# Taking Your Seat: Foundations in Mindfulness Meditation Practice *This manual presents a foundational Buddhist mindfulness practice rooted in mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati), emphasizing concentration, equanimity, and direct observation as the basis for insight.* --- ## How to Use This Guide This is a practical manual for establishing a genuine meditation practice, the same practice Gotama Buddha and his countless disciples used to establish liberation. It's structured to take you from knowing nothing to sitting confidently with proper technique and understanding. **What you'll find here:** - Clear, actionable instructions for posture, breath, and mental training - Honest guidance on obstacles without sugarcoating - The distinction between "feel-good meditation" and investigation of consciousness - Pointers toward deeper practice without being overwhelming **What you won't find:** - Promises of instant bliss - Background music recommendations or guided visualizations - Shortcuts that bypass the actual work Let's begin. --- ## Quick-Start Reference > [!tip]+ **The Three Core Instructions** > 1. **Take Your Seat** - Establish dignified, upright posture > 2. **Place Attention on Breath** - Focus on the spot beneath your nostrils > 3. **Note "Thinking"** - When you catch the mind wandering, note "thinking" and gently return to breath **Recommended Duration:** Start with 10 minutes, build toward 20-25 minutes **Frequency:** Daily practice yields best results **Best Times:** Morning upon waking or evening before bed **Environment:** Same spot each day, quiet, no music --- ## Part One: Taking Your Seat The first step in establishing a meditation practice is mastering your posture and creating an environment conducive to practice. This forms the foundation upon which everything else rests. ### Posture Fundamentals **Basic Setup:** - Sit on a cushion or pillow to keep hips elevated above knees for proper circulation - Lengthen spine toward ceiling/sky—straight and long for best results - Chin slightly tucked - Shoulders open, collarbones broad for spaciousness - Hands at ease in lap or on knees, palms up or down—whatever feels most conducive to stillness and flow of energy > [!info]+ **Modifications** > If a cross-legged seat is inaccessible, try a kneeling position or sitting on a chair. The point is to be both upright and at ease. **Posture can be described as:** - Dignified - Buoyant - Upright but not uptight - Aligned - Receptive ### Working With Discomfort Posture is very important in meditation. Often we try to avoid discomfort, and in the beginning of a practice discomfort is likely unavoidable because one's body needs to be "broken in." Your mind also has to develop enough concentration to sit with a moderate amount of discomfort, resisting the urge to move. > [!warning] **Pain vs. Discomfort** > When discomfort turns into outright pain, it's okay to make adjustments and change posture—but do so slowly and mindfully without breaking your focus. > > Sitting with a moderate amount of discomfort is advantageous, as you can use these sensations to cultivate equanimity and investigate the impermanence of such sensations. But sitting with too much pain will prevent any real work from being done. As we investigate the transitory and ultimately "empty" quality of our sensations, we begin to soften our reactivity and weaken the grip on our mind. A successful posture enables deeper stillness of mind and free flow of energy, enabling deeper concentration and meditative experience. The stillness of our body encourages a stillness of mind—each reinforces the other. ### Eyes and Gaze While many practitioners use closed eyes while meditating, many others choose to use open eyes with an unfocused gaze in front of them. Different schools of thought use different techniques, but feel free to use what works for you. **A few things to consider:** - **Open eyes** is beneficial because we move through our lives with open eyes, so meditating with our eyes open can help carry over our practice into our waking life more seamlessly - **Open eyes** can help when our minds are too fast and unruly with eyes closed. Opening them with a soft focus can quiet things down - Conversely, **closed eyes** can be helpful if you become too distracted by what you see in the room and are unable to concentrate or turn inward because of what you see - It's helpful to choose a method and stick with it to create consistency. You can use each technique when useful but decide on a default for yourself > [!note] **My Practice** > Personally, I meditate with closed eyes because it's how I learned and it works better for me after having tried both for some time. If I feel particularly sleepy or lost in my head, I will use open-eyed technique to refocus my attention. ### Timing and Setting **Consistency** is key. A daily practice will garner the best results. **When to Practice:** - Morning upon waking and evenings before bed are ideal times to meditate - However, any time that works for your schedule will do just fine - Meditating in the same spot each day will build a strong container for your practice - A meditative field will develop and enable you to find stillness more easily **Duration:** While any amount of time is beneficial, aim for 20-25 minutes. You can start at 5 or 10 minutes and build toward 25 minutes by adding time as you develop concentration and inner stability. > [!success] **Why 20-25 Minutes?** > This serves as a practical, effective sweet spot for most people to gain significant benefits without the overwhelming commitment of longer, monastic practices, promoting sustained practice and mental well-being. Usually during the last 5 or so minutes of a 25 minute sit, the most progress is made. **Using a Timer:** - Use a timer that begins and ends the meditation with a bell or chime - There are many apps that do this. You could also set a basic timer on your phone or stopwatch that chimes when time is up ### The Music Question > [!caution] **Music is NOT Recommended** > Music is not recommended during meditation time. Any stimulation or provocation is not useful when investigating the nature of reality. We are looking to peel layers away, not add them on. > > We are not aiming for a trance state or creative inspiration when we meditate—we are aiming for deep concentration and stillness in the present moment to observe our breath, our mind, and reality. Silence is most conducive toward this aim. > > Creativity and inspiration are often byproducts that occur off the mat. **A Note on Different Meditation Styles:** Meditation is a very broad word and contains many variations of practice. You can meditate to relax, meditate to enter a trance state, meditate to recall past lives, or meditate on personal goals—but these are not the essence of mindfulness practice where our goals are to develop concentration, morality, and wisdom through investigating the true nature of reality (impermanence, impersonality, dissatisfaction). --- ## Part Two: Concentrating on the Breath Once your seat is established, it's time to focus your mind on a single point. For this point of focus we will use the breath. ### Why the Breath? **The breath is always with us.** **The breath is a bridge between receptivity and will.** We breathe, but also we are breathed. Breath happens without thinking or trying, and yet we can also manipulate and control the breath. **Breath is a great reflection of our energy.** We breathe differently in each moment depending on our energy and wellness. The breath doesn't happen at one point, yet it is essential to focus on a single point to give the mind an anchor to latch onto—otherwise it will run amok. ### How to Focus on Breath **Basic Technique:** 1. Place your mind's eye on the spot beneath your nostrils and above your upper lip 2. This is the gateway through which the breath enters and leaves your body—this is where to place your focus 3. Notice what you can determine about your breath: - Is it cool or warm? - Is it deep or shallow? - Is one nostril more open than the other? Noticing these things will help you stay engaged with the flow of breath at that spot. > [!tip]+ **Advanced Technique: "The Touch of the Breath"** > Try to identify the exact, precise spot you first feel the air of your inhale make contact with the skin by your nostril. This will sharpen your focus and cultivate greater concentration. > [!tip]+ **Mental Image: "The Gatekeeper"** > Think of your mind/awareness as a gatekeeper watching the breath enter and leave your nose. A gatekeeper is very vigilant, watchful, and keen in their observation. ### Following the Full Cycle Once focus has been developed and maintained, you can go deeper into your focus on the breath by paying attention to the entire cycle: 1. The inhalation 2. The pause at the top of the inhalation 3. The exhalation 4. The pause at the bottom of the exhalation In this way you can follow the entire cycle of breath, all while maintaining a single-pointed focus beneath your nostrils. ### Troubleshooting: Can't Feel the Breath? If you cannot feel the breath at all, don't worry. Worrying or trying to sense something that isn't there will only cause frustration or doubt in your practice. > [!example] **The Instruction** > Simply notice the feeling of no breath. Stay focused on the spot above your upper lip and notice whatever is there—even if what is there is blankness. Blankness too has a quality of being that can be observed. ### Training Wheels for an Overwhelmed Mind If your mind is overwhelmed and you cannot focus even for a few seconds to a full minute, there are some tools that can be used. Consider these tools training wheels to be used and then eventually discarded. > [!info]+ **Counting** > Start from 10 and count down on each exhalation until zero, then start again at 10. > [!info]+ **Noting** > On your inhale, note to yourself "rising" > On your exhale, note to yourself "falling" These tools may be helpful in the beginning of a meditation to quiet and focus your mind. After a while you can let go and simply be aware of the breath without keeping track. **Why let go of these tools?** The less mental formations we create in our mind, the better we can observe our own awareness. This is where the magic happens. But we won't get far with an unruly mind, so it's important to first quiet the mind before any deeper insight can be obtained. --- ## Part Three: Working With Thoughts Now you've taken your seat and placed your focus onto your breath. Everything is going well until a stream of thoughts begins its distraction and the real art of meditation begins. ### A Few Reminders > [!important] **Essential Understanding** > - Thoughts are not the enemy > - The point of meditation is not to eliminate thoughts > - The more you fight your thoughts, the harder it is to meditate properly > - You are not your thoughts > - Thoughts are conditioned, impermanent, and not to be confused with the essence of mind Instead of identifying with our thoughts, we want to shift into identifying with the awareness of our thoughts. ### The Moment You Realize Your Mind Has Wandered **The moment you become aware that you are no longer focused on breath but instead lost in thoughts of past or future, you have stepped into identity with awareness.** You are no longer the thoughts—instead you've become the witness to them. This is a small moment of enlightenment and a very important moment in your meditation. > [!warning] **What *not* to do** > When you catch the mind wandering, do *not* scold yourself for thinking! > > Do not entertain defeatist thoughts like: > - "I'm doing this wrong" > - "I'm not good at this" > - "My mind is too busy to meditate" Instead, with **gentleness**, labeling the thoughts "thinking" and then begin again to focus on your breath. Begin counting again or simply be aware of your very next inhalation and the quality of presence it provides. ### The Practice of Labeling **When you notice the mind has wandered:** 1. Note to yourself, "thinking" 2. Come back to your breath 3. You may have to repeat this process many times over during your meditation—and that is okay This is the very practice of training your mind not to be entertained or reactive to fleeting thoughts. > [!success] **Key Principle** > No matter how mundane or profound a thought is, the practice is the same. We are training our mind not to identify or become distracted by substance-less thoughts and instead "abide in present moment awareness." ### As Your Practice Deepens As you build this new relationship to your thoughts, it will become less of a "hard and fast" process. Thoughts will be able to coexist while maintaining a strong concentration on breath. Many phenomena will be able to float in the periphery of your awareness without breaking your concentration—but at first it's important to redirect attention back to the breath over and over as you become better acquainted with the quality of your own awareness and less distracted by the thoughts. --- ## Common Obstacles & Solutions Every meditator encounters challenges. Here's how to work skillfully with the most common ones. ### Falling Asleep Drowsiness is extremely common, especially when first establishing a practice or when meditating in the evening or before morning coffee. > [!tip]+ **Practical Solutions** > **Switch to open-eyed meditation:** Create a soft, unfocused gaze a few feet in front of you, down towards the ground. The light of the room can help stir you awake. > > **Change your hand position:** Flip your palms face up on your knees. This hand position is slightly more energizing than palms face down. > > **Use the breath:** Take a few deeper rounds of breath—just enough to stir your body awake—and then resume normal breathing. If drowsiness persists, consider: - Meditating at a different time when you're more alert - Standing meditation for a few minutes to reset - Splashing cold water on your face before sitting ### Restlessness & Agitation An anxious, racing mind is the flip side of drowsiness—both are obstacles to stable concentration. > [!tip]+ **Grounding Techniques** > **Hands facing down:** Place your palms face down on your knees for a more grounded approach. > > **Lengthen your exhalations:** This can encourage a calm releasing of restless energy. Spend a bit more time exhaling, then resume normal breathing. > > **Bring attention downward:** Focus on where your bottom meets the ground. Feel your connection to the earth and bring awareness to the sensation of gravity supplying weight onto your body. If the mind continues being restless, return to the counting and labeling techniques mentioned earlier. These training wheels are exactly what they're designed for—moments when the mind is too scattered for bare awareness alone. ### Doubt About "Doing It Right" This is perhaps the most common obstacle, especially for conscientious beginners. > [!success] **The Truth About "Doing It Right"** > If you are taking the time to sit and focusing on your breath, then you are doing it right. > > No matter how busy or lethargic your mind may be, these are just conditions of the present moment to observe and be with. Over time, as you maintain awareness on your breath, the breath will grow deeper and more powerful, thus enabling a settled and focused energy throughout your body. The simple practice of sitting still on the ground will help tame thoughts over time, while focus on the breath can birth spontaneous insight. **Remember:** The moment you notice your mind has wandered is not a failure—it's a moment of awakening. You've become the witness. That's the practice. ### Inconsistent Practice Establishing a daily practice is often more challenging than the meditation itself. > [!info]+ **Accountability Strategies** > **Track your practice:** Use a calendar or journal to mark each day you meditate. Work towards creating streaks—the longer the streak, the more determined you become not to break it. > > **Same time, same place:** Meditating at the same time each day creates a powerful habit, making it easier to slip into a groove. > > **Set reminders:** Use your phone to jog your memory and remind you of your commitment. Treat it like any other important appointment. **Start small:** It's better to meditate for 5 minutes every day than to aim for 25 minutes and only sit twice a week. Build consistency first, then increase duration. **Be honest about resistance:** Notice when you're avoiding practice and get curious about why. Often the days we least want to sit are the days we need it most. --- ## Summary: The Three Core Instructions > [!abstract]+ **Your Practice in Three Steps** > 1. **Take Your Seat** - Dignified posture, elevated hips, lengthened spine > 2. **Place Your Attention on Your Breath** - The spot beneath your nostrils > 3. **When You Notice the Mind Has Wandered** - Note "thinking" and come back to your breath That's it. Simple, but not easy. This is the entire practice at first. --- ## Understanding What You're Doing: Theory and Aims It's important to understand the deeper purpose of what you're practicing, even as a beginner. This context will sustain your practice when motivation wanes. ### The Two Wings of Practice Think of meditation as a bird with two wings. One wing is **sensation** and the other is **equanimity**. **Equanimity** is the ability to stay present and grounded without reacting to your experience. The two ways we react are by **craving** and **aversion**: - We crave pleasant sensations - We push away unpleasant sensations Equanimity is treating all sensation the same, without craving and aversion, which enables us to act from a **place of freedom.** ### Concentration Leading to Insight At first, meditation is all about training the mind to be able to concentrate. Single-pointed concentration is called **samatha meditation** and it is preliminary training for insight meditation, called **vipassana meditation.** Only once our mind has achieved a base level of concentrative power can we begin exploring the deeper metaphysical truths of reality like impermanence, impersonality, and dissatisfaction. > [!info] **Looking Ahead** > I will save discussion of these deeper investigations for another time, as this manual is simply meant to offer a comprehensive overview of how to get started and avoid many modern dilutions of the practice. ### Mindfulness as the "Great Mixer" Essentially, the practice of meditation explained here could be called **mindfulness meditation.** **Mindfulness in simplest terms is the non-judgmental experience of reality as it is.** In this way you are experiencing life without bias and not enslaved to pleasant or unpleasant desire. When we meet reality **as it is**—and not **as it should be**—we become a free and autonomous collaborator with reality as it unfolds in the present moment. > [!success] **The Ultimate Goal** > This quality of being comes with you wherever you go. You become able to be more present, stable, open, and aligned with yourself in each and every aspect of your life. > > You can mix mindfulness with anything and it will become a practice of skill, self-expression and freedom. --- ## What's Next: Beyond This Manual You now have everything you need to establish a solid meditation practice. If you practice these instructions daily, you will begin to notice shifts in your relationship to your thoughts, your emotions, and your experience of reality. ### The Power of Sangha Finding a group to meditate with is very advantageous to your practice. Even on days when we're feeling restless or tired, the energy of a group provides a collective stillness that can elevate your own practice. This is why **Sangha**—or spiritual community—is one of the three jewels of Buddhism. Being in community around the practice allows us the opportunity to tap into a collective strength that is greater than the sum of its parts. When you meditate with a more experienced meditator, there is a transmission of energy that can be received, and you may access deeper states of concentration due to the collective field. ### Working With a Teacher Seeking out and working with an experienced guide or teacher can help you with personal sticking points and unique questions or challenges. A teacher who knows the territory can offer perspective that books alone cannot provide—they've walked the path and can help you navigate the specific obstacles you encounter. ### Going Deeper After consistent practice for several weeks or months, you may be ready to: - **Investigate the three characteristics of existence** (impermanence, impersonality, dissatisfaction) - **Work with more subtle objects of meditation** beyond the breath - **Explore body scanning and sensation-based practice** (vipassana) - **Develop insight into the nature of consciousness itself** - **Attend silent retreats** for intensive practice periods - **Integrate meditation with other modalities** like yoga, plant medicine, or creative expression ### Recommended Reading There are countless books about meditation and mindfulness. However, I have found the following to be an excellent starting point: **Mindfulness in Plain English** by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana > [!tip] This book offers comprehensive, straightforward instruction rooted in the Theravada tradition without unnecessary mystification. ### Connect With Me I am currently offering private meditation [[mentorship]] sessions through **Collective Therapy and Wellness** and through my personal website. **For more information on:** - One-on-one meditation mentorship - Guidance at Omziel Healing Sanctuary - Group meditation offerings - Plant medicine integration work - Updates and events Visit my website or reach out through Collective Therapy and Wellness to learn more about working together. --- ## Practice Log Template > [!tip]+ **Track Your Journey** > Consider keeping a simple log of your practice. You don't need to write much—just tracking consistency and brief observations can be valuable. > > **Daily Template:** > - Date: ___________ > - Duration: ___________ > - Time of day: ___________ > - General state of mind: ___________ > - Brief observations: ___________ > - Did I complete my sit? Yes / No --- ## A Final Word The path of meditation is simple but not easy. You will face boredom, doubt, physical discomfort, and the seductive pull of distraction. This is completely normal—in fact, it's the practice itself. Every time you notice your mind has wandered and bring it back to the breath, you're doing it right. That moment of returning is not a failure; it's the process. What drew me to philosophy, and eventually to meditation, was a hunger for truth beneath the surface of things. If you share that hunger, then you already have what you need to begin. The instructions in this manual are not theory—they're a map drawn from direct experience, both my own and that of countless practitioners before me. Start where you are. Commit to sit for ten minutes tomorrow morning. Then do it again the next day. The metaphysical insights, the expanded awareness, the taste of freedom—these aren't achievements to chase. They're what naturally emerges when you show up consistently and do the work with honesty and care. --- **About the Author** I'm a meditation teacher, creative guide, and woodworker whose path began with a philosophy degree from Binghamton University focused on Eastern thought. After my first vipassana retreat in 2012, I've dedicated myself to silent retreat practice, yoga teaching , and community facilitation around mindfulness and spirituality. My work integrates contemplative wisdom with creative expression—from teaching meditation at Collective Therapy and Wellness and Omziel Healing Sanctuary, to remodeling sacred sanctuaries, and guiding others through expanded states of consciousness. I help people navigate the intersection of deep metaphysical understanding and practical, embodied living in the modern world. *For more teachings and resources, visit [[Web Home]]*