tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198412253681105182024-02-19T10:09:04.596-05:00Sun and Moon Originals: Yoga, Meditation and Massage ProductsA blog about meditation, yoga, massage and about some of the products that help support your practice.
SunandMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07723934552076668162noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-219841225368110518.post-91319381577229731622012-12-13T23:26:00.000-05:002012-12-13T23:26:10.124-05:00Do you really need a meditation cushion to meditate?<div>
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Do you really need a cushion to meditate? </div>
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Well...that depends on your posture.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Take a look at these pictures:</span></div>
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<a href="http://static3.depositphotos.com/1006110/262/i/950/depositphotos_2627656-Young-Woman-Sitting-on-Wood-Floor-Meditating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://static3.depositphotos.com/1006110/262/i/950/depositphotos_2627656-Young-Woman-Sitting-on-Wood-Floor-Meditating.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.healthsitescatalog.com/news/gallery/treatments-for-insomnia/treatments_for_insomnia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.healthsitescatalog.com/news/gallery/treatments-for-insomnia/treatments_for_insomnia.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.yoga-age.com/modern/siddha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="good meditation posture" border="0" height="196" src="http://www.yoga-age.com/modern/siddha.jpg" title="siddhasana " width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://yoga108.org/images/photos/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Swami Sivananda, good meditation posture, " border="0" src="http://yoga108.org/images/photos/2.jpg" title="siddhasana" /></a><o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now take a look at these ones:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Notice the difference in posture between the two sets of pictures.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Which one do you look like when you sit?</div>
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If you look at stock photos of meditation, photographs of models, not meditators, and compare them to photographs of experienced meditators, you will notice a difference. One look at the pictures of the models will show you the tell-tale knees sticking up in the air. This is a position that just cannot be sustained for long, and you just know they are going to get out of the position as soon as the camera clicks! If you look at pictures of yogis and other experienced meditators, or even just people from cultures where sitting crosslegged is the norm (such as India), you will notice their knees are down, their legs are flat along the ground and they look more relaxed and comfortable.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />But so what? Why is posture so important in meditation? It’s very simple. For most
people, especially beginning meditators, “emptying” your mind, or keeping it
focused is hard enough, given our propensity for “mind-chatter”, without physical
discomfort intruding onto your consciousness and disrupting your meditation. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most people are not flexible enough to be able to sit comfortably
in the cross-legged or half-lotus position (let alone the lotus
position!). A common phenomenon in people
who are not used to sitting crosslegged, such as most people in Western
cultures who are more used to sitting in chairs, is that we have tight hip
rotator muscles. Because our hips are not open enough, when we try to sit flat
on the floor without a cushion, we sit with our knees sticking up in the air with
all of the pressure concentrated on our tailbones. Ouch! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So we end up with an aching back, a sore butt, painful
knees, tired legs that shake, feet that fall asleep, and overall fatigue that
makes us sit in a slump, cutting off the free flow off our breath. No wonder so
many people are antsy and restless while meditating, constantly shifting around
trying to find a comfortable position, too distracted by their bodies to be
able to focus. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And this is where the Cosmic Cushion comes in. The Cosmic
Cushion is designed to help compensate for the tight hip rotator muscles
commonly found in people with less flexibility and those who are more used to chair sitting.
It is designed to help us reproduce the posture that comes natural to yogis and
experienced meditators, and to eliminate the most common discomforts associated with sitting meditation. These particular design elements are the sloping wedge-shaped
profile of the cushion, the thigh supports and the heel cradle.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.sunandmoonoriginals.com/store/i/is.aspx?path=/images/ProductImages/CD-1-Sage.jpg&lr=t&bw=550&w=550&bh=550&h=550" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cosmic Cushion, best meditation cushion, meditate in comfort, good meditation posture, zafu, Zen, " border="0" height="320" src="http://www.sunandmoonoriginals.com/store/i/is.aspx?path=/images/ProductImages/CD-1-Sage.jpg&lr=t&bw=550&w=550&bh=550&h=550" title="Cosmic Cushion" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The built-in slope tilts your pelvis forward and helps you
settle into the natural S-curve of your spine at rest, allowing you to relax effortlessly
into an upright position rather than strain to maintain it. This upright position
lengthens the front of your torso and allows you to take deeper breaths more
easily, triggering the relaxation response. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The sloped design also bring your knees down to the floor
and allows your lower legs to lie flat along the floor, forming a stable base
of support, and the thigh supports support your legs instead of letting them
get tired, as they would if you sit with your knees up in the air. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The heel cradle allows you to bring your foot in close to
your body which helps your knees go down to the ground, which in turn helps you
sit in a stable position without your back getting tired and achey. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In short, the Cosmic Cushion enables you to sit much more
comfortably than sitting on a regular cushion such as the commonly used zafu, the traditional Zen meditation cushion – a flat cushion without thigh
supports that keeps your heels far away from your body – and a great deal more
comfortably than sitting on no cushion at all. It enables you to sit like
someone who has years of meditation behind them! And sitting in comfort means
you are less distracted by your body so you can sit longer and go deeper into
your meditation. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So do you really need to have a meditation cushion in order
to meditate? No, of course not. What you need most of all, is the will to
create a practice and stick to it. But a good meditation cushion like the
Cosmic Cushion can help your practice immeasurably. It can make the difference
between a shallow, distracted experience – or even a meditation practice that
is embarked upon enthusiastically and then abandoned on account of discomfort – and
a deep, profound and regular meditation practice. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So if the tool is available, why not use it? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Try it out and let us know what you think!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.sunandmoonoriginals.com/store/p/1-Cosmic-Cushion.html">http://www.sunandmoonoriginals.com/store/p/1-Cosmic-Cushion.html </a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And now, for your viewing pleasure, just because these two stock photos are especially priceless... </div>
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<a href="http://static5.depositphotos.com/1003556/500/i/950/depositphotos_5003880-Businesswomen-meditating-in-lotus-position.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="uncomfortable medittation pose" border="0" height="319" src="http://static5.depositphotos.com/1003556/500/i/950/depositphotos_5003880-Businesswomen-meditating-in-lotus-position.jpg" title="business suit & meditation" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/73435/73435,1298846783,4/stock-photo-muscular-man-meditating-on-red-rocks-72146536.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="funny meditation picture" border="0" height="227" src="http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/73435/73435,1298846783,4/stock-photo-muscular-man-meditating-on-red-rocks-72146536.jpg" title="poor meditation posture" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
:) </div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Piyalihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16671628536067131464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-219841225368110518.post-44433974521725535432012-12-08T12:32:00.002-05:002012-12-09T07:38:13.785-05:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgluBViaqPB0taNj4L0e4A-BK1-lfQqKvZRIvltS4MTTCn4YzISSincuZ0PIwovhK-Mlhra17vsmVjvIpVPaoffNqxGaqA71GxhS3BvkFYkCPeaZMxcqET_UyB8c40nBHaPDFd-vySd2Gw/s1600/dishes-in-sink.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgluBViaqPB0taNj4L0e4A-BK1-lfQqKvZRIvltS4MTTCn4YzISSincuZ0PIwovhK-Mlhra17vsmVjvIpVPaoffNqxGaqA71GxhS3BvkFYkCPeaZMxcqET_UyB8c40nBHaPDFd-vySd2Gw/s320/dishes-in-sink.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>That's Why They Call It Practice</b><br />
Life has it's little routines, some of them built in by choice, like that morning cup of tea, and some not so much, like paying the electric bill or letting the cat out. By doing things, the same things, over and over again, we usually get better at them. The tea doesn't steep too long and become bitter or cool off before we drink it. Remembering to sign the check and put a stamp on the envelope before dropping the payment into the slot at the post office. Letting the cat out before it deposits a hair ball on the kitchen floor. We need to pay attention, of course.<br />
<br />
With meditation it's much the same. The path to stillness becomes more familiar the more often we use it. Carving out a regular time in the day is often the best strategy to begin to make sitting meditation a part of your daily routine. Most likely that's going to be at the beginning of your day before the hustle bustle of the world sets in or in the late afternoon or early evening after the hurly burly has settled down and you may really need a way to unwind if it's been stressful or hectic. You might even consider bookending your day by meditating.<br />
<br />
Any way you decide to do it, a conscious decision is best in order to seek out a time that's lends itself to the time apart needed to anchor your sitting practice. We all know the expression that says humans are creatures of habit. It's really very true. By letting this tendency work in our favor, we can encourage things like brushing our teeth, doing the dishes, writing to-do lists or going for a walk, to become habits. Almost anything can become a habit and become part of our routine, even if we don't do it daily.<br />
<br />
Getting started is the hardest part. Now there's a piece of folk wisdom we should pay attention to. Can this really be true? Is simply sitting on a cushion with the intent to be mindfully present for a few minutes actually the most difficult task involved in establishing your meditation practice? There's only one way to know.<br />
<br />
That's why they call it a practice. Ironically, is it not practice <i>for</i> the real thing, it is the real thing. And so is every other minute of every day. When you find yourself on your cushion once again, just smile and enjoy the ride.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />SunandMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07723934552076668162noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-219841225368110518.post-31644048553448898432012-11-03T15:33:00.000-04:002012-12-08T12:48:59.107-05:00Finding stability for sitting meditation Part 2: The evolution of a comfortable position: my personal journey<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUWW1ke59RohYbnp66mai-uTUoMu1sGuzESqthXnFuyoajnaCwlvmciikGKF60bLL_5ADYAnzff547AG-2f47PvpvcJdi9Ph5TMNXQeh0Tn2L95F95WM4hRQaFyFy2wxNIpbiUfxuWedk/s1600/pile_of_rocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUWW1ke59RohYbnp66mai-uTUoMu1sGuzESqthXnFuyoajnaCwlvmciikGKF60bLL_5ADYAnzff547AG-2f47PvpvcJdi9Ph5TMNXQeh0Tn2L95F95WM4hRQaFyFy2wxNIpbiUfxuWedk/s320/pile_of_rocks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 16pt;">When I first started meditating I used a low bench
I built. It was simple, portable and just high and wide enough that I could
sneak my feet back under it and settle on its sloping top board. The angle of
slope helped me hold my head and torso upright easily. I folded my hands in
front of my waist. I don't think this bench was even padded, but it felt
pretty good, at least for short periods. By spreading my knees some I formed a
sort of triangle between my butt and knees. I was stable to a point, but not
really. I needed to actively engage a few muscles to keep myself from falling
to either side, forward and backward. It worked passably well given that I
didn't have much to compare it with except sitting cross legged directly on the
floor (which didn't really work well at all) or sitting in a chair which seemed
too ordinary to serve the pursuit of a state of deep meditation and wasn't
stable except when I slouched. So either I was fighting to stay erect seated
directly on the floor or fighting to stay alert when slumped in a chair.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt;">After several years and after the bench got left
behind during a nomadic move, In my next home I decided I wanted to begin to
sit cross legged, but on a cushion. I was ready to explore all the variations
of seated postures I had read about in yoga and meditation articles.
Always fairly flexible and recently even more so due to regular yoga
practice, I could experiment with half lotus, full lotus, Burmese posture with
one foot tucked behind and one in front or both tucked behind sort of like
sitting on your haunches while supported from below. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;">In the end I adopted a simple posture with my left
foot pulled in close to my torso and my right placed on the blanket out in
front of the first. The knee of my left leg cooperated nicely by folding inward
completely and coming to rest on the blanket I put under my cushion. My right
knee, the one farther out, didn't have enough flexibility to settle do this and
after a few minutes got sore from the subtle twist put on it. I also noticed
the unsupported knee gave rise to tension in my thigh as the muscles
automatically became engaged holding it aloft. I began placing a rolled up
towel under my knee to lift it just a hair above where it was when unsupported.
The pain and distraction disappeared immediately. Supporting this knee at its
level of comfort was truly necessary if finding stability and lasting comfort
was ever going to be an option.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;">Things evolve no matter what. So in another few
years down the road I am now sitting on a lower cushion I made for myself.
I now draw my left foot in snug to my torso and then lift my right foot
up and gently place it on top of my left. The heel of the top foot
nestles nicely into the upturned arch of the lower one. So simple.... and so
stable! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->SunandMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07723934552076668162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-219841225368110518.post-18893340562655331092012-11-02T21:35:00.000-04:002012-12-08T12:46:36.186-05:00Finding stability for sitting meditation: Part 1<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKdcoyHNm9T6kOAmcpYSbPolkSGk4p-fIlUhshHHN2P-KAE_YUjcDui6zhPLsF0eKuYu7O88pSGMbSG4vT3NnltRpPvEBlu85JPrDORHPnumaFMDZdjspzIGIRB50-SRZKhKvN-_9YKRo/s1600/Meditating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKdcoyHNm9T6kOAmcpYSbPolkSGk4p-fIlUhshHHN2P-KAE_YUjcDui6zhPLsF0eKuYu7O88pSGMbSG4vT3NnltRpPvEBlu85JPrDORHPnumaFMDZdjspzIGIRB50-SRZKhKvN-_9YKRo/s320/Meditating.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 16pt;">We all want to find a way to be stable and
comfortable while we sit in meditation, just like we do when we sit at our desk
or when we watch an athletic event or sit on the grass at an open-air concert. In
sitting meditation it is especially important to find that place of dynamic
stillness when we meditate. In stillness, movement… in movement, stillness.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;">What does it feel like to be very relaxed and very
stable? How do we bring it about on a repeatable basis so we can go there
almost at will and not take forever in the process? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;">First attend to the external factors. Are we
warm enough? Are the clothes we're wearing loose, comfortable and not
restricting us in any way? Have we opened up this small block of time free of
interruption (did I put the cat out?). Are we hungry or thirsty? What other
things might get in the way for you? Take a moment to notice what they are.
Make a note to come back to them after meditating. Often really important tasks
and deadlines I have forgotten about will pop into my head as soon as I quiet
down. After all of these external factors have been taken care of, you can
turn your focus to your posture and balance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;">The saints and sages sought to effectively exit
their bodies and go into the realm of consciousness so completely that the
physical self was left behind to care for itself in many ways. The postures
they adopted rely heavily on triangles for the stability they needed. Sitting
cross-legged creates several triangles that connect to form a tetrahedron.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;">This is easy to see if you sit with your hands
resting on your knees. Lateral triangles magically appear from the shoulders
down the arms to the knees and back along the thighs to the upright torso, when
you do this. Any tendency to collapse to the side is arrested, as is falling
forward. If you sit towards the front
edge of a cushion with one foot drawn in close to your body and the other
placed on top of it or in front, then your knees and calves are touching the
floor and forming a stable base. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;">Your head and torso are in now an effortless
neutral. Leaning very slightly forward before lengthening upward is one way to
find this. Let your breathing take you there. When your breath is free to
flow fully in and out as your chest and torso rise and fall with each cycle.
You have taken your seat... so simple. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;">In the end all this is about supporting the breath. Finding dynamic
stillness where we inhabit our physical body so it that it seems to disappear
and become a minimal focus. Then we are free to open to primary awareness and
explore other fields of consciousness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->SunandMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07723934552076668162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-219841225368110518.post-42844523499247266812012-09-25T15:22:00.002-04:002012-09-25T15:22:21.088-04:00There goes that knee again...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3386/3510820011_4f558b6dea_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3386/3510820011_4f558b6dea_n.jpg" title="Some rights reserved by postbear" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There goes that knee again...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It seems to come out of nowhere. I wake up and my right knee is complaining loudly and feels loose and sloppy in the joint as if it's twisting out of its range and really doesn't like it. Even the weight of the blankets seem to intensify the pain. Eventually, after trying several sleep position, I find one that seems to cause the least distress, hoping when I wake in the morning, my knee is not tangled in the covers and crying "ouch" again. <br />
<br />
I had just returned from spending three days and nights at a nature camp my 11 year old son attended in the woods of New Hampshire. I thought it might be fun to tag along and act like a kid again for a couple of days. Sleeping on a mat that's too thin for real comfort and too narrow to make turning over easy did leave it's mark. We spent the days hiking, scaling fallen tree trunks, fording slippery-rocked creeks in our bare feet and huddling around smoky campfires listening to the owls hoot in the darkness before calling it a day and sliding into our sleeping bags.<br />
<br />
I felt great after the brief time away. On my first morning back I sat longer than normal in spite of sore muscles in my legs and bruises on my shins. It was so nice to just sit there in peace. I have no idea how long I sat. It wasn't until the wee hours when I woke to the pain in my knee that I knew I had overdone it. That familiar ebbing and flowing tenderness that makes even thinking about moving my knee difficult. As in, which way is out of harm's way, when no position makes the pain go totally away but only lessens it.<br />
<br />
Even before I attempted to actually stand on my right leg, I massaged the muscles and tendons above my knee, the joint itself and then on down to my calf, ankle and foot. As soon as I think it's possible I do a gentle stretch of the front of my quads and the back of my calf. Finally, I give myself the reminder to take it easy for a day or two and to check for any swelling to go down.<br />
<br />
If all goes well, my knee will be back to its old self. I'll soon forget about it. I am left no worse for the wear, humbled by the responsibility to pay heed to this faithful friend on the journey, honor its limits and respond promptly with wholehearted attention when I overdo it and ...... there goes that knee again. SunandMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07723934552076668162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-219841225368110518.post-6581021426832053372012-08-07T09:31:00.000-04:002012-12-08T12:35:19.359-05:00Getting the right Meditation Cushion - a journey worth taking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ24DzDWSlrgBfBr9r4cYNd_2GkdIYz_4-20OB2m4tFQ3S9iJZ5VxOpZxtjEJUL4cTpOT9izl5HPSf5NbqqxaH1gug-Yw0FuFmi8aaiX5SAYUYM1SzufrxZeao6yGB8BdE3RN149VDUj8/s1600/CRKDiris2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ24DzDWSlrgBfBr9r4cYNd_2GkdIYz_4-20OB2m4tFQ3S9iJZ5VxOpZxtjEJUL4cTpOT9izl5HPSf5NbqqxaH1gug-Yw0FuFmi8aaiX5SAYUYM1SzufrxZeao6yGB8BdE3RN149VDUj8/s320/CRKDiris2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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Like many things to do with the bodymind, there are variables to consider and some adaptation to circumstance that is necessary to achieve balance - if only for now.<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="background-color: white; color: lime;">
Help your muscles recover </span></h4>
During the night our muscles recover from the day's use by ridding themselves of wastes, doing repair to damaged fibers, and replenishing stores of the nutrients and electrolytes that make future contractions possible.
In the process, muscles shorten and our joints tighten up by morning. Gentle stretching, especially of the backs of the legs and the large postural muscles surrounding the hip sockets, helps us to take a comfortable seat without putting undue stress on the joints. Even after taking a seat, you might notice there is tightness along the tops of a thigh, or just where the knee meets the thigh muscles. Take a second to rub the area a little to focus a little stretch right into the part of the soft tissue that is complaining, then go back to your focus.<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="color: lime;">
Watch the flow of breath</span></h4>
Check to see if you are cutting off the the flow of breath by slumping forward ever so slightly just below the ribs. Your diaphragm needs to be as free as possible to move up and down with the breath. If you find that you are, or just to run a comparison check, roll your shoulders up, back and towards each other slightly. Float up from the crown of your head as if drawn skyward by a strong thread. Breathe in deeply as you do, and on exhaling allow your spine to remain to retain some of this lengthening. Scan for tension and subtle straining - there is no need to strive for perfection, just take today's best seat in the house.
The right cushion can work wonders for you here. Keep feeling your way into it.<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="color: lime;">
Be aware of injuries and individual structure</span></h4>
You may have injuries or structural asymmetry - often this will be evident as one hip being higher that the other. These are very specific from person to person. I have a background in massage therapy, and talking to folks who call <a href="http://www.sunandmoonoriginals.com/">Sun and Moon Originals</a> about getting a cushion has helped me gain experience in this area.<br />
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What's your experience? What works best for you?SunandMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07723934552076668162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-219841225368110518.post-38966637577926047802012-06-18T10:15:00.000-04:002012-07-10T09:22:55.078-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Welcome to the Sun and Moon Originals blog!</span></div>
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<br />SunandMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07723934552076668162noreply@blogger.com0