GEORGE NEWS - Zen teacher Gerry Botha gives some guidelines for Zen meditation to calm your mind.

Our teaching is about Zen in everyday life and learning mind-sitting. This means keeping a mind that is not busy or "not moving". Put aside your opinion, your condition and situation from moment to moment. Sitting meditation is central to the very heart of the practice.

For lay people, the teaching of great love and great compassion is very important. To attain that, it is necessary to keep a "not moving mind", then the correct situation, function and relationship become clear in everyday life.

We tend to see body, breath, and mind separately, but in meditation they become one.

Body position
Pay attention to the body position during sitting. How you position your body has a lot to do with what happens with your mind and your breath.

The recommended position is sitting on the floor or a mat, because it is very stable. A cushion can be used to raise the sitting position a little, so that the knees can touch the ground. With your bottom on the pillow and two knees touching the ground, you form a tripod base that gives stability.

There are several different leg positions possible while seated this way. The first and simplest is the Burmese position, in which the legs are crossed and both feet rest on the floor.

Another position is the half lotus, where the left foot is placed up onto the right thigh and the right leg is tucked under. This position is slightly asymmetrical and sometimes the upper body needs to compensate in order to keep itself straight.

The most stable of all positions is the full lotus, where each foot is placed up on the opposite thigh. This is perfectly symmetrical and very solid. Some adults find it hard to sustain unless it is practiced regularly and maintained from a young age. The young and athletic find it very comfortable.

Stability and efficiency are the important reasons why sitting cross-legged works so well. There is no esoteric significance to the different positions. What is most important in sitting meditation is what you do with your mind, not what you do with your feet or legs.

Knees and spine
The knees should also rest on the floor, though sometimes it takes a bit of exercise to be able to get the legs to drop that far. After a while the muscles will loosen up and the knees will begin to drop. To help that happen, sit on the front third of the cushion, shifting your body forward a little bit. B

y imagining the top of your head pushing upward to the ceiling and by stretching your body that way, get your spine straight - then just let the muscles go soft and relax. With the buttocks up on the cushion and your stomach pushing out a little, there will be a slight curve in the lower region of the back. In this position, it takes very little effort to keep the body upright.

Face
Once you've positioned yourself, there are a few other things to check on. The mouth is kept closed and if possible, you should breathe through your nose. The tongue is pressed lightly against the upper palate. This reduces the need to salivate and swallow. The eyes, slightly open, are kept lowered, with your gaze resting on the ground about 70 to 100cm in front of you at an angle of 45 degrees. 

Your eyes will be mostly covered by your eyelids, which eliminates the necessity to blink much. The chin is slightly tucked in. Although the position during sitting meditation looks very disciplined, the muscles should be relaxed. There should be no tension in the body. It doesn't take strength to keep the body straight. The nose is centred in line with the navel, the upper torso leaning neither forward nor back but resting in a relaxed position.

Assume a position which can be comfortably sustained for 30 minutes without tension, aches or pain.

Hands
The hands are folded in the cosmic mudra. The dominant hand is held palm up holding the other hand, also palm up. The knuckles of both hands should overlap with thumbs lightly touching. Thus the hands form an oval, which can rest in your lap, on top of your feet or on your thighs. The cosmic mudra is exactly in the place of your energetic centre or tantien and tends to turn your attention inward.

Breathing
One of the basic techniques of meditation is to focus on the breath. It is always with us. The word "spirit" means breath. Breath is the vital force; it's the central activity of our bodies. Mind and breath are one: when your mind is agitated, your breath is agitated and when your mind is at rest, the breath is deep, easy, and effortless.

For more information on Zen practice, e-mail Gerry Botha on [email protected].

'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'