| Author |
I need some help with meditation
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| mamadu@islamabad.net 2006-08-29, 4:27 pm |
| Hi,
I am an (-: almost :-) total yoga newbie with only 3 weeks(!) of daily
yoga practice behind me. I have been following Alan Finger's ISHTA
yoga techniques taken from various DVDs and two of his books
("Introduction to Yoga" and "Chakra Yoga"). I also read up on yoga
with three books by Richard Hittleman and one book by Swami
Vishnu-devananda.
After what I can only refer to as a *blissfull* three weeks of asanas,
vinyasas and ujaic breating I am now making my very first steps into
meditation techniques and I have a couple of very basic questions I
want to ask you:
1) before beginning the meditation ISHTA yoga techniques make the
student practive a number of ananas including the 'moving cat seal'
which includes the 'extended cat seal' pose. Since I am about 50
pounds overweight this presses my stomach into me knees and does not
allow me to full sit back on my heels. Can I motify this ananas by
spreading my knees (while keeping my feet together) and letting my
belly sag between them?
2) on the DVDs Alan Finger mentions mantras to be used during the
meditations. I am unclear about something. Should I "say" them
silently in my head or should I actually speak them out loud?
3) on the DVDs Alan Finger and Lisa Benett are sitting on what appears
to be comfortable meditation pads/large pillows (not at all like yoga
mats but much thicker and shorter - about the surface of one
cross-legged sitting person) and Lisa also sits on top of a second
pillow placed under her buttocks. Several books suggest that this
makes cross legged poses more comfortable for beginners. I have
purchased a foam block which elevates me somewhat and makes sitting
cross legged easier but I still get "pins and needles" feelings in my
legs after a while. Where could I get a good quality equipment like
what they use in the DVDs? I would love to get a good meditation
mat/pillow and soft sitbone support pillow I could use together. Will
these "pins and needles" feelings eventually pass?
Many thanks for your help & pointers!
Kind regards,
M
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| danijel dubicanac 2006-08-29, 4:27 pm |
| hi mamadu,
>
> 1) before beginning the meditation ISHTA yoga techniques make the
> student practive a number of ananas including the 'moving cat seal'
> which includes the 'extended cat seal' pose. Since I am about 50
> pounds overweight this presses my stomach into me knees and does not
> allow me to full sit back on my heels. Can I motify this ananas by
> spreading my knees (while keeping my feet together) and letting my
> belly sag between them?
go ahead. stick to the principle, rather than outer form. you should be
comfortable in position.
>
> 2) on the DVDs Alan Finger mentions mantras to be used during the
> meditations. I am unclear about something. Should I "say" them
> silently in my head or should I actually speak them out loud?
>
both is ok. silent repetition is said to be more powerful, but if you have
difficulties concentrating,
saying mantra aloud and listening to it sure does help.
> 3) on the DVDs Alan Finger and Lisa Benett are sitting on what appears
> to be comfortable meditation pads/large pillows (not at all like yoga
> mats but much thicker and shorter - about the surface of one
> cross-legged sitting person) and Lisa also sits on top of a second
> pillow placed under her buttocks. Several books suggest that this
> makes cross legged poses more comfortable for beginners. I have
> purchased a foam block which elevates me somewhat and makes sitting
> cross legged easier but I still get "pins and needles" feelings in my
> legs after a while. Where could I get a good quality equipment like
> what they use in the DVDs? I would love to get a good meditation
> mat/pillow and soft sitbone support pillow I could use together. Will
> these "pins and needles" feelings eventually pass?
>
you might try with a blanket over the block or just sit on thick rolled
blanket
the idea is to support the lower back. pins will pass, just don't force it.
best luck, danijel dubicanac
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| On 2006-08-29 07:02:02 -0700, mamadu@islamabad.net said:
> Hi,
>
> I am an (-: almost :-) total yoga newbie with only 3 weeks(!) of daily
> yoga practice behind me. I have been following Alan Finger's ISHTA
> yoga techniques taken from various DVDs and two of his books
> ("Introduction to Yoga" and "Chakra Yoga"). I also read up on yoga
> with three books by Richard Hittleman and one book by Swami
> Vishnu-devananda.
>
> After what I can only refer to as a *blissfull* three weeks of asanas,
> vinyasas and ujaic breating I am now making my very first steps into
> meditation techniques and I have a couple of very basic questions I
> want to ask you:
>
> 1) before beginning the meditation ISHTA yoga techniques make the
> student practive a number of ananas including the 'moving cat seal'
> which includes the 'extended cat seal' pose. Since I am about 50
> pounds overweight this presses my stomach into me knees and does not
> allow me to full sit back on my heels. Can I motify this ananas by
> spreading my knees (while keeping my feet together) and letting my
> belly sag between them?
There was a discussion a while back about focusing on one form of yoga
or trying different types. I am of the philosophy that as a beginner
you are best served trying different types of yoga then getting an idea
which resonates best with you.
Get yourself some form of Iyengar yoga DVD so that you can learn the
ways to modify poses for your body.
I am supposing that you "Cat-seal" is (balasana) childs pose. Here is
a link about supported poses by an Iyengar teacher.
http://www.yogajournal.com/newtoyoga/1452_1.cfm
Notice how they discuss the importance of alignment.
Yes you may spread your knees. And yes you may rest your forehead on a
block and blanket so you don't strain your back.
>
> 2) on the DVDs Alan Finger mentions mantras to be used during the
> meditations. I am unclear about something. Should I "say" them
> silently in my head or should I actually speak them out loud?
Check out http://www.wildmind.org/ This sight is an excellent
introduction to meditation. He surveys the various forms including
mantra meditation and has real player guided meditations that are quite
good.
Then find a real meditation teacher and learn from a person one on one.
>
> 3) on the DVDs Alan Finger and Lisa Benett are sitting on what appears
> to be comfortable meditation pads/large pillows (not at all like yoga
> mats but much thicker and shorter - about the surface of one
> cross-legged sitting person) and Lisa also sits on top of a second
> pillow placed under her buttocks. Several books suggest that this
> makes cross legged poses more comfortable for beginners. I have
> purchased a foam block which elevates me somewhat and makes sitting
> cross legged easier but I still get "pins and needles" feelings in my
> legs after a while. Where could I get a good quality equipment like
> what they use in the DVDs? I would love to get a good meditation
> mat/pillow and soft sitbone support pillow I could use together. Will
> these "pins and needles" feelings eventually pass?
Here are a few things you can do:
Make sure your butt is elevated on several layers of blankets. Maybe a
good 6 inches of firm cushioning.
The femur bones should be parallel with the floor. If the knees are
still sticking up, use more blankets. A wood block is too hard and is
cutting off circulation, hence the pins and needles.
Fold some blankets and put them under your knees to support the knees.
Both knees should be at the same level. Use the blankets to get the
same level.
Roll a blanket or use a lumbar pillow and put it between the lumbar
spine and the wall. This will give you back support without closing in
the chest.
I can take a picture of my set up and send it to you.
>
> Many thanks for your help & pointers!
>
> Kind regards,
>
> M
Props are available from Hugger Mugger
http://www.huggermugger.com/wstore/ , Yoga Pro http://www.yogapro.com/
and countless others. If you get a copy of the Yoga journal there are
hundreds of prop stores. I like Hugger Mugger the best. These days
many sporting good stores also have some props for sale.
However I make many of my own props. Thick army surplus wool blankets
and cheap Mexican blankets work well. Blocks can be cut at a lumber
store and then sanded and finished.
Hope this helps. Enjoy.
--
~Stu
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| Mamadu.Bwana@gmail.com 2006-08-30, 4:33 pm |
| Stu wrote:
> Roll a blanket or use a lumbar pillow and put it between the lumbar
> spine and the wall. This will give you back support without closing in
> the chest.
>
> I can take a picture of my set up and send it to you.
(...)
> However I make many of my own props. Thick army surplus wool blankets
> and cheap Mexican blankets work well. Blocks can be cut at a lumber
> store and then sanded and finished.
Dear friends,
Thank you to all for your kind pointers and comments. I would be
extremely interested in seeing what kind of props you use and/or make.
Since my original ISP email account has crashed for some reason, I have
opened a new account at:
Mamadu.Bwana@gmail.com
Please use it and forget about the mamadu@islamabad.net one.
I would gratefully accept your kind offer to send me photos of your
props and how you use them.
As you correctly noted - the foam blocks are too hard and they cut
circulation to my legs. I would very much like to have a think
pad/blanket to sit on and then some cusion to elevate my seat to.
Finally, due to my back problems I will have to sit along a wall to be
really comfortable.
Amazon has something called a Zafu-Zabuton Set but the only review
really trashes it as useless and poorly made.
Should I look for a Zafu/Zabuton comb somewhere on the net? This is
REALLY important to me and I am willing to pay up to 100 dollars for a
good setup to meditate comfortably.
Many thanks for your advice & pointers!
Kind regards,
M
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| On 2006-08-31 04:31:39 -0700, "danijel dubicanac" <danijel@burza.hr> said:
> http://www.zafu.net/benches.html
I don't find those benches comfortable at all. But I have a tender
behind and a bad back.
And as I said you can do the same with some carefully thick folded
blankets and maybe a pillow or two. I use mexican blankets, but I have
also seen people use wool army surplus blankets.
I will send some pictures.
--
~Stu
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| On 2006-08-31 23:27:37 -0700, jazzymike108@yahoo.com said:
> There are good meditation instructions at:
> http://www.bakemed.com/html/how_to_meditate.html
>
> Jazzy
Those are excellent instructions. Too bad what happened to Rama, he
seemed a great teacher.
--
~Stu
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| Mamadu.Bwana@gmail.com 2006-09-01, 9:35 pm |
| Stu wrote:
> I will send some pictures.
Great! I very much look forward to seeing how you did that! Thanks.
How about this Zafu/Zabuton combination? Is this something many people
use? I don't think a wooden bench would do the trick for me, and I
wonder how comfortable such a Zafu/Zabuton combo would be for a big
6"3/250lbs dude like me would be.
Any ideas?
Cheers,
M
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