meditation according to Soto-school tradition.
Zen meditation in Soto-School practise is focused on the central parts of our mind and
body. It is a very "clean" method which can easily be practised without mysticism and religious
inclinations. In Soto tradition "Zen" and "sitting" are the same.
The practise of meditation is called ZaZen which means "true sitting".
In Soto tradition there are no additional techniques like for instance choanes and similar
practises.
Doing ZaZen means just "sitting" and "being with yourself".
As our instrument for perception and feelings the body is very important
as focus for our mind. Breathing as the most obvious rythm in our body is together with body awareness central as an additional
"point" of focus.
Breathing becomes a kind of anchor and link between our conscious and subconscious mind.
The method is very simple and it does not matter if the practitioner has spiritual or psychological ambitions
or just wants to get more relaxed. Doing ZaZen works similarly for everyone irrespective of their
goals.
A more relaxed attitude to life, better health and improved wellbeing are among the more common rewards for most people
The method
Traditionally Zen meditation is practisized sitting in lotus, half lotus or diamond position.
Usually you sit on a small pillow or low chair. It is however quite possible to sit in an ordinary chair or in a sofa. It is more important to feel comfortable than doing "right". The lotus position is however valuable for several reasons. It is very functional physiologically as well as anathomically, which is important if you practise regularly. Apart from that the lotus position is important on a symbolical level. It is a very strong archetype which is widely spread all over the world and it is no less important than for instance the christian cross or the taoist yinyang symbol.
The lotus position must however not be overemphasized. The basic method in ZaZen is how you focus your mind and this practise does it´s work and give results irrespective of position. Zen meditation can therefore even be done lying down as long as you realise the complication that this also triggers our sleeping mechanisms. Falling asleep interrupts the process of meditation and is not to be recommended but it can happen when you are in a sitting position as well and if you are very tired it is probably better to get some sleep than to meditate.
If you want to practise ZaZen traditionally, sitting in an upright position, it is important to rest your weight on the"sitting bones" on both sides of your sacrum which requires that your spine / body is "balancing" vertically.
According to many teachers a good way to do this is to imagine yourself partly held up by a thread from your sacrum up through your spine and the backside of your skull.
The hands should be held in your lap with the backside of one hand resting in the palm of the other hand and the tips of your thumbs connecting above and opposed to your palms
ZaZen is mostly practised with your eyes open and your wiew resting 1,5 to 2 meters in front of your body
Step by step instruction
- Find a place. Start with finding a place to sit, a place where you can sit comfortably and without disturbances.
- Preparation Prepare your sitting place in a way which makes it comfortable and inviting. Avoid having strong light falling into your eyes. To sit i the direction of one of the earth poles or in 90 degrees to the polar axis is according to traditional teachings beneficial..
- Taking your position. Sit down on your choosen "place". Take your time and put some effort into finding a comfortable position. Your spine should be in a natural "straight" position, meaning considering the natural spinal curves. Rest your hands in your lap and let your eyes rest slightly down and straight ahead.
- Beginning and ending. Mark for yourself when you start meditating and do likewise when stopping. Putting your hands together in front of your chest and bowing slightly is a very common way to do this. Meditation is a training method and it is important to be clear and obvious as to when you start and end it. When you meditate together in a group it is not unusual that the leader or someone else mark beginning and end with a gong gong. When you meditate by yourself it is advisable to use some kind of clock with a tone signal to help telling you when it is time to stop your meditation.
- Time. How long time you want to sit is of course up to your own choise. It is however a very common practise to meditate somewhere between 15 and 25 minutes. If you are very buisy and it is hard to find your time to meditate, it is very important to decide in beforehand how long you are going to sit. In times of stress it is of great value to create a timespan where your only aim is to be with yourself. If you are not very occupied it is less important to decide the timespan in beforehand and under these circumstances you can sit as long as you like. It is however advisable to decide a minimum time. Meditating a short while is guite possible. Usually there is however something valuable happening whith your inner process when you meditate for at least about 10 minutes and you will probably miss this if you meditate for just a few minutes. In spite of that two minutes of meditation are better than not meditating at all.
- The process.
To do Zazen meditation is to sit in your choosen position and do "nothing at all except just sitting
there. You should not try to
relax, just let everything be for a while without consciously doing anything. Let gravity have it´s
effect. Give in to the sitting.
The only activity you should alow yourself is to very lightly without "grabbing" or using much effort let your mind focus on
your sitting body and your awareness of your "sitting self". As an additional focus your breathing is there and
you can let your awareness focus on the breathing rythm without interrupting it. If you are very tensed and it is hard to
stay with your body awareness you can focus a little more heavily on your
breathing. It is very important not to put to much effort in this
focusing of your mind. You just sit there and as soon as you realise that your mind is wandering you turn back very lightly to
let yourself focus again on your sitting body and what you percieve in your body including the breathing
rythm.
After a while you will probably realise that your thoughts have drifted away
again. Maybe you think about
something that happened yesterday or something that will happen tomorrow or maybe there are some memories or imaginations that draws your
mind away. Irrespective of what it is, you should as soon as you realise that you have drifted away, just very lightly focus
back on your sitting body. It is this drifting away and refocusing on yourself here and now that is the process of meditation.
This drifting away and refocusing will repeat itself over and over, again and again and little by little you will be more an more
able to just stay with yourself here and now. In time this will also "spread over" to your normal everyday activity and
awareness.
In Transcendental meditation like TM or ACEM the process is similar, but there you have a mantra ( a rythmical sound or word) which you repeat mentaly and use as a focus for your mind.
Remember that there is absolutly nothing wrong with thinking about something else or disappearing into some thoughts. This is the way we humans function. The same thing happens when you are about to fall asleep. You drift away in different kind of thoughts and/or memories. In most effective methods of meditation some kind of focusing of your mind is central as a way to strengthen your consciousness. But it is essential that this focusing is very subtle. To much effort will just be counteractive and increase tension instead of reducing it. Little by little this subtle focusing activity will uncharge your unconscious self an give help to increase mental freedom of choice. In time this will also give possibilities to experience how it is to be when you dont have any thoughts att all. - Finishing your meditation. When time is up and you are going to stop meditating it is as stated above very good if you can "mark" this for yourself in some way. A slight bow whith your hands together in front of your chest is a very good way to do this. To regain proper activity you should thereafter take a few deep breaths and stretch and move your body to prepare it for renewed activity. Dont rush into activity. Try instead to give yourself a few minutes before going into something new. Remember also that meditation is a training method and after stopping you should normally let go of the mental focusing activity which is the center of the method. It is especially important to stop focusing on your breathing. You should instead let your breathing be free and let it do its work without interferance. It is however guite ok to be more conscious in relation to both your body and your breathing. What is important is to stop the active focusing of your mind. Trust instead your subconscious self and your body and let your breathing "go it,s own way" without interfering.
- Meditation and illness. If you are unhealhy it is often quite possible to meditate anyway. It is however advisable that you are more careful and adapt to eventual bodily sympthoms. To do meditation should feel ok and well and it is important to respect your body and dont do anything that feels wrong. There is reason to belive that meditation is a good thing to do during most unhealthy conditions and that the relaxation that goes together with meditation is strengthening for both body and spirit. Some kind of illnesses like for instance acute infections can make it harder to meditate the way you are used to do. Be kind to yourself and take it easy. It can for instance be very good to close your eyes and / or sit differenly and more comfortably than usual if you suffer from an acute infection or some other tireing illness.
- Group meditation. It is very good to meditate together with other people. Group meditation in most cases creates a feeling of beeing at the same time separate and connected to others which can be very strengthening. It can also be very constructive to share your experiences with other likeminded people.
- Starting on your own or with the help of a teacher? I recommend that you start meditating with the help of an experienced teacher but it is of course quite possible to start on your own. The instruction given above gives good help to anyone who wants to do this. In many cases starting together with a teacher might help in the approach to the process of meditation. Having a teacher also often means learning in a group which can be very beneficial. A teacher might also help to avoid misstakes in the starting process. However I think it is important not to overemphasize having a teacher present and if you feel comfortable with starting on your own I recommend that you do so.
- More about the sitting position.
As mentioned above it is not nescessary to sit in a lotus position even if this is a good position. It is more important to
feel comfortable and well. As for myself I have for instance several times done my meditation sitting on a toilet chair with the
lid down. A toilet gives good privacy under circumstances when it is hard to find this. If you are sitting on a chair
it is very good to try to find a position where you rest on your "sitting bones" and have your spine in a natural "straight" way.
You can choose to sit with the soles of your feet against the floor
or with your feet drawn back in and under your body / the chair.
As for the hands it is very good to try to hold one hand resting in the palm of the other hand in the way described above. It is however quite ok to just let your hands rest in your lap.The so called Diamond position, with your knees forward and your feet behind sitting pillow and bottom
can be a good alternative if you want to sit on the floor but don´t find the lotus position comfortable enough.If you choose not to sit with your back vertical in a natural straight position. You should try to find symetry and some kind of "balance in some other way. It can for instance be very good to use pillows to give support if you want to lean back in a sofa or an armchair.
Best Regards
Copyright © 2002-2004 Per-Otto SylwanSome links
http://www.sotozen-net.or.jp/kokusai/kokusai.htm
http://www.sotozen-net.or.jp/kokusai/e_jiin.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/mo/goteborgzendojo/SSZF.html
For questions and contact use phone number:
+46-18 51 03 62 or +46-708 55 85 33 or use this
e-mail link.
Phone: +46-18-51 03 62 or +46-708-55 85 33
Copyright © 2002 by Per-Otto Sylwan
