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Learning to sit
When the writer Tim Parks failed to find a cure for his crippling chronic pain he turned to meditation. In his book Teach Us to Sit Still he writes about his quest quest to overcome the inner battle between mind and body. It is a comic self-examination of the connections between writing personality and health. From a hardened sceptic you see him the transformation meditation can bring.
To sit is to restore ourselves, to become fully present and fully alive in the here and now.—Thich Nhat Hanh
In his book How to Sit, Thich Nhat Hanh provides simple directions on the mechanics of posture and breathing, along with instructions for how best to achieve the awakened, relaxed, state of clarity to cultivate concentration and compassion through meditation.
Finding the line
Posture is important. Go ahead sit cross legged on meditation cushions on the ground it you like - personally that makes my legs go a bit numb, I prefer kneeling - just make sure your hips are higher than your knees and your knees are either resting on the ground or supported in some way. Make sure you are sitting on your sitting bones, with the pelvis neither tilted back or forward. Sitting in a chair is perfectly acceptable. Same rules apply.
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