*Scroll down to the videos for a more detailed explanation.*
Approach posture with an attitude of using the body's support in your meditation rather than getting it exactly right. This is a body-grounded practice, allowing for stillness while entrusting awareness to the breath.
Notice five of the six postures shown on this page are sitting on the floor. In each, there is a tripod giving stability and allowing the spine to support your weight in a manner that frees the breathe and facilitates stillness. The tripod consists of your bottom on a cushion or bench, and two knees reaching the ground. Sitting in a chair is a special case considered later in this section.
The postures are shown in order of relative stability: Lotus, Half Lotus, Burmese, Seiza with a pillow, Seiza with a prayer bench. Take note of the following points over other minor details of the postures:
1. The knees reach the ground and are slightly lower (closer to the floor) than the pelvis, allowing for a slight pelvic tilt, freeing the breath and allowing for the strength of a natural curve to the spine as the head reaches toward the sky.
2. Hands are in the lap and rest against the lower abdomen just below the navel, allowing the shoulders and back to relax. The left hand rests on the right hand with knuckles on top of knuckles. The tips of the thumbs barely touch each other in the mudra position, facilitating awareness of when you slouch, which causes the thumbs to come apart.
3. The head is upright as though looking straight ahead. If you do Zazen with eyes partially open, your gaze will naturally be a bit downward, at approximately 450 angle. Even though your gaze is downward, do not tilt your head downward (forward). Keep it upright and positioned over the shoulders, sometimes referred to as a tucking in the chin, although we are actually just moving the head (think ears) back without tilting the head up or down. You'll notice a slight release in the neck or shoulders when the head is balanced this way. Please remember to approach this with the attitude of allowing the body to support you, not muscling yourself into a correct posture.
Entrust your awareness to the breath, so the breath is the guide to being present to here, now. Breathe naturally. Beginners often find counting exhalations enhances their concentration because it gives the mind something to do, like a small handle to hold for steadiness of mind. Count each exhalation up to five exhalations and then return to one and start again counting to five.
Do this five or ten minutes each day, or even twice a day. Your practice will take root quicker if you give yourself time each day to be still and follow the breath. There is a cummulative effect to daily stillness that is difficult to cultivate with sporadic meditation, such that five minutes daily is often more fruitful than an hour or two twice a week, for example.
If sitting in a chair, it is best to sit on the first half or third of the seat without leaning back against the chair-back. If you need the support of the chair-back, move your bottom all the way back and use a lumbar support only. If this is not enough, then find any posture that allows you to sit still without strain, being mindful that an erect back is more supportive than slouching.
Below are two helpful videos made by Maria Kannon Zen Center and our root teacher Ruben Habito.
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Helen Cortez, of our sister sangha Maria Kannon Zen Center, gives basic instruction on Zazen.
Ruben Habito , our first teacher, offers words to point us in the direction of what Zen is all about.
