SadhanaOriental Meditation and Christian Prayer
To pray with body (taking a breath)
[24] For further learning (1) – Posture and breathing -
We take sufficient time to meditate according to each section on this website.
By firmly establishing the foundation, we can achieve a happier state of mind.As we progress through the process of praying using our body, we can develop an excellent “way of being” through the efforts over a long period of time. Here is the summary of how we can develop ourselves in the course of such efforts.
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We start with developing a good posture.
We sit on a floor pillow or a stool, straighten our upper body, open our chest, and rest still. We put strength only in the muscle that is needed to straighten our lower back bone. We keep using this muscle throughout our sitting.
Other than the part where we put strength to straighten the lower back, there is no tension in our body. We are relaxed. The body is straight, but we feel comfortable. As time goes by, we can really see the benefit of this posture. We tend not to get tired for a long period of time. We find ourselves feeling more comfortable in this posture than in other postures. We start with getting the right posture, and we end up with getting more freedom.
As for breathing, we first try to feel the air flow at the tip of and inside the nose as well as the upper lip. Then, we tried some other ways of breathing. As we pay attention to breathing, we become able to breathe more smoothly. Eliminating unevenness, we improve the volume and depth of breathing in a natural manner. (We put more emphasis on exhaling, trying to exhale completely, but not in a forced manner). This breathing is supported by the right posture.
As we pay attention to breathing, we feel more refreshed both physically and mentally. It is also associated with the calm, peaceful, and free state of mind.
We have learned how to be united with our body and breathing, which decreases unnecessary thoughts.
We haven’t connected this directly with our faith, but we can already feel that our valuable aspect has been growing. And we start to feel that we want to sit for a sufficient period of time every day.
This will help us remain calm and composed in various situations in our lives. And even when something disturbs or confuses us, we can go back to our normal state by paying attention to our posture and breathing.
It is the fruit of long training.