A Million Thoughts: Learn All About Meditation from a Himalayan Mystic

An important point to remember is that your ability to sit still, the duration of staying in one posture increases gradually. If today you can sit still for 20 minutes, it may take you one year worth of sincere practice to reach 40 minutes. Most meditators, with effort and determination, can sit still for 45 minutes. The most difficult stretch to overcome is 45 minutes to 90 minutes.

This may take another year.

Once you are able to sit still for 90 minutes and meditate without aches and pain, you will jump in ten minute increments. Your ability to hold your meditative posture will increase to 100 minutes, 110 minutes, 120 minutes and so on. The next major hurdle will come at three hours. From a still posture of three hours to perfecting it so you may sit still for four hours at a stretch, unmoving, can easily take another one year. Reaching the six-hour limit from four hours, is relatively easier.

But let me tell you, the day you master four hours of stillness, you will be no less than a living Buddha, a siddha in flesh and bones. Anyone who can sit still for that long with full awareness becomes a fountain of super-knowledge. Your thoughts gain so much power that whatever you sincerely desire starts to manifest in your life without a doubt. The more concentrated a thought, the more powerful it is. Even if you don’t meditate but just learn to sit still, you will gain much from it.

There are many forms of meditation and some of them don’t even require the meditator to be sitting, let alone sitting in a posture. I’ll touch upon them briefly. For now, the meditation we are covering is seated meditation. It requires that you to sit still with mindfulness. In order to do so, there are eight key elements of a good posture:

Cross Legged

There are many ways of sitting cross-legged. You can choose any way that you are comfortable with. Sitting cross legged is important because it helps you control the apana vayu, descending energy. If you have a specific medical condition that prohibits you from sitting cross legged on the floor, you can do the next best thing: sit in a chair. At any rate, at least cross your feet and not sit with your feet apart. Joining of the hands and feet is important to allow a complete circulation and flow of energy within you.

Straight Back

Once you learn to meditate with a straight back, you become qualified to do many advanced yogic practices. If you are serious about progressing on the path, a straight back is a non-negotiable requirement then. A straight back helps in channelization of prana and samana vayu, or vital life force and thermal energy respectively. Thermal energy further acts as the bridge to allow fusion of vital life force and descending energy. From that fusion begins the arousal of the primordial energy, more famously known as kundalini or the serpent power.

Relaxed Arms

Do not stretch your arms. The natural shape of your elbows is slightly bent, so keep it like that. Keep them relaxed. The posture of keeping your arms stretched and straight, where your wrists touch your knees, is not a practical posture for intense meditation. If you keep your arms perfectly straight, soon they’ll get tired and cause distraction.

Joined Hands

Your hands can cross each other or they can be one on top of another. Putting your left hand on top of the right keeps your body warmer, influences the right brain and fuels your feminine aspect. Resting your right hand on top keeps your body cooler, affects your left brain and boosts your masculine energy.

These differences are quite subtle but as you progress, you will notice even the subtlest of changes caused by the minutest of modifications in your posture. Ideally, your thumbs should join each other at the tips.

Straight Head

Your neck and head should be in straight line. It facilitates channelization of the udana vayu, ascending energy. When the primal energy travels upwards through the central channel, it needs a straight line; think of laser beams. Neckandhead, therefore should be straight. Further, it facilitates easier movement of the vayana vayu, diffusive energy from neck upwards. A subtle but critical point to be noted here is that your neck must not be stretched. Your neck has a normal minor hook that should be maintained. Basically all parts of your body should be relaxed and in normal position; still, but relaxed.

Still Gaze