I flailed Level 2 Arms and 1st Leg Sequence. Fast setting on the video. Twice.
I noticed I was distracted at certain points by thoughts. It was precisely at those points where I lost the thread of movements and could not catch back up. I didn’t really do it with the video before. I would tend to stop and think about what the next direction for each arm was. With the video, it’s impossible. Even when he goes a little slower, there’s still a pace you have to keep up. Havi said flail, so I flailed. I definitely cannot count fast enough to keep up with him. Should I try? Arms and legs is definitely enough for right now.
After Shiva Nata, I sat for concentration for 30 minutes. I decided that I needed to take a step back from mindfulness meditation and work on some foundation. That foundation would be developing my focus with concentration practice. That basically means I sit there and focus on my breathing. When I notice that I’m drifting (or have already drifted) I just bring my awareness back to the breath. A little effort and intention is ok. But I don’t want to tense up or block thoughts or anything. I just fill up my awareness with my breath so that nothing else enters, even though a 3-ring circus is going on in there.
One thing I noticed while sitting was that my face gets very tense. It reflects my effort and the amount of thought happening. I suppose you could say I keep a lot of tension there. So I would visit it occasionally to relax it. It’s going to take a little bit of work. One thing I learned from Tai Chi is that the best way to relax something that is chronically tense is to actually listen to what it is telling you.
We tend to ignore the signals from our body. So the body screams louder. So we tense and tighten more to shut it up. But that’s not what we need to do to make it better. We need to gently listen to our tense muscles because they have a lot to say. Give them the respect they deserve, especially after ignoring them for so long. Resensitize yourself to their symphony.
It might hurt at first. All of that tension and a cacophony of tuning before the music begins. Be patient. Stay with it. Listen. When the tension and pain subside, beautiful music can be heard.
We really need to learn to listen to our pain. It’s a vast source of energy. Instead, we cut it off and lose whole parts of our intuition because of it.
Back to my practice. It was not appropriate for me to start working on my facial muscles. I was focusing on the breath. Remember? So I just made a note to do some Tai Chi work on it. Great!
One more note before I go to sleep.
I want this blog to have a real effect on the world. I want it to help people become more mindful, intuitive, and just live better through those kinds of practices. I think that I have a good bit of experience that is outside of the mainstream enough to provide some real value. I would eventually like to charge for it.
I had the idea that I could have a little challenge. Daily concentration practice for one month can really change your life. I think I’ll have to organize that once I have a few more followers.
2 Comments
Thanks so much for sharing your practice on the sitting meditation. This is something I really haven’t focused on enough. I don’t have the tension on the face but I also don’t have any consistently good way of focusing myself in that time. Keep sharing here. It helps ! And I love your intention to have an effect on the world. Continue to show up as you. It is a sure bet!
You’re welcome.
Thanks for the words of encouragement.