As usual, Rev. Kawakami instructed us to sit up straight, fold our hands in our laps and focus on the breath. This is not unlike the Middendorf-style breath meditation which precedes many workshops, and which we observe at the beginning of every meeting of the Middendorf Study Group. At Shunkoin, the meditation is broken up into two segments of 15 minutes each, with a brief stretch and a few questions in between (”How do you feel?” “Did the time pass quickly or slowly?”).  Rev. Kawakami uses sticks of traditional Japanese incense to time the meditation - these sticks burn for approximately 30 minutes, and fill the room with the earthy scent of cedar or musk, which usually dissipates quickly in the drafty Meditation Hall, especially if the large windows to the garden are open.  The room is usually filled with light in the morning, suffused with shades of green from the large garden just outside.

In many ways, zen meditation and Middendorf breath work are moving in the same direction: clarity of mind when we let go of ego and allow the essence of our being to flourish.  This is no small achievement, of course.  The mind is usually so busy with chatter - memories, dreams, reflections (as Jung might say) - that it takes at LEAST the first 15 minutes just to settle down.  In our breath workshops, we sometimes alternate 5 minutes of meditation with 5 minutes of “small steps” (something the like the Buddhist Walking Meditation), followed by a Slow Spinal Roll, the quintessential Middendorf movement-sequence.

In my Zen meditation practice, I do not move from the cushion - I sit with legs crossed, hands folded, in the traditional posture.  Middendorf breath work is traditionally done on one of the low stools that I use when I teach a class, but any firm surface, about 20 inches from the ground, will do as well.  The idea in the Middendorf work is that the hips be slightly higher than the knees.  Likewise with Zen meditation - the cushion helps to elevate the hips while the feet remain on the ground (or on the opposite thigh in the Full Lotus position). But body-position, of course, is not the essence of meditation - it merely offers a comfortable way to sit which encourages us to keep the spine straight.  The Zen style suggests we put our hands in our laps - some teachers suggest that the thumbs should be touching each other head-on.  At Shunkoin, we are taught to let the thumbs lie in the palms, side-by-side.  And in the Middendorf work, our hands are on our thighs - left hand on left thigh, right hand on right thigh, with the palms down.  Any of these positions will do.

In my own practice, I sometimes wonder if there is a difference between light sleep and meditation.  The Dalai Lama has said that “sleep is the best meditation,” but I always feel slightly guilty if I dose off for a moment which sitting the lotus position.  So far, this has never happened on a Middendorf stool.