Starting Meditation by Relaxing the Body

[futuredaze]

Hey Bums,

 

I was doing a guided meditation course when I was at a Tibetan temple in India, and we begun the meditation with relaxing the body before going into a more basic awareness of the breath and sensation/thought, similar to Vipassana.  The relaxing of the body really helped me, and I have begun to integrate it with my daily meditation.

 

If you haven't tried relaxing the body, try it!  This particular meditation involved first relaxing the abdominal region, and then starting from the top of the head, gradually going down to the feet.  I have tried this before, starting with the top of the head (from the Goenka retreats), but I liked starting from the abdomen.  Starting from the center, the core.

 

I am not sure if this is correct, per-se, but with my in-breath, I like to focus on the part of my body, just being aware of it in a neutral way; and with the out-breath, I will try to relax or "let go" from this body part.  It feels amazing, as if the body part becomes totally opened up, healed and relaxed.  I remember reading in the book on Gurdjieff, "In Search of the Miraculous" by his student, Ouspensky, that relaxing the body in such a way will increase your overall energy.  I have definitely noticed an increase of energy, but it is subtle.  I expect a more prominent change if done more regularly & skillfully.

 

Let me know if you have tried this, or are interested in trying this.  I'd be happy to try to give a more-detailed instruction.

 

Blessings,

Futuredaze