Introduction to MIDL Meditation

When sitting on a chair to meditate, it is ok in the beginning to lean against the backrest. 

Make sure that your buttock is all the way back in the chair or else you may slump in your lower spine causing you to feel discomfort and sleepiness.

Once seated, un-round your shoulders by bringing them forward, raising them up, bringing them back, and then dropping them down. Also tuck your chin under slightly, extending the crown of your head towards the ceiling to balance your head on your neck. 

Once your meditation practice develops it is helpful to start introducing more discipline within your meditation posture. This can be done by sitting towards the front of the chair and slightly rotating the top of your hips forward. Your forearms and hands can then sit gently on your legs, creating a triangle-shaped balance point. 

This makes a very stable meditation posture that will keep you alert and balanced as you develop relaxation during your meditation session.

When sitting on the floor, it is important to keep your back straight and sit in a way that you can maintain for some time without moving. Sitting flat on the floor requires a lot of flexibility in your hips. You can test this now by sitting flat on the floor. 

If your knees have trouble touching the ground while your back is straight, you can use different props to help with your posture. Props such as a firm cushion under your buttocks help to raise your hips off the ground, changing the angle of your legs. This lowers the amount of flexibility needed in your hips for the posture.

When sitting on the floor, I recommend trying the Burmese meditation posture. Explanation:

Sit down on a cushion, and fold one leg into your body so that the sole of your foot faces the inside thigh of the other leg. Next, fold the other leg in front of it. 

In this way, you will prevent the pain and numbness that comes from one limb pressing against the other. 

If this is still difficult, you can kneel on the floor with a rolled blanket or cushion between your legs and legs tucked under you. If this still isn't comfortable, then go easy on yourself. Get to know your body and what it can and can't do. Accept it, and then work with what you have. 

Other postures are just as good. You can meditate on a chair or lay on a mat on the floor.

When laying down on the floor for meditation, use a yoga mat or blanket to support your body. Bend your knees and place a bolster or rolled blanket under them to protect your lower back. 

An advantage of your whole body supported by this hard surface is that you can fully allow your muscles to relax.

Slightly bend your knees and place a bolster or rolled blanket under them to protect your back. 

To keep alert (so you don't fall asleep), place your arms by your sides with palms facing upwards. If you have back or neck issues, try laying on your side in the CPR recovery position for meditation. If there is no other option, you can lie on a bed for meditation, but there is a higher risk of falling asleep. 

To prevent this, prop your body upright by placing pillows behind your back and head. A rolled blanket under your knees will protect your lower back.

Combining mindful walking with seated meditation is beneficial for meditation because it helps to settle the mind and increase focus. 

Step 1: Mindfulness of Standing.

Begin your meditation by standing at the end of your walking path, such as a hallway, with your feet side by side and your hands linked in front or behind.

• To bring awareness to your body, silently say: “standing” and mentally feel your body as it stands. 

These silent words (labels) are used during meditation to help to direct your attention. When using a label, do so slowly with no rush or hurry to remain relaxed. Mentally tune into experiences in your body, such as its heaviness, the touch of your hands, and your feet pressing against the floor as you stand.  

Step 2: Mindful Walking.

Once you feel mindfully aware of your body, you can begin to walk along your walking path. Walking in meditation is done in a slow yet relaxed way while being aware of the general experience of your body as it walks.

• To bring awareness to your body as you walk, silently say: “walking” and mentally feel the movement of your body walking.
• At the end of your track, you stop and silently say: "standing". As you turn around silently say: "turning" until you are ready to begin walking again.

What this looks like so far:

1. "Standing">
2. "Walking" > "walking" > "walking" >
3. "Standing" > "turning" >
4. "Walking" > "walking" > "walking" > ............

Mindfully walking in this way, will bring awareness into your body and withdraw your mind from the world around you.

Step 3: Mindfully Aware of Each Step.

As you become more aware of walking, you can gradually increase your observations. We will begin by noticing two parts to each step and then increase it to three.

Two parts per step: Begin each step by lifting your foot slightly off the floor, letting it swing, and then placing it on the ground in preparation for the next step.

• As your foot lifts and swings, silently say: “Lifting.”
• As you place your foot down, silently say: “Dropping.” 

These two silent words (labels) will direct your awareness to the experience of these two movements. Walk up and down slowly in this way, taking your time with standing and mindfully turning at the end of your path, increasing your noticing to develop mindfulness. 

What this looks like so far:

1. "Standing">
2. "Walking" > "walking" > "walking" >
3. "Standing" > "turning" >
4. "Lifting" > "dropping" (right) > "lifting" > "dropping" (left) > ...............

Three parts per step: You can increase awareness of each step by silently saying: “lifting” as your foot lifts, “pushing” as your foot swings, and “dropping” as you lower it. To increase mindfulness, mentally feel the difference between each phase.

What this looks like so far:

1. "Standing">
2. "Walking" > "walking" > "walking" >
3. "Standing" > "turning" >
4. "Lifting" > "dropping" (right) > "lifting" > "dropping" (left) >
5. "Standing" > "turning" >
6. "Lifting" > "pushing" > "dropping" (right) > "lifting" > "pushing" > "dropping" (left) > .........

When finished walking meditation, mindfully move to your meditation place to sit down for your seated meditation.

When Your Mind Wanders

It is normal for our minds to wander during walking meditation, and learning to accept this as a natural part of meditation is a first step in lowering mental suffering.

To aid in returning to mindfulness, you can use a silent label, such as “wandering, wandering,” whenever you notice that your mind has wandered. 

Purposefully developing an attitude of being happy whenever you notice that your mind has wandered is beneficial. 

“There you are, I see you (smile)”. 

Enhancing this noticing by relaxing and smiling as you begin to walk mindfully again will teach your mind that there is a positive reward in being mindful and letting go of distraction.

This introduction to MIDL Insight Meditation is a prerequisite for the main meditation course that will help you develop a daily meditation practice and give you the initial benefits of lower stress and anxiety in your daily life. 

In this insight meditation course you will learn three things:

1. Mindfulness: How to develop mindfulness so that you are present with your family, friends, work, or school.
2. Less Stress: How to use gentle belly breathing to desensitise your stress response.
3. Relaxation & Calm: How to develop relaxation & calm during meditation so that you experience it in your daily life.

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Make a commitment to change.

The first step to making meditation part of your life is to take some time out from your routine to develop skills in letting go. At first, change will take some determination, but with practice, you will see the benefits and look forward to your daily meditation.

1. Meditation: For benefits, I recommend committing to meditating daily for 2 weeks. 
2. Goals: This course aims to help you make daily meditation part of your life and understand how to skillfully breathe with your diaphragm to lower your stress. 
3. Progression: As you enjoy your daily meditation, you will begin to look forward to it and experience a naturally calm breath throughout the day. 

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Find enjoyment in your meditation.

For meditation to become regular, focus on two things:

1. Making it as enjoyable as possible.
2. Set a time for meditation that you can commit to so that you can say at the end: "I kept this commitment to myself." 

In this way, you will develop a feeling of success and trust in yourself that will gain momentum. This momentum leads to significant changes in our mind's relationship to things in our lives.

Enjoy your meditation,

Stephen Procter.

Find a place for seated meditation where you can be with yourself without distractions. This may be a corner of your room, outside in the sunshine, or even in the front seat of your car.

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• Be curious about what it means to relax. 
• Set a countdown timer on your phone (to DND), committing to meditating for 5 min. 

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During Day 1, you will learn to develop a mindful presence by relaxing with slow, gentle breaths.

Meditation Instructions. 

Mindfully relax.

1. Sit for your meditation with your hands resting in your lap. Set a timer for 5 minutes and place it behind you, then gently close your eyes.
2. Relax: Take 10 slow, gentle breaths from your belly to your chest and relax your body with each out-breath. Notice how you naturally become more aware of your body as you relax. Once you feel comfortable in your body, you can stop taking relaxing breaths and enjoy sitting in this relaxed state.
3. Mindfulness: For the rest of the meditation, focus on how nice it feels to feel this relaxation in your body. This will help you develop mindfulness in your body.
4. Wandering: It is natural for our mind to wander during meditation, particularly when relaxing. When you notice that your mind has wandered to thinking, etc., smile into your eyes to reward your mind for noticing and take five slow, gentle breaths to relax, letting go again. 

Tip: Focusing on the positive of mindfulness returning after you have wandered instead of the negative of your mind wandering will gradually change your mind's wandering behaviour.

Your meditation on Day 2 remains the same as on Day 1.

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• Continue to be curious about relaxing with your breathing. 
• Set a timer on your phone and commit to sitting for 5 min. 

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Enjoy this extra time to learn to enjoy relaxing. 

Your meditation on Day 03 remains the same as on Day 02, except you commit to 10 minutes of seated meditation and take an interest in deepening your relaxation with each breath.

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• Continue to be curious about relaxing and letting go with each breath. 
• Set a timer on your phone and commit to sitting for 10 min. 

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It is time to increase your relaxation by learning to feel the natural stretch in your body as your breath comes in, and the natural relaxation as the breath goes out.

1. Take a deep breath now and notice how your body stretches.
2. Allow that breath to go slowly out and notice how your body relaxes.

During your meditation, take relaxing breaths as before but this time be more aware of how nice the stretch and relax of your body feels with your breathing.

Your meditation on Day 04 remains the same as on Day 03.

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• Continue to be curious about relaxing and letting go with each breath. 
• Set a timer on your phone and commit to sitting for 10 min. 

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Enjoy the nice feeling of relaxing and letting go. 

Your meditation on Day 05 remains the same as on Day 04, except for introducing a simple meditation object to develop mindfulness, the touch of your thumbs.

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• Be curious about how much effort it takes to be mindful. 
• Set a timer on your phone and commit to sitting for 10 min. 

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Meditation Instructions. 

Mindful of the touch of your thumbs. 

1. Sit for your meditation with your hands resting in your lap and your thumbs lightly touching (needed for this mindfulness exercise).
2. Develop relaxation with gentle breaths as on Day 04.

New Addition: Once you have relaxed with your breathing:

1. Touch: Feel your hands resting in your lap and become mindfully aware of the touch of your thumbs. Be playful and see how little effort you need to put into remembering the touch of your thumbs before your mind wanders.
2. Develop Mindfulness: For the rest of the meditation, gently remember the feeling of your thumbs touching each other and make a game of noticing when your mind wanders. 

Using labels for mindfulness: You can help develop mindfulness by silently saying, “touching, touching.” Whenever your mind wanders, acknowledge it by silently saying, “wandering, wandering,” and come back to being mindful of the touch of your thumbs again.

Understanding mindfulness:  Mindfulness (sati) is the ability to keep a present experience in your short-term working memory over time. This is similar to remembering where you parked your car, the gentle effort to keep it in mind and remember it until you return.

Mindfulness is necessary for meditation because it is the ability to keep within your mind and remember your present experience. On Day 05 you begin to train mindfulness by remembering the experience of your thumbs touching each other. At first your mindfulness muscle may feel weak. With daily meditation practice, it will become stronger, and you will also become more mindful in your daily life.

Enjoy your meditation. 

Your meditation on Day 6 remains the same as on Day 5. 

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• Be curious about how your mind wanders by itself. 
• Set a timer on your phone and commit to sitting for 10 min. 

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A quick reminder: It is normal for our mind to wander towards what happened earlier today or what will happen after our meditation. The art of insight meditation is to turn up to whatever ‘mind movie’ your mind presents today and to allow that movie to run. Our task as insight meditators is not to stop the ‘mind movie’ from running, but rather to be present to it.  

Enjoy the relaxation of your body & growing trust by keeping your commitment. 

Your meditation on Day 7 remains the same as on Day 6, except this time, you commit to 15 minutes of seated meditation and are interested in how much effort it takes to remain mindful of the touch of your thumbs. 

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• Be curious about how little effort you can make while still remaining mindful of the touch of your thumbs. 
• Set a timer on your phone and commit to sitting for 15 min. 

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Enjoy the longer meditation period and the opportunity to develop curiosity about how much effort is needed to be mindful. 

Your meditation on Day 8 remains the same as on Day 7, except this time, you take interest in any wanders of your mind away from the touch of your thumbs.

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• Be curious about how little effort you can put in and still remain mindful of touch. 
• Set a timer on your phone and commit to sitting for 15 min. 

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Enjoy the longer meditation period and the opportunity to develop curiosity about how much effort is needed to be mindful. 

Your meditation on Day 9 remains the same as on Day 8, except you now include different experiences within your body to be mindful of. 

Did you know there are four different ranges of experiences within our body?  

Experiences of:  

• Softness to hardness.  
• Coolness to warmth.  
• Dryness to wetness.  
• Expansion to contraction.  

The Buddha referred to these as the Four Elemental Qualities and that they help develop mindfulness of our body.

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• Be curious about how many different experiences you can feel in your body. 
• Set a timer on your phone and commit to sitting for 15 min. 

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Meditation Instructions. 

Mindful of your whole body. 

1. Sit for your meditation with your hands resting in your lap and thumbs lightly touching. Set a timer for 15 minutes, and then gently close your eyes.
2. Relax: Take slow, gentle breaths and relax your body.

NEW ADDITION:

Be mindful of:

1. Sounds around you (30 sec).
2. Clothing touching your body (30 sec).
3. Warmth in your body (30 sec). 
4. Touch of your thumbs (30 sec).
5. Pressure of your body on the chair or floor (30 sec).
6. Develop Mindfulness: For the rest of the meditation, mindfully remember all of these experiences together as one and enjoy noticing when your mind wanders.

Explanation: Being mindful of these five things one after another will bring your mind from the outside world into your body and settle your thinking. In meditation, this is referred to as being grounded. During this meditation, you will now develop mindfulness by remembering the experience of your whole body as it sits in meditation.

Using Labels: You can help develop mindfulness by silently saying, “sitting, sitting” to bring your awareness to your body. Whenever your mind wanders, silently say “wandering, wandering" to acknowledge it, then bring awareness back to your whole body sitting in meditation again. 

Enjoy your meditation. 

Your meditation on Day 10 remains the same as Day 9, except this time, you commit to 20 minutes of seated meditation, giving you time to experience mindful presence.

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• Be curious about introducing relaxing breaths throughout your meditation. 
• Set a timer on your phone and commit to sitting for 20 min. 

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Enjoy the relaxation of your body & growing trust by keeping your commitment. 

May I start by saying that you have come a long way, well done! 

Your meditation on Day 11 remains the same as on Day 10, except you will introduce slow belly breathing (diaphragmatic) to relax your body and bring an experience of calm to your mind. This meditation skill lowers stress reactions during the day and is a foundation for mindful presence, a deep feeling of relaxation and calm while sitting in meditation.

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• Be curious about the relaxation effect belly breathing has on your body and mind. 
• Set a timer on your phone and commit to sitting for 20 min. 

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Meditation Instructions. 

Mindfully breathe in your belly. 

1. Sit for your meditation with your hands resting in your lap and thumbs lightly touching. Set a timer for 20 minutes, and then gently close your eyes.
2. Relax: Take slow, gentle breaths, relax, and develop mindfulness of your body as you did on Day 9 (10 min). 

NEW ADDITION:

1. Palms: Once you feel present, place your palms below your belly button. 
2. Breathing: Begin taking gentle breaths in your belly by slowly extending your belly out to breathe in and slowly lowering your belly back to breathe out. Do this for 5 breath cycles, counting to 3 in line with each in-breath and another 3, in line with each out-breath. *
3. Slow Breathing: Once you have taken 5 slow belly breaths, allow your breathing to happen by itself and enjoy the feeling of relaxation for the rest of your meditation. 

Explanation: To learn to breathe with your diaphragm, it is helpful to think of the movement of your lower belly as being like a pump for breathing.  As you move the lower part of your belly outwards away from your body, air will naturally come in through your nose. As you slowly lower your belly back again, air will naturally go back out through your nose. Using your belly as a pump in this way will allow you to gradually lower your breathing rate and develop an experience of calm.  

*Note: If counting to 3 is strained, count to 2 with each in and out-breath to create a more relaxed experience, this is most important. If you are experiencing anxiety and it is affecting your ability to relax, I recommend my meditation for Retraining Stress Breathing Patterns.

Your meditation on Day 12 remains the same as on Day 11, except you introduce 10 minutes of mindful walking at the beginning of your meditation.

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• Be curious about how mindful walking deepens your seated meditation. 
• Set a timer on your phone and commit to mindfully walking for 10 minutes and sitting for 20 minutes. 

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Your meditation on Day 13 remains the same as Day 12, except you now lengthen your out-breath to increase the calm from this gentle breathing.

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• Be curious about how lengthening your out-breath increases the feeling of calm. 
• Set a timer on your phone and commit to mindfully walking for 10 minutes and sitting for 20 minutes.

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Meditation Instructions. 

Mindfully lengthen each out-breath. 

1. Practice 10 minutes of mindful walking, as above.
2. Sit for your meditation with your hands resting in your lap and thumbs lightly touching. Set a timer for 20 minutes, and then gently close your eyes.
3. Relax: Take slow, gentle breaths, relax, and develop mindfulness of your body as you did on Day 9 (10 min).
4. Palms: Place your palms below your belly button once you feel present.
5. Breathing: Begin taking gentle breaths in your belly by slowly extending your belly out to breathe in and slowly lowering your belly back to breathe out. Do this for 5 breath cycles, counting to 3 in line with each in-breath and another 3, in line with each out-breath.

NEW ADDITION:

1. Lengthen: Take 5 more in-and-out breath cycles. Slow down each out-breath slightly by counting to 3 in line with each in-breath and 5 in line with each out-breath until you feel the calming effect**. Allow your breathing to happen by itself now, simply enjoying the nice feeling of the increased feeling of calm. 

**Note: As in Day 11, if slowing your breathing to 5 seconds on each out-breath causes strain, you can lower the count to 4 or 3. There is no magic number here. The important part is that it feels comfortable and has a calming effect. 

During Day 14 it is time to integrate all your skills. Ten days of meditation is a huge milestone that will increase your trust in yourself. So far, you have learned to be mindful of your senses, become intimate with your body, and relax with mindful breathing. These now introduce you to the GOSS Formula. A way of skillfully changing the habits of your mind. 

GOSS Formula: 

Does this sound familiar? 

1. Ground: Develop mindfulness of your body experience. 
2. Observe: Notice when your mind wanders. 
3. Soften: Relax with gentle breathing to let it go. 
4. Smile: Enjoy how nice it feels to let things go and be mindful again. 

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• Be curious about how this four-step formula develops both calm and insight. 
• Set a timer on your phone and commit to mindfully walking for 10 minutes and sitting for 20 minutes.

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Meditation Instructions. 

Mindfully bring it all together as one meditation. 

These steps remain the same: 

1. Practice 10 minutes of mindful walking, as above.
2. Sit for your meditation with your hands resting in your lap and thumbs lightly touching. Set a timer for 20 minutes, and then gently close your eyes.
3. Relax: Take slow, gentle breaths, relax, and develop mindfulness of your body as you did on Day 9 (10 min).

NEW ADDITION:

1. 1) Ground: After calming with your gentle breathing, notice how aware you have become of your body and how nice it feels to sit in this relaxed state. 
2. 2) Observe: Make a game out of noticing whenever your mind has wandered towards a sound, thinking. or daydreams. You can use more precise labels such as “thinking”, “planning”, “fantasising”, “hearing” to develop understanding of your mind. 
3. 3) Soften: Use slow breaths, as you did in your previous meditations, to help you let go of any distractions. Your focus is not on making the distractions disappear but on relaxing your interest in them to teach your mind to let them go. 
4. 4) Smile: Smiling with your eyes and enjoying this game of noticing you were distracted will strengthen mindfulness and reward your mind for letting go. Repeating this will gradually change your mind's behaviour regarding stress, worries, and concerns.
5. Repeat: Once you have softened and smiled your awareness will naturally return to your body, grounded again.

I encourage you to continue your daily meditation beyond these introductory meditations.

If you miss a day of meditation, it does not matter. Simply brush the dust off your meditation mat, start again and experience the benefits. 

After practising this simple but effective meditation, you may like to explore meditation further by following the complete insight meditation course on this website. You are welcome to continue with the meditation you have learned in this course as a daily practice. 

When you are ready, you may also begin Meditation Skill 01: Body Relaxation in Cultivation 01 to develop deeper skills in insight meditation in mindfulness of breathing.