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Preparing for Meaningful Meditation When we are first learning to meditate, we often sabotage our own efforts by not going through our warm-up exercises. They are as important to meditation as they are to an effective performance by an athlete. It is impossible to set a time for productive meditation without the body, mind and spirit being in a state of comfort. As individuals, we may find different avenues for reaching this state, but I would highly recommend consideration of those suggested by Helen Molyneaux Salisbury, a teacher of Body-Mind Co-Ordination. My own regimen consists of getting before my computer with my favorite CD playing, reading something(s) inspirational until the mood begins to alter. I slowly find myself entering a quiet state of serenity where I feel free of encumbrance. In this state, I frequently move on through meditating to writing which enhances feelings of love and creates additional flow. In this mode, my meditations continue for hours if uninterrupted by the world.
Helen Molyneaux Salisbury suggests, "What the body does during prayer and meditation is almost as important as what the mind and spirit do....
We are in reality thinking an impossibility when we talk about relaxing the average un-coordinated mind-body organism during prayer, until we have tackled the root-problem of coordination during all one's hours...
The place to begin to relax is in the neck, which is not only the bridge between the body and the head but is also the key which locks or unlocks most of the body's tensions....The best way is not to try at all, but simply to sit quietly and wait, mentally stepping aside and allowing the neck to relax itself in its own skillful way.
Even after the neck is relaxed, the eyes may need special consideration. For most eyes have from childhood built up a habit of strain which it sometimes takes patience to overcome. One may need to stop a moment and remind the eyes to let go....
Slow, rhythmic breathing is a great means to body-mind relaxation and has always been considered one of the chief steps in acquiring that serenity and poise which must precede and accompany fruitful meditation...
The first thing to remember is to begin slowly. Think about breathing for only very short periods at first, then gradually increase the time. The second thing to remember is that nobody has to strain to take in air. Our world of atmospheric pressure gives us freely each breath of air in good measure....Much harm can be done by forgetting to be receivers only and trying to be grabbers.
Another point to remember is that the air as it comes in should go as far back in the body as possible...
...the position of the body during prayer is important. It should be a relaxed and balanced position....
All these matters of breathing, posture and physical relaxation may seem entirely too physiological to be important to anyone whose chief concern is with his spirit. They may, however, make the difference between a blocked channel and one that is open for the waters of God to flow through. In a matter of such supreme import no detail is unworthy of our serious attention and action.
Helen Molyneaux Salisbury, 1883-1958.
American poet, teacher of Body-Mind Co-Ordination.
Written for The Choice is Always Ours
Spirit - Finding Hope in a World of Uncertainty