Sitting Meditation: Nourishing the Domain of Being
Reclaim the territory of being through disciplined stillness and presence
Sitting meditation is the heart of formal mindfulness practice. Unlike the body scan (which involves moving attention through the body) or yoga (which involves physical movement), sitting is pure non-doing: assuming an alert, dignified posture and dwelling in present-moment awareness without trying to fill the moment with anything. It is, as Kabat-Zinn describes, the only human endeavor that does not involve trying to get somewhere else.
The practice reveals a fundamental truth about the human condition: we are so immersed in a world of constant doing that we are rarely in touch with who is doing all the doing. The momentum of unbridled doing can carry us for decades, even to the grave, without our quite knowing that we are living out our lives. Sitting meditation is the deliberate act of stopping this momentum, of 're-minding' ourselves, of nourishing the domain of being.
The practice begins with awareness of breathing and progressively expands to include awareness of body sensations, sounds, thoughts, emotions, and eventually 'choiceless awareness' in which attention rests in the open field of awareness itself without any particular focus. Each level of expansion reveals more about the nature of mind and the habitual patterns that drive our lives.
- Meditation is a non-doing; it has no goal other than for you to be yourself
- Posture is an outward support for the inner attitudes of dignity, patience, and self-acceptance
- When the mind wants to move and the body wants to shift, observing these impulses without acting on them is the practice
- The richness of sitting is discovered not by filling moments with activity but by being completely open to each moment
- What we call 're-minding' ourselves is literally remembering the domain of being that doing has eclipsed
- Adopt an Erect, Dignified PostureSit on a chair with feet flat on the floor (ideally away from the chair back, spine self-supporting) or on a cushion on the floor in a cross-legged or kneeling posture. Head, neck, and back should be aligned vertically. Relax the shoulders. Place hands on the knees or rest them in the lap. The posture itself embodies the inner attitudes of self-reliance, alertness, and acceptance.Pro tipIt is not what you are sitting on that matters but the sincerity of your effort. Whether floor or chair, the key is that the posture supports alertness without rigidity.WarningDo not adopt a posture that causes pain or strain. You need to be comfortable enough to remain still for extended periods.
- Begin with Awareness of BreathingBring attention to the breath at the belly. Feel each inbreath for its full duration, each outbreath for its full duration. Dwell in this present moment, breath by breath. Let the breath happen naturally without controlling it.Pro tipWhen you notice the mind has wandered (which it will, within minutes or even seconds), observe what captured your attention, then gently and firmly return to the breath.
- Observe the Impulse to Move Without Acting on ItAfter a few minutes, the body or mind will demand something else: to shift posture, check your phone, get up, do something 'productive.' This is the most interesting and fruitful point in the practice. Instead of automatically following the impulse, observe it as a mental event. Notice how normally every time the mind moves, the body follows. In sitting, you practice breaking that automatic chain.Pro tipAsk yourself what is behind the impulse to fill each moment with something. What drives the body and mind to reject being still? These are not questions to answer intellectually but to sit with as objects of curious investigation.WarningDo distinguish between productive discomfort (restlessness, boredom) and genuine pain. Adjust your position if you are experiencing physical pain that could cause injury.
- Expand the Field of AwarenessAs practice deepens over weeks and months, progressively expand awareness beyond the breath: to body sensations as a whole, to sounds arising and passing, to thoughts as events in the field of awareness, to emotions, and eventually to 'choiceless awareness' where attention is open and receptive to whatever arises without focusing on any particular object.Pro tipThoughts are like clouds passing through the sky of awareness. You do not need to get on every thought-cloud that floats by. You can simply watch them come and go.
- Sustain Daily PracticeSit every day for at least 20-45 minutes. Practice in the morning if possible, as it positively influences the entire day. If you truly have no time, sit for even one to three minutes of concentrated non-doing. Anybody can find one minute. But when you do it, let it be a minute of complete letting go of time.Pro tipEarly morning practice before anyone else is awake creates a protected space that sets the tone for the day. One practitioner pushed his meditation time back to 4:00 AM to ensure uninterrupted practice.WarningPracticing when too tired leads to drowsy sitting rather than alert awareness. Better to splash cold water on your face first and sit alert than to sit in a daze.
Linda described her mental experience as feeling that a large truck was always right on her heels, driving just faster than she could walk. When asked what the truck was, she identified it as her impulses, cravings, and desires. Her mind was the truck, always pushing her, allowing no rest or peace. She was very overweight, and food was one of the primary vehicles through which her driven mind operated.
Kabat-Zinn describes getting up an hour before he otherwise would to meditate and do yoga. When his children were young, the littlest one seemed to sense awake energy in the house at any hour, so he sometimes pushed his meditation time back to 4:00 AM. He never pressured his children to meditate, but they would sometimes join him because it was simply something Daddy did.
Sitting meditation is the oldest and most universal form of mindfulness practice, drawn from Buddhist, Hindu, and contemplative traditions across millennia. Kabat-Zinn adapted it for the clinical MBSR context by stripping away religious forms and framing it in the universal language of awareness and being. The practice is introduced in weeks five and six of MBSR, after the foundation of body scan and breathing has been established, because sitting with nothing to 'do' except be present is the most challenging form of practice and requires prior training to sustain.