Julian gabriel

Is It Efficienter To Mediate Laying Down?

18 posts in this topic

Why meditate sitting upright if your goal is to relax the body? 

Wouldn't it make more sense to meditate while laying down if the goal is to relax? 

I seem to be able to dis-identify with my sense of separation easier when laying down than sitting up. 

 

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Can contribute to dullness and decrease alertness.

It can work. I wouldn't be dogmatic about it. Try everything. 

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Laying down is no good. You will quickly fall asleep. It's important to keep the spine as vertical as possible. Even reclining is not good. Ideally you should meditate without any back support, so your spine supports itself.

Edited by Leo Gura

You are God. You are Truth. You are Love. You are Infinity.

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@Julian gabriel I’ve been doing meditation while laying down for the past 6 years, and achieved enlightenment 3 years ago. It works. I never fall asleep since I basically spend all day in bed, so I got used to it. 


"Not believing your own thoughts, you’re free from the primal desire: the thought that reality should be different than it is. You realise the wordless, the unthinkable. You understand that any mystery is only what you yourself have created. In fact, there’s no mystery. Everything is as clear as day. It’s simple, because there really isn’t anything. There’s only the story appearing now. And not even that.” — Byron Katie

 

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@Julian gabriel Ignore peoples dogma around what is the correct way to meditate. I have read enough books on meditation to know now there are different postures that all have their own pros and cons. If you are looking to deeply relax the body, then laying down is the best option. It’s best to be well rested, and maybe even take a cold shower before hand. 
 

Then use the body scan, visualization and even Tao Yin techniques to deeply relax the body and purge out toxic Wi while breathing it ‘Golden’ Qi. Qi is a good word to study and understand philosophically. 

You are more likely to fall asleep if you lay down. But, there’s points to be made there. Sometimes we need to sleep…. Simple explore different styles. 

There are different styles of meditation. As well of different postures etc

1. laying 

2. cushion 

3. chair 

4. Standing in tree pose  (super powerful meditation)

etc

Edited by Thought Art

 "Unburdened and Becoming" - Bon Iver

                            ◭"89"

                  

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It is a good use to teach yourself the habit to have a vertical spine during meditation. Kundalini won't rise if you don't have a straight spine. I mean you can still meditate laying down but it will just be focus based meditation.

Edited by StarStruck

In Tate we trust

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@StarStruck nah, Qi will move through the meridians even if you lay down. Kundalini ain’t the only energy in town.

my understanding of kundalini is usually pretty hang, he wants to relax then he needs a more yin approach. Relaxing, stretching, slow deep breathing. 

Edited by Thought Art

 "Unburdened and Becoming" - Bon Iver

                            ◭"89"

                  

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9 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Laying down is no good. You will quickly fall asleep. It's important to keep the spine as vertical as possible. Even reclining is not good. Ideally you should meditate without any back support, so your spine supports itself.

@Leo Gura But if I do not fall asleep from it, and I find that it works for me, then why keep the spine vertical? 

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Meditation is about finding the optimal balance between alertness and relaxation. Lying down is generally not conducive to that, but if you have big problems with sitting, lying down might produce better results. I've found that using a back support is helpful, but you have to be mindful about how you use it.


Intrinsic joy is revealed in the marriage of meaning and being.

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14 hours ago, Julian gabriel said:

@Leo Gura But if I do not fall asleep from it, and I find that it works for me, then why keep the spine vertical? 

It's not just about not falling asleep. Lying down makes you a bit too relaxed, which has a passive effect that affects the entire meditation.

Say if you were to stand under a tree waiting for an apple to fall, what would you do to increase your chances of catching it? You would adopt a sort of ready-to-pounce stance while staring intensely at the apple. That's an extreme example of an alert state. Lying down is on the other extreme. Sitting upright is somewhere in the middle. You want to be able to catch the thoughts as they fall and not let them hit the back of your head :D 

Cultivating spacious awareness requires both alert concentration and relaxed openness. Pure relaxed openness is good for inducing sleep, but not as good for meditation.

Edited by Carl-Richard

Intrinsic joy is revealed in the marriage of meaning and being.

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In deep meditative states you can reach an inner relaxation of the mind which will affect your body as well and also make it relax.  But it's a different relaxation than chilling on the sofa.

I always try to sit straight throughout the entire session. Just like other people focus on one sensation like breath, to me my posture helps me to focus, cause I'm constantly checking it and adjust it if it isn't straight.

With these kind of traditions I would definitely go with the recommended / typical way. They have a wisdom to their methods which have been successful for thousands of years (often in various parts of the world). Stick with it. To the exact point of posture during meditation you can (and should) definitely search what some spiritual masters have to say about it and it'll be clear why it's so important (a bit too much to explain now here). 

In short: a straight spine and posture greatly affects your mind, and thus your ability to focus and concentrate.

Also remember that relaxation might not be the main goal of meditation. It's a common (and welcome) side effect, but it shouldn't really be your goal. You need to learn to accept meditation sessions in which your body sometimes hurts and your mind will be all over the place. And that's ok as well.

Edited by Mormegil

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On 09/11/2022 at 6:01 AM, Julian gabriel said:

Why meditate sitting upright if your goal is to relax the body? 

Wouldn't it make more sense to meditate while laying down if the goal is to relax? 

I seem to be able to dis-identify with my sense of separation easier when laying down than sitting up. 

 

If your goal is to relax, I think it is best to lie down and go to sleep.


Apparently.

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@Carl-Richard There are very active Toasit meditations that are done laying down.

Not all meditation is the same.

Edited by Thought Art

 "Unburdened and Becoming" - Bon Iver

                            ◭"89"

                  

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9 minutes ago, Thought Art said:

@Carl-Richard There are very active Toasit meditations that are done laying down.

Not all meditation is the same.

Sleeping meditation is also a thing :) 


Intrinsic joy is revealed in the marriage of meaning and being.

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Guys, this would be a non-debate if there was a solution for the legs. My skinny legs just keep distracting and getting in the way no matter the pose. Laying down helps to "get rid" of the body.

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