Taking your seat

Meditation practice requires a disciplined, sustained effort. Yet at heart, mindfulness meditation is about care, about a willingness to come up close to our discomfort and pain without judgment, striving, manipulation, or pretence. This gentle, open, nonjudgmental approach is both merciful and relentless, asking of us more than we might ever have expected. To practice in such a way, awareness of the breath is an effective, ever-available means for cultivating presence.

Find a comfortable place to sit down. Sitting on the floor or in a straight-backed chair is fine. If you are in a chair, see whether you can ease off the back of the chair and support yourself (unless you have back trouble), sitting upright yet at ease, placing your feet firmly on the floor, allowing the knees and feet to be about hip-width apart. Find a comfortable place for your hands, resting them in your lap. Try folding them together or turning the palms up or down. If you are on the floor, placing a cushion or two under your buttocks can be helpful. This will encourage your pelvis to tilt forward and your knees to touch the floor, thereby providing a strong, stable base of support. Again, find a comfortable place for your hands.

Now you’ve taken your seat.