Simple Meditation help, anyone?
Hey =) I'm a lowly Wing Chun practicioner here. I was wondering if anyone could give me directions on a few SIMPLE meditation exercises, to energize (preferably) and another to relax.. if this is possible. I know Chi Gung is dangerous if you don't know exactly what you're doing, so i'm hoping for something simple, please? =) Thank you.
-Scott
"You have to consider the possibility that god does not like you; he never wanted you. In all probability, he hates you. It is not until we have lost everything that we can do anything."
Turn off your internal dialogue!
Sit down and try not talking to yourself in your head. Great way to get rid of negative feelings/energy, etc. You'll feel great afterwards too. If you have any trouble turning off the dialogue (it's not as easy as it sounds), let me know and I'll throw you some pointers.
Without going outside, you may know the whole world.
Without looking through the window, you may see the ways of heaven.
The ****her you go, the less you know.
--Lao Tsu
greetings, salutations, whazzup
i have trouble turning off my internal dialogue most of the time. i need some pointers.
^
|
can it get simpler than that?
"Build from the past, live in the present, and ignore the future. What you do now determines what happens later" -Phoenix
try zazen (zen meditation)
Zazen was originally a yogic system of meditation. The Buddhists use this technique; especially Zen Buddhism (Soto Zen sect place this as number one to work on).
There are many benefits. Originally, zazen was intended to aid in achieving the enlightenment experience. Nowadays, people still use it for this purpose but some use it strictly for health reasons. It is a great technique to reduce, if not eliminate, stress. There are 5 types of Zen (at least you could generalize them this way). The highest is for spiritual enlighenment. The function of zazen to aliviate stress would be characterized as 'bompu' Zen, the lowest level. The next is to increase you 'joriki' (or concentration/samadhi power). You'd be amazed at what you could do with this stuff. With enough of this, you can cultivate extraordinary powers... I forget the third level of Zen. The fourth is the koan practice and the fifth is shikan-taza (a type of zazen). I found these characterizations in the book, "The Three Pillars of Zen" by Roshi Philip Kapleau. (I recommend this book).
There are a few different postures to perform zazen in. The most recommended is the full lotus. If you can't do this one, then the half lotus is good. If not this, then the Burmese position. If not this, then seiza. If not this, then just sit in a chair. The reason you would use a chair would be because your legs aren't flexible enough for the former positions (for detailed instructions on how to stretch legs, check the "lotus position--help" post in either the Kung fu main forum or the internal one). The postures are all explained at:
<<< http://www.mro.org/zmm/zazen.shtml >>>>
There are no bad side effects to zazen; the only side effects are good health and concentration. If you consider soar legs at the beginning a bad side effect, then I guess there's only that to worry about. If you reach a high level training, more fruit will come. The only way to hurt yourself (internally) with zazen is to incorporate the qi. However, even this is unlikely to damage you because it is the most elementary method (that of placing all the qi in the dantien - 2-4 inches below navel). You do not have to employ the qi techniques if you do not want to.
At the following sites you can find detailed instructions in zazen.
meditationtherapy.com/Zazen.html
www.mro.org/zmm/zazen.shtml
www.dx.sakura.ne.jp/~kameno/zazen/fukan.html
dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Buddhism/Zen/Meditation (this one has links to zazen pages.)
A teacher is recommended for zazen but you could start off without one. But as you progress, you will need the teacher. (Especially when you encounter makyo.)
try zazen (Zen meditation); many benefits
Zazen was originally a yogic system of meditation. The Buddhists use this technique; especially Zen Buddhism (Soto Zen sect place this as number one to work on).
There are many benefits. Originally, zazen was intended to aid in achieving the enlightenment experience. Nowadays, people still use it for this purpose but some use it strictly for health reasons. It is a great technique to reduce, if not eliminate, stress. There are 5 types of Zen (at least you could generalize them this way). The highest is for spiritual enlighenment. The function of zazen to aliviate stress would be characterized as 'bompu' Zen, the lowest level. The next is to increase you 'joriki' (or concentration/samadhi power). You'd be amazed at what you could do with this stuff. With enough of this, you can cultivate extraordinary powers... I forget the third level of Zen. The fourth is the koan practice and the fifth is shikan-taza (a type of zazen). I found these characterizations in the book, "The Three Pillars of Zen" by Roshi Philip Kapleau. (I recommend this book).
There are a few different postures to perform zazen in. The most recommended is the full lotus. If you can't do this one, then the half lotus is good. If not this, then the Burmese position. If not this, then seiza. If not this, then just sit in a chair. The reason you would use a chair would be because your legs aren't flexible enough for the former positions (for detailed instructions on how to stretch legs, check the "lotus position--help" post in either the Kung fu main forum or the internal one). The postures are all explained at:
<<< http://www.mro.org/zmm/zazen.shtml >>>>
There are few, if any, negative side effects to zazen; however there are numerous positve side effects such as good health, release from stess, detachment from the illusory world, purification of the mind, and concentration. If you consider soar legs at the beginning a bad side effect, then I guess there's only that to worry about. If you reach a high level training, more fruit will come. The only way to hurt yourself (internally) with zazen is to incorporate the qi. However, even this is unlikely to damage you because it is the most elementary method (that of placing all the qi in the dantian: 2 - 4 inches below navel). You do not have to employ the qi techniques if you do not want to.
At the following sites, you can find detailed instructions in zazen.
meditationtherapy.com/Zazen.html
www.mro.org/zmm/zazen.shtml
www.dx.sakura.ne.jp/~kameno/zazen/fukan.html
dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Buddhism/Zen/Meditation (this one has links to zazen pages.)
A teacher is recommended for zazen but you could start off without one. But as you progress, you will need the teacher. (Especially when you encounter makyo.)
If you have questions, just email me at go2tom@hotmail.co
sorry for the double replies
I didn't know that my first reply went through, so I tried again. Ignore one.
Listen to Dragonstudio; he has some good pointers. What he is refering is introductory zazen.