Meditation Lying Down
First, if you are tired, do not close your eyes, as you will dive into sleep soon. If you feel fresh and energized, and still don’t want to, for example, do a walking meditation outdoors, then you may close your eyes.
It is advisable that your lying posture is similar to the ‘savasana’ pose in yoga, which basically involves lying down flat on the back with your palms facing upward.
It is advisable that your lying posture is similar to the ‘savasana’ pose in yoga, which basically involves lying down flat on the back with your palms facing upward.
1. Relaxation
There are many methods of relaxing the body, and I would recommend here one of the Reintegration System’s techniques, called “Relax and Reintegrate,” as it will bring you not only a deeply relaxed state but also a deep calmness of the mind, which is an important introduction to the next part of this meditation.
2. Feeling the Contact-Points
In this stage, you will merge with your physical senses.
Choose several contact-points between your body and the bed. These points will usually be on the back side of your body, including a few on your head, legs, and arms. For instance, these points may be your heels, lower back, shoulder-blades, nape, elbows, and palms. So, when you lie down, feel the contact of your body at every point consecutively, for 15-30 seconds each. Feel the sensation of the bed touching your skin. You may also check other points - of your contact with the blanket or rug, for example. Feeling the contact-points between your body and the bed will allow you to anchor yourself into the present moment completely.
Then feel sensations of all these points at the same time, as a whole. Repeat this procedure several times.
3. Wide Attention
The point of ‘Wide Attention’ phase is to bring your mind into a deep state of diffuse, wide and inclusive attention which will allow you to keep your mind fully awake and clear.
Next, open your eyes (if they are closed), look at the ceiling and pick up one distinctive point on it. (This we can call the ‘physical attention,’ as opposed to ‘mental attention,’ which means to focus your mind externally or internally on something.) Concentrate on that point for 15-30 seconds. If any thought arises, just accept it and return your physical and mental attention to the point on the ceiling.
Then, while keeping your eyes fixated on the point, extend your mental attention to a circular area around the point. Slowly extend the area of your mental attention, while keeping your physical attention at the chosen point.
Wander around the room for a while with your mental attention. If your eyes unintentionally move, simply return them to the first point of the physical attention, and continue with the other parts of your eyesight, that are preferably more away from the physical point of attention.
You may even try to become aware of the things behind your physical eyesight or to include sounds and other sensations.
After several minutes of shifting your mental attention around, try to immerse yourself into a unified attention - be mentally attentive of your physical point AND everything else, including yourself.
There are many methods of relaxing the body, and I would recommend here one of the Reintegration System’s techniques, called “Relax and Reintegrate,” as it will bring you not only a deeply relaxed state but also a deep calmness of the mind, which is an important introduction to the next part of this meditation.
2. Feeling the Contact-Points
In this stage, you will merge with your physical senses.
Choose several contact-points between your body and the bed. These points will usually be on the back side of your body, including a few on your head, legs, and arms. For instance, these points may be your heels, lower back, shoulder-blades, nape, elbows, and palms. So, when you lie down, feel the contact of your body at every point consecutively, for 15-30 seconds each. Feel the sensation of the bed touching your skin. You may also check other points - of your contact with the blanket or rug, for example. Feeling the contact-points between your body and the bed will allow you to anchor yourself into the present moment completely.
Then feel sensations of all these points at the same time, as a whole. Repeat this procedure several times.
3. Wide Attention
The point of ‘Wide Attention’ phase is to bring your mind into a deep state of diffuse, wide and inclusive attention which will allow you to keep your mind fully awake and clear.
Next, open your eyes (if they are closed), look at the ceiling and pick up one distinctive point on it. (This we can call the ‘physical attention,’ as opposed to ‘mental attention,’ which means to focus your mind externally or internally on something.) Concentrate on that point for 15-30 seconds. If any thought arises, just accept it and return your physical and mental attention to the point on the ceiling.
Then, while keeping your eyes fixated on the point, extend your mental attention to a circular area around the point. Slowly extend the area of your mental attention, while keeping your physical attention at the chosen point.
Wander around the room for a while with your mental attention. If your eyes unintentionally move, simply return them to the first point of the physical attention, and continue with the other parts of your eyesight, that are preferably more away from the physical point of attention.
You may even try to become aware of the things behind your physical eyesight or to include sounds and other sensations.
After several minutes of shifting your mental attention around, try to immerse yourself into a unified attention - be mentally attentive of your physical point AND everything else, including yourself.
