A sense of balance...?

[milco]

Do you feel you need a sense of physical balance when you meditate -- almost like a requirement for left / right symmetry in the body?

I almost want my left side and right side to be exactly equal, balanced and proportionate before I can proceed. Anything asymmetrical feels 'out of kilter', uneven and uncomfortable. I find myself constantly re-adjusting my position during the first couple of minutes of meditation to feel right and get 'settled'.

Is this a normal thing, or am I just being skittish? 

[Dhamma]

Do you feel you need a sense of physical balance when you meditate -- almost like a requirement for left / right symmetry in the body?

I almost want my left side and right side to be exactly equal, balanced and proportionate before I can proceed. Anything asymmetrical feels 'out of kilter', uneven and uncomfortable. I find myself constantly re-adjusting my position during the first couple of minutes of meditation to feel right and get 'settled'.

Is this a normal thing, or am I just being skittish? 

Hi, dear friend!

That is so weird that you say this: I feel the exact same thing. I sometimes feel off-kilter when meditating, as if my left side is dominating to the point that my right side is not in balance. I have some physical issues that cause lower back pain and neck pain. So, maybe that is why. It might that we are physically out of alignment (backs and necks). Hard to say. Very interesting, though.

Peace and enlightenment, friend.

[milco]

Do you feel you need a sense of physical balance when you meditate -- almost like a requirement for left / right symmetry in the body?

I almost want my left side and right side to be exactly equal, balanced and proportionate before I can proceed. Anything asymmetrical feels 'out of kilter', uneven and uncomfortable. I find myself constantly re-adjusting my position during the first couple of minutes of meditation to feel right and get 'settled'.

Is this a normal thing, or am I just being skittish? 

Hi, dear friend!

That is so weird that you say this: I feel the exact same thing. I sometimes feel off-kilter when meditating, as if my left side is dominating to the point that my right side is not in balance. I have some physical issues that cause lower back pain and neck pain. So, maybe that is why. It might that we are physically out of alignment (backs and necks). Hard to say. Very interesting, though.

Peace and enlightenment, friend.

Hi Dhamma -- that's interesting. Glad to know I'm not alone! 

I sit on a chair to meditate and I even have to line my feet up correctly before I can proceed!

[stillpointdancer]

Do you feel you need a sense of physical balance when you meditate -- almost like a requirement for left / right symmetry in the body?

I almost want my left side and right side to be exactly equal, balanced and proportionate before I can proceed. Anything asymmetrical feels 'out of kilter', uneven and uncomfortable. I find myself constantly re-adjusting my position during the first couple of minutes of meditation to feel right and get 'settled'.

Is this a normal thing, or am I just being skittish? 

It's how I was taught to meditate at the Buddhist centre. Get the point of balance first and then get into the meditation.

[milco]

Do you feel you need a sense of physical balance when you meditate -- almost like a requirement for left / right symmetry in the body?

I almost want my left side and right side to be exactly equal, balanced and proportionate before I can proceed. Anything asymmetrical feels 'out of kilter', uneven and uncomfortable. I find myself constantly re-adjusting my position during the first couple of minutes of meditation to feel right and get 'settled'.

Is this a normal thing, or am I just being skittish? 

It's how I was taught to meditate at the Buddhist centre. Get the point of balance first and then get into the meditation.

That's interesting. To me, it feels like there is a 'wholeness'...a 'oneness'... to meditating, and part of that is to feel that physically everything is in a state of balance.

I can't tell you how much time I spend shuffling my feet and straightening my back during the first couple of minutes of meditating!

[raushan]

Do you feel you need a sense of physical balance when you meditate -- almost like a requirement for left / right symmetry in the body?

I almost want my left side and right side to be exactly equal, balanced and proportionate before I can proceed. Anything asymmetrical feels 'out of kilter', uneven and uncomfortable. I find myself constantly re-adjusting my position during the first couple of minutes of meditation to feel right and get 'settled'.

Is this a normal thing, or am I just being skittish? 

It's how I was taught to meditate at the Buddhist centre. Get the point of balance first and then get into the meditation.

That's interesting. To me, it feels like there is a 'wholeness'...a 'oneness'... to meditating, and part of that is to feel that physically everything is in a state of balance.

I can't tell you how much time I spend shuffling my feet and straightening my back during the first couple of minutes of meditating!

As far as I know, all this is part of the discomfort our body feels. When I was in the retreat the teacher told us to be aware of the slightest discomfort. Being aware of the pain in the back or being aware of the numbness of the leg. And not to change the body position too many times when meditating until it is very uncomfortable.

Our mind is not habituated to sit still in one place so when we do that it invent all sorts of ways to distract us.

[dharma bum]

I think this is okay so long as you don't feel like you have the same exact amount of change in your left and right pockets. That would be going too far

[stillpointdancer]

We were taught to get a balanced body position, then balance the head, imagining a thread pulling at the top of the head to keep it in line with the spine. This was a great help to me as I had been meditating by myself for many years and had got into a few bad posture habits. A balance point made it easier to maintain a relaxed but alert position.

[dharma bum]

In my first retreat I started to tilt a bit to avoid pain in my back on the right side. Then my neck started to hurt because of the tilt. It is best to get into the habit of balanced posture.