First Mountain Meditation

        Mountain meditations are designed to bring you into the stillness of your body.   Doing them relaxes the nervous system and connects your awareness with the sensations of the body.

These meditations can be done in any posture, but a rule of thumb is to maintain the alignment of your spine and keep your joints and muscles open and relaxed.    If you are seated in a chair shift forward slightly and keep your spine long and aligned.   Your head can rotate just slightly forward, to emphasize the length of the back.   Keep your feet on the floor, directly below your knees.   Your hands can rest on your legs, or together face up on your lap.   Gently close your eyes or leave them slightly open and directed downwards.

Doing these meditations regularly will begin to develop your focus.   Just by bringing your awareness back, over and over again, to what you want to pay attention to — in this case to the sensations of the body — you begin to train the mind.   Of course you are going to get distracted, everyone does.   It’s not really a problem.   Just gently return to paying attention.  Letting your focus be easy and open.

Often this simple meditation is wonderfully relaxing.   You may feel the sensations of your body uncoil and flow in response to your attention.   If you do feel pain or discomfort tend to it with compassion.   Everyone of us suffers.    It is part of being alive.   Don’t ignore it, but just as important, don’t let it be the only voice you hear.  Just be curious about what you see, what you hear, what you feel.   And then let it go and bring your awareness back to the open field of space.