I already have a meditation practice but it is not that different from Sakyong Ringpoche’s seated practice. Sometimes I sit, but depending on my body on that particular day, I lay down. Yesterday, I was having a lot of shoulder pain (I was recently in a car accident which left the right side of my neck, back and shoulder in bad shape), so I did my meditation on my back.
Sometimes, it is hard to let go of pain. Thoughts of and worries about my shoulder came in and out of my mind. I repeated returned consciousness to me breath and was eventually (after about 10 minutes) able to become lost in the rhythm of my breathing.
Throughout the day, I tried to focus my awareness on parts of my body other than my shoulder. It was really interesting to realize, through bringing awareness systematically through my body from my head to my toes, that my whole body is out of whack right now. I have been overcompensating for my injured right side with my left and for my sore upper extremities with my lower extremities. My entire right side body down my whole leg was tight!
Because it is very easy for me to become frustrated at my injury, I tried to bring acknowledgment to that place but not dwell on it. Thus, I was able to really feel the rest of my body and try to meditate (both throughout the day and during my evening meditation) on bringing myself back into alignment internally - that is, not actually making physical changes to my posture or gate, but by bringing my thoughts and intentions into the places that felt off. Sometimes, this is all that's needed.
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