Meditation Project, Day 2
(Day 1 was actually yesterday)
Last night at work I got a chance to talk to Paul in grocery, who's sorta my guru, and he told me to pay attention to where I'm breathing from and make sure it's the diaphragm and not the chest. Man was he ever on the money! By breathing from my belly I got so much more depth and umph in my chants this morning. Yesterday I felt some strain chanting and wondered if I had my pitch wrong or something, but it was totally the breathing. Once I started inhaling and exhaling from my belly, my chants stopped being so nasal and acquired a deep rich tone, and they were way more sustainable. That said, meditation didn't feel as meditationy today, not as centering and no funky third eye action. I did sit up straight the entire time, so I wasn't as relaxed (slight back strain) - does anybody know if it's okay to slouch or not? Honestly I'd prefer to learn to sit properly, even if it's a little uncomfortable. Part of it might also have been that I woke up late this morning, so I wasn't falling easily into a trancelike state like I can when I am up earlier than I want to be. I enjoyed the experience enough to think seriously about doing it tonight before bed, too. A stretch would be really good as well, to help me recover from all of those footwork drills Percy had us doing. And here I thought I was in shape...
Non-meditative stuff:
Spent the morning in Nikulai's garden (it needs a name!) and was very pleased with how things turned out thus far. Did tangle with poison ivy . :( The Garden Fairy made a butterfly bush appear at The Web, where the daylilies planted a few weeks ago are in happy, beautiful bloom and everything else is happy too. Stopped by that garden place on 54 and noted LOTS of cheap plants. Hooray! Then fencing was fabulous. I used my inhaler and OMG I CAN BREATHE. It is awesome. I am going to start chasing Benjamin around. Bwhahahahaha. Nice lightning again tonight but I am tired of having giant buckets of water dumped on the road while I'm driving up Estes. Ah well, at least plants are getting watered!
Last night at work I got a chance to talk to Paul in grocery, who's sorta my guru, and he told me to pay attention to where I'm breathing from and make sure it's the diaphragm and not the chest. Man was he ever on the money! By breathing from my belly I got so much more depth and umph in my chants this morning. Yesterday I felt some strain chanting and wondered if I had my pitch wrong or something, but it was totally the breathing. Once I started inhaling and exhaling from my belly, my chants stopped being so nasal and acquired a deep rich tone, and they were way more sustainable. That said, meditation didn't feel as meditationy today, not as centering and no funky third eye action. I did sit up straight the entire time, so I wasn't as relaxed (slight back strain) - does anybody know if it's okay to slouch or not? Honestly I'd prefer to learn to sit properly, even if it's a little uncomfortable. Part of it might also have been that I woke up late this morning, so I wasn't falling easily into a trancelike state like I can when I am up earlier than I want to be. I enjoyed the experience enough to think seriously about doing it tonight before bed, too. A stretch would be really good as well, to help me recover from all of those footwork drills Percy had us doing. And here I thought I was in shape...
Non-meditative stuff:
Spent the morning in Nikulai's garden (it needs a name!) and was very pleased with how things turned out thus far. Did tangle with poison ivy . :( The Garden Fairy made a butterfly bush appear at The Web, where the daylilies planted a few weeks ago are in happy, beautiful bloom and everything else is happy too. Stopped by that garden place on 54 and noted LOTS of cheap plants. Hooray! Then fencing was fabulous. I used my inhaler and OMG I CAN BREATHE. It is awesome. I am going to start chasing Benjamin around. Bwhahahahaha. Nice lightning again tonight but I am tired of having giant buckets of water dumped on the road while I'm driving up Estes. Ah well, at least plants are getting watered!