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zoom6628 · 10-06-2011 02:56 PM

I will endeavour to make this part of my early morning routine - less twitter time and more meditation time. Will add evening sessions as and when i can find the time.

Best wishes and Metta to fellow sitters and thanks for being part of this journey.

zoom6628 · 10-09-2011 08:25 AM

Day 1 - what a shocker. Monkeys in the trees going beserk, the body trying to yell at me to get off the damn mat cos it aint working. Well 15 minutes was all i managed before i gave up for the day with good intentions to do it again in the evening. Just too much going on in the head and it was quite frankly annoying. I had previously been able to banish most of this gumpf from arising - just shows what happens when dont sit regularly. Now even more than before hoping this 21d sit becomes a new habit to go with the new yoga habit to be able to 'on demand' calm the body and the mind. Who knows, after a few years the monkeys will calm down, or hopefully leave.

Evening came and for a change I was dog tired and fell asleep just after 10pm (normal time is closer to 11:30). Perhaps my body was craving the release of not having yoga for a few days :-P

Day 2 - a better quality 15 minutes today although i did have to change my "cushion" part way through. Guess body not yet quite ready for the very low and flat one so changed back to a yoga foam block 2x the height. Mind was much calmer today although it was still a rush of silent movies. Some kid outside having a hissy fit with a parent so that was good practice for pushing out external noises and things that trigger emotions. I feel that for me the sitting is too short but then i am too out of practice! It is also quite different to be sitting in the morning, just after getting up, and yet it feels quite natural. Im not nodding off so not being tired at all helps. Lets see what happens during today and what effect this sitting has on my whole day.

To my fellow sitters - thanks for posting and hang in there!

zoom6628 · 10-10-2011 08:03 AM

Day 3 - much more clarity. Sat for 15 minutes and was much easier to physically hold position and also keeping the mind aware of the breath. Less monkeys today....and they were treading more quietly. Much fewer thoughts came into my mind and at a slower pace during the sitting. I felt alert and not drowsy amd began to already get that feeling that 'something is working' in that i did feel like the meditation practice is starting to have some effect. Dont yet know what the effect is, but just felt like was doing something useful and helpful. Also did the whole session on the lower cushion with no discomfort. I know Im not sitting in ideal position but Im not going to worry about that - just let it be. Tonight is first day back to youga class after the National Week holidays so looking forward to that and seeing how during the coming days the evening yoga and morning meditation work together.

zoom6628 · 10-11-2011 07:47 AM

Day 4 - much smoother. Sort of fell into it really (and almost literally). Very quicklu got the correct sensations and felt a lot more comofrtable with the seating position today. The random thoughts drift in and out like clouds and less like raucous children running in and out of a classroom. Having a challenge to get teh depth of breathing necessary in terms of pure volume of air in and out by Im not going to worry about that for now. Concerning more with the habit, and the posture, and all else I am hopefull will come with practice.

zoom6628 · 10-13-2011 07:46 AM

Day 5 - nothing happened. Laid out all day with a migraine. I can meditate with any other kind of discomfort or illness so far, but wicked headaches prevent me finding enough calmness to meditate.

Day 6 - managed 15 minutes this morning. When got out of bed the head was still ringing with remnants of yesterdays migraine but not so much i couldnt close my eyes and focus for a short while. A lot of noise and unpleasant thoughts passing thru the mind today - must be caused by the headache. At least I managed to sit - not as long as hoped but still a sit. Felt ok about it.

zoom6628 · 10-14-2011 10:50 AM

Day 7 - wanted to put this in the daily posts fr everyone but the Day 7 summary not up yet.

This morning was a buzz! Was sitting after already been sitting on floor for an hour doing email and twitter so the body was already settled in to sitting on the floor.

Getting into meditation was like straight in and only a two thoughts in my head: first one was concentration on my breathing and second (in the observer part of my conciousness which watches how the rest of me thinks and behaves) was thinking "oh my god i have only a single thought so this is working!" .

Experienced also for the first time what the yoga teaches had been telling me to do every class when we start and end which is to breath into the sitting position. To feel that each incoming breath sinks down with the body and makes you sit ever more solidly on the cushion, to feel the weight of gravity with every cell. Was such an awesome and comfortable feeling - the first time I have experienced this in more than 20 years of ad hoc meditation. Guess is the benefit of finally doing yoga at least 4x per week and also with Celes meditation challenge forcing me to sit regularly - so I am already achivieving what i wanted out of the 21day challenge and only on Day 7! Thank you Celes and fellow meditators for your inspiration.

zoom6628 · 10-15-2011 11:21 PM

Day 8 -15 minutes and it seems the settling down to a solid sitting feel is finally happening. Easier to get my mind slowed down but still not clear and holding concentration on the breath. Still its a bug improvement n Day 1.

zoom6628 · 10-16-2011 11:33 PM

Day 9 - 20 minutes this morning and it seemed so easier. The sitting position is starting to feel normal and well connected. I can feel my body sinking with each breath. Still lots of rubbish thoughts going through the mind like a movie collage but it is slowly getting quieter. When its too silly i try to generate compassionate thoughts and this helps the 'noise' subside a little.

zoom6628 · 10-17-2011 08:17 AM

Day 10 - another 20 minutes and the thoughts were all reasonable. Now finding that the easiest way to bring back some sort of useful focus is to put attention on whatever part of me is feeling sore while Im sitting. This almost always seems to be my knees.

Yen · 10-17-2011 08:53 AM

(10-14-2011 10:50 AM)zoom6628 Wrote: Day 7 - wanted to put this in the daily posts fr everyone but the Day 7 summary not up yet.

Experienced also for the first time what the yoga teaches had been telling me to do every class when we start and end which is to breath into the sitting position. To feel that each incoming breath sinks down with the body and makes you sit ever more solidly on the cushion, to feel the weight of gravity with every cell. Was such an awesome and comfortable feeling - the first time I have experienced this in more than 20 years of ad hoc meditation. Guess is the benefit of finally doing yoga at least 4x per week and also with Celes meditation challenge forcing me to sit regularly - so I am already achivieving what i wanted out of the 21day challenge and only on Day 7! Thank you Celes and fellow meditators for your inspiration.

Congratulations! I think focussing on breath first should allow you concentrate and calm your thoughts.

zoom6628 · 10-17-2011 10:56 PM

(10-17-2011 08:17 AM)zoom6628 Wrote: Day 10 - another 20 minutes and the thoughts were all reasonable. Now finding that the easiest way to bring back some sort of useful focus is to put attention on whatever part of me is feeling sore while Im sitting. This almost always seems to be my knees.

Just put in another 20 minutes of meditation. Something happened during my yoga class which made me really angry. I spent the rest of the class time just waiting for it to finish so i could get the hell out of there and go home. Came home super grumpy and decided I needed to sit and try and let it go. Hs helped a little bit. Thought this was something i had managed to get rid of a couple of years ago but that prior memory whenever it comes up makes me super angry and ready to throw things and hit people.....and anybody who knows me would say im a very gentle and compassionate person. I dont know how to get rid of that anger but hope will find a way soon. Mentally I know I have to lift myself above it, but its a deep visceral anger of a type I have never experienced prior to the event that happened, nor since.

Im sure by hanging in there for the 21 days and taking it further I will eventually grow beyond this unnecessary and unhelpful emotional reaction to a certain type of person. A sad way to end what had otherwise behind a very pleasant and productive day even though body not feeling 100% (we are falling into late Autumn here in Shanghai with chilly nights - easy to get a cold or sore throat this time of year).

Cheers to all my fellow sitters.....just being able to write this has been a help.

zoom6628 · 10-18-2011 08:27 AM

Day 11 - 20 minutes done. More comfortable to sit but need to now make some minor adjustments to feet to stop the numbness in legs. Good that my knees not at all sore today....more evidence the yoga is working for me. Can feel the back also getting better - no soreness today during the sit. Next step is to concentrate well on keeping the head up and parallel to floor. Overall a good quality sit, thoughts not too rushed or "noisy".....fewer monkeys in the tree.

zoom6628 · 10-19-2011 08:50 AM

Day 12 - sat for 15 minutes and then conference call reminder "brought me back". Felt like i could go on sitting for ages. Was meditiation/thinking on the topic of wanting more of the things I enjoy. What is more, what and when is enough, and how to stop the cycle from repeating of want-get-more-enough. Seems a destructive cycle basedon desire and need to appreciate what i have so that the desire for more diminishes.

zoom6628 · 10-20-2011 11:42 PM

Day 13 - (12 minutes )and as experiment did sitting just now late in the evening like i used to. Bad move. Sitting (hips, bum, legs) were fine, in fact better than a morning sitting, but lower back not good. Thoughts flitted through the brain more slowly - I attribute this just to tiredness and not to any extra abilities at end of a work day.

zoom6628 · 10-21-2011 08:27 AM

Day 14 (20 minutes). Had to put a yoga block under my right knee today. I think will make/buy some 5cm "pillows" in the weekend. Need them to practice yoga sitting as well as supporting the knees sometimes when meditating. The mind wandered a bit especially when creative thoughts related to work, research, writing drifted into the mind and I really wanted to pursue the line of thought, but then I moved the awareness from thinking to my sitting position by focussing one by one on the places where my body had physical contact with the floor or cushion. That sank me into an alert bliss. I have often been warned by friends in the past that the worst one can do is get attached to the bliss that can arise during meditating, so i reminded myself that to "move along" and put awareness somewhere else until that blissful feeling presented itself again. I was in the frame of mind to just sit until it ended and then out of nowhere my hands came up into namaste and I finished. Felt good and right to finish at that time.

zoom6628 · 10-22-2011 10:27 PM

Day15 - 16 minutes. Knees very sore today i think because of the yoga last night. Too many new and difficult moves. Mind was ok...not too disturbed. Physically tired.

zoom6628 · 10-23-2011 08:34 PM

Day 16 - 10 poor quality minutes this morning and 15 minutes better tonight = 25 minutes total. The knees still giving me some problem - may more old age than yoga. C'est la vie. Now really feeling like if i havent had some quality minutes on the meditating on the mat then the day hasnt really happened for me. This is exactly the type of habit forming for meditation that I was hoping would arise from this 21DMC.

zoom6628 · 10-24-2011 08:28 AM

Day 17 - A good quality 22 minutes. No pain (until I stood up :-p) but otherwise good quality. The general slew of nonsense that rushes through the head is now effectively dealt with by physical inspection. Put concentration on some part of the body and have a 'look' around at the physical sensations. This is now easy with the limbs, much more challenging with places like throat, ears, so will focus on those more in future. Very pleased with today's sit. I am making progressing.

zoom6628 · 10-25-2011 08:23 AM

Day 18 - 20 minutes of solid sitting. No discomfort. Not 100% perfect physically but nothing was in a hurry to make me stand up or move. Legs are now sorted - I know the 2 positions i can use that wont induce pain or numbness in either leg! Very happy about this. Also was able to focus attention on couple of places internally including where my throat is sore...a first to be able to focus on part of the body internally. This is also progress. Physically felt like I could have sat all day but my daily schedule is beckoning. If i didnthave meetings i felt like i could have sat a lot longer.

zoom6628 · 10-27-2011 08:31 AM

Day 19 - Some nasty lurgy trying to invade the body but still managed 10 minutes. Hard to sit when no part of one's body or mind really wants to cooperate with any other part.

Day 20 - (12 mins) Whatever sickness Ive got, probably just another wonderful new Shanghai winter lurgy, definitely making it harder to sit. Physically the sitting is ok, and the mind is not too bad, but whole body apart frm the legs is in revolt shouting at me to get up and move. Interesting also to observe the effects of sneezing. Amazing how much disruption a single sneeze will cause - can feel like a whole chain reaction racing throughout the body after a sneeze - sort of a "bull in a china shop" kind of reaction.

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