Chris, You're right! The last time a gorilla escaped from the zoo and gatecrashed our sesshin that's exactly what happened. Bloody primates.
Mike ________________________________ From: Chris Austin-Lane <ch...@austin-lane.net> To: Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, 16 October 2012, 21:52 Subject: Re: [Zen] Re: Sitting straight I assure you if someone shot you whilst sitting with a dart gun with a muscle relaxant your spine would fall over. The effort may not be needed but the muscles certainly are. On Oct 16, 2012 12:38 PM, "Joe" <desert_woodwor...@yahoo.com> wrote: Mike, > >Yes, I did suggest that, here. That was me. I recognize it. > >I was trained that way, and found out the helpfulness and truth of it in >practice, and I always teach that in my Buddhist Yoga classes to beginners and >old-timers. > >Different adjustments happen in the spine as we sit, even in any one >particular sit. And, yes, some cracks and pops occur, I find. I don't know >enough about clicks and pops upon entering samadhi, though. It could just be >that I am not paying attention, or have a short memory. Interesting! I'll >take note. > >Sometimes there are rapid whip-like movements of the spine, almost like a very >sudden and strong "shiver". Kundalini. Chi. Heat goes into the head, >dissipates over the scalp, or comes down the front of the body. One of the >"circulation" pathways of Chi in the body, I guess, ...noted and mapped by the >Taoist Chi cartographers. Anyway, all very natural. > >I sit in half-lotus in quite a small and compact "footprint", with the knees >not far splayed apart. This gives good support to the spine via the pelvic >girdle, I think. The spine holds itself, with no muscles being needed. > >It's a very comfortable posture. If everyone sat so compactly, we could pack >more people into a room on sesshin! ;-) > >--Joe > >> mike brown <uerusuboyo@...> wrote: >> >> I recall you advising someone here about not using their muscles to hold up >> their spine. I find that just before I enter samadhi my spine sometimes >> corrects itself - sometimes audibly. From that point on, physically at >> least, the meditation is quite comfortable as the spine is supporting all my >> limbs like hanging a hat on a coat stand. Do you experience something >> similar? I won't go into kundalini like experiences here, but the role of >> the spine seems to be quite central (literally!) in it. > > > > >------------------------------------ > >Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are >reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links > > > >
