Oakville Zen Meditation
Physical & mental unrests during meditation
Physical and emotional unrests are unavoidable during meditation. They are not signs of
weakness, or obstacles to overcome, but as an opportunity to learn to shift from negatively
to witnessing, accepting , and letting them go.
It is very important to remember that body and mind are ONE in Zen.
The body is the proxy of the mind, and vice versa.
1. Physical Discomfort (Pain, Itching, Numbness, Tension, Tinglying, dry throat,... )
It appears whatever the meditative position.
Meditation should not be a physical torture.
When knee pain, neck fatigue, restlessness strikes, the mind typically jumps on it.
“How is it? Why? I am not good at meditating, I am moving too much ... .etc…
What to do?
Remember Zen : there is no duality between body and mind that when your stay
still you are forcing your mind to be still also and it does like it.
Unless there is a mental issue triggering the physical discomfort, that I will talk about soon,
Separate the physical sensations from your mental narrative reaction:
Don’t analyze it, don’t judge yourself.
Maintain Stillness First: Resist the immediate urge to shift posture or scratch an itch.
Consider slow, mindful, deliberate silent posture adjustments during meditation.
The goal is conscious action rather than fidgeting.
Re-positioning should be quiet, and non-distractive to others.
Minimize drinking your bottle every 5 min.
2. Emotional Bursts (anger, grief, anxiety, fear, being upset, joy, having
your mind wandering, impatience , frustration, and so on )
Again our body is the perfect proxy of our mind. Very often, the physical preceeds the mental
like the rooster chanting before the sun rises.
Emotional surges manifest physically in many forms: tight chest, breathing faster,
itching throat, knots in the stomach, restless body, sweeting, tingling, etc.
What to do?
Zen is teaching to redirect your focus entirely from the emotional event to the physical sensations rather than analyzing the root of the feeling: “why/ how, what, when, whom “
Meditation is not an opportunity to be your own therapist.
Focusing on your still body acts as an external venting valve allowing the
internal emotional energy to freeze than dissipate.
It prevents you from being swept away by further emotional bursts.
Hold or re-position your physical posture.
The emotional spike will evaporate like a cloud in the sky. …..to come back !
The Concept of "Makyo":
In Zen, intense sensorial hallucinations, sudden tears, or unexpected waves of anxiety are called makyo (hallucinatory realm). You are not getting crazy.
They are viewed simply as our nervous system releasing subconscious stored tensions as the conscious mind quiets down.
Zen teachers advise treating them like weather: notice the storm, let it pass, and pay no extra attention to it.
"Do not follow faint ideas, nor be attached to sudden strong feelings. Keep Sitting
straight, and return to your breath." Zen Master Dogen. XII century.
arnaud
