Week 7, Zanna: Mindfulness of Posture

The Exercise: Several times as day, become aware of your posture. This has two aspects. First, it means to become aware of what posture you are in and how it feels within the body.  If you closed your eyes, what would be the clues that you are standing or sitting or lying down?  For example, if you are sitting in a chair with your eyes closed, what tells you that you are in a body that is sitting? Where do you feel pressure or movement?  Being aware of posture also means to notice and adjust your posture many times a day. If you are slouching, gently straighten up.

When can I take this book off my head?

There's been a lot on my mind lately, so it was hard to pay attention to this weeks exercise.  But when I did pay attention I noticed that the stuff on my mind was weighing on my posture and pressing down on my shoulders as if the thoughts I've been carrying are parts of a hat made of bricks.  Straightening up my spine didn't do much for my mind, but it does help with my aching back.

I was in a meeting yesterday morning and caught myself with one leg tucked underneath me and slouching in the chair.  I started to right myself and sit upright, with good posture, but I looked around the room at the other people in the meeting and realized, if I did that, I would stick out like a sore thumb.  No one was sitting "properly" several people were kicked back lounging, a few people were slumped slightly on the table, the few that were anxious about where we were with the project were on the edges of their seat, leaning in towards the rest of the group, practically begging us all to pay attention to them. Of course I'm familiar with "posturing", I've just rarely been so aware of the postures of posturing.
I'm writing this from terrible posture. I'm semi-reclined on the couch with my knees up as a desk and a likely harmful pull on my lower back which is causing my butt to fall asleep.  It's awful, and I'll pay for it later, but it's darn comfy now.