Stillness · “Stillness Reveals”
Steady Posture & Systematic Relaxation
Establish a still, steady, comfortable seat (head, neck and trunk aligned) and relax the body systematically so it can sit motionless and the mind can turn inward for meditation.
Posture & relaxation (Swami Rama): Sit with head, neck and trunk straight (cushion or front edge of a chair) — still, steady, comfortable. Breathe diaphragmatically, then sweep attention through the body head-to-foot, releasing tension at each part. Rest in that stillness, settle on the smooth breath — now you’re ready to meditate.
What it is
Swami Rama insisted that meditation cannot be forced onto a restless, slumping body — first the body must become still, steady, relaxed and comfortable. This practice is his two-part preparation:
(1) settle into a steady seat with head, neck and trunk aligned so the body can stay motionless without effort, and (2) run a systematic relaxation — a quick, ordered sweep of attention through the body, releasing each part — so that tension drains and the breath is diaphragmatic before you ever take up a meditation object.
He taught the principle of sthira-sukham (steady and comfortable): a posture you can hold without moving and without pain. This is the scaffolding on which his breath awareness and so-ham meditation stand.
The Method
A. The steady posture:
- Sit so that head, neck and trunk are in a straight vertical line. Use a crossed-legged seat (on a cushion so the hips are above the knees) if comfortable; otherwise sit at the front edge of a straight-backed chair, feet flat — Swami Rama’s “friendship posture” (maitri asana).
- Hands rest on the knees or in the lap; eyes gently closed; face and jaw soft.
- The aim: a seat that is still, steady, relaxed and comfortable — one you can keep without fidgeting. B. Systematic relaxation (seated or lying in shavasana):
- Take a few diaphragmatic breaths; let the breath be deep, even and silent.
- Move attention through the body in order, relaxing each part as you reach it: forehead, eyes, cheeks, jaw and mouth; neck and shoulders; arms and hands; chest; abdomen; back; hips, legs and feet — releasing held tension at each.
- Let go of the whole body so it feels heavy and at rest, then bring attention to the breath flowing smoothly at the nostrils.
- Rest a moment in that relaxed stillness — then begin the meditation proper (breath awareness → so-ham). (Sourcing note: head-neck-trunk alignment, maitri asana / chair option, “still, steady, relaxed and comfortable,” and systematic relaxation as the standard lead-in are from Swami Rama’s Meditation and Its Practice and Himalayan Institute teaching. For the full-length lying relaxation, see his 61-points practice.)
Source & Lineage
Swami Rama taught a strict, practical sequence — posture, then relaxation, then breath, then meditation — and Meditation and Its Practice is its manual, “systematic guidance in the practice of meditation.” The alignment principle traces to Patanjali (asana as sthira-sukham, steady and comfortable) and to classical yoga’s insistence on the spine being erect for meditation. → (existing Voice).
The Traditions' versions
The 61-points relaxation (shavayatra) — Swami Rama’s own longer, lying-down, 61-marma version of systematic relaxation; this entry is the brief seated preparation, that one is the deep practice.
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation (Jacobson) — Western cousin, but tense-and-release; Swami Rama’s sweep is release only, no tensing.
- Vipassana / yoga-nidra body scan — also moves attention through the body, but as insight or yogic-sleep practice; here it’s preparation to steady the body for seated meditation.,
- Zazen / shikantaza posture instruction — shares the erect-spine insistence; Swami Rama adds the explicit relaxation pass.
Common refinements
Slumping or leaning once the body relaxes — defeats the alignment. Keep head, neck and trunk stacked; use a wall or chair back if needed.
- Tensing muscles to “relax” them. Swami Rama’s pass is letting go, not Jacobson’s tense-release. Just release.
- Sitting through pain to look advanced. Sukham (comfort) is half the rule — a chair seat done well beats a cross-legged seat in agony.
- Skipping straight to meditation from a tense, restless body — the mind follows the body’s noise. Always settle first.