I sat about 8:30 this morning. No need to stretch or do yoga–I was pretty fresh from bed. Just fed the cats, turned on the heater, wrapped myself in the blanket, turned on the timer, and sat.

So many ways to do the body scan. With energy, softening, with sensation on skin. Temperature differences, pressure of clothing and touch.

As for whole body awareness, I have experimented with how to do this. My coach asked me to do this. It was something I hadn’t tried before.

Hmm. I quickly noticed that it’s not my typical frame. My attention in meditation has moved from body part to body part, feeling a tightness here, a softening there, a blossoming here, a twinge there, interspersed with awareness of my monkey mind doing its thing.

Somehow I  needed to get bigger to attend to my whole body. Like Alice.

Feeling my energy body all at once is elusive, because the energy is in motion, surging and abating in various parts. Being aware of my field of active energy: I can do it for a few seconds at a time before my attention moves to a particular surge.

Then I create an image of myself sitting, as if looking in a mirror, only I’m dark and the background is dark. I fill it in with lights–chakras, nervous system, finally cells. I view my whole body in front of me. I notice my mirror inhaling and exhaling. My mirror gets up and sits down in my body, and we merge. That was fun!

Then monkey mind quiets. I breathe and feel physical and energetic expansion on each inhalation, and relaxation on the exhalation. Big me and little me. Expanded me and contracted me. Extraordinary me and ordinary me.

Another time I give up on trying to be aware of my whole body. Awareness diminishes to a place that seems to be in the center of my brain. It’s deep and dark and nothing is there. It’s very still. Time seems to slow. Just doing nothing.

That was the most restorative of all my experiments.

I just did my first sitting of the new year, later in the day than I had thought when I got up this morning. Today was a day of feeling gratitude, blog updating, reading email, connecting on Facebook, creating a flyer for the new peripheral walking meetup group that meets tomorrow, enjoying the quiet solitude.

I’d been sitting in front of my computer for a good part of the day when I decided it was time to meditate. It was about 5:30 pm. I got up and stretched my feet with some Z-health exercises. Then I did a couple of Sun Salutations to unstiffen from sitting.

I started to sit but realized I wanted to hang upside down first to really lengthen my spine after all the sitting.

Blue zafu with an OM symbol on it, bought at Nature’s Treasures, with an impression of my butt on it. Hello, friend. Under that, a colorful striped and folded Mexican blanket. These in the corner of a room with turquoise walls, a wood floor, three windows, and various yoga accessories, bicycles, art supplies, a stereo, and camping gear cluttering the space.

To my left, a small pseudo-African stool with a meditation timer on it. (Expensive, I know. A splurge from when I first began, when the kitchen timer going off would make me almost jump out of my skin.)

To my right, a circle of rocks on the floor. Some I chose, some chose me. An abalone shell with a sage smudge bundle, unlit, in it.

I sit and wrap another Mexican blanket around me, because it’s a little chilly in the room. I smell the fragrance of frankincense and patchouli.

I set the timer. Silence, except for the sounds of I-35, street traffic, birds. Get settled. Then three chimes.

Breathe. Start body scan at crown. Move slowly down to feet. Chakras spontaneously blossom open. A spot in the left crook of my neck calls my attention. Breathe into the tension. It eases. More attention to sides of torso. Notice what moves with each inhalation and exhalation.

By the time I reach my feet, I feel like I am glowing all over. That if you could see what I feel, you would see light emanating from my body.

Next, bring awareness to whole body. This is a topic for many more days. See you tomorrow.

This is the first post on my brand new blog, which I’m calling The Zafu Report. If you don’t know, a zafu is a meditation cushion. My intention is to get my butt onto a cushion and meditate daily in 2010 and blog about it.

Mostly this blog is a way to hold myself accountable for following through on my intention to meditate daily in 2010.

I made a commitment to meditate daily for 30 minutes a few weeks ago. The very first week I missed a couple of days, and only sat for 20 minutes a couple of days. I looked at my excuses–too busy, too much going on with the December whirl, yada yada…

I realized that when I believe I don’t have time to meditate, that’s when I need it most.

I seriously can’t think of many valid reasons not to meditate. I had a kidney stone once. The pain was so severe, it doubled me over and made me vomit, and then the doctor gave me something like morphine and I slept it off. That was a good day not to sit. “I’m too busy.” “I forgot. “I don’t feel like it.” just.don’t.cut.it.any.more.

I am allowing comments to be posted after I review and approve them. The kind of comments that are most welcome are supportive and inspiring, and those sharing your experience meditation. And questions! Of course, ask questions!

There’s “about meditation” and then there’s meditating. My focus is on the latter.

Also, I already have a meditation coach. I’m going with what she says.

I’ve blogged before, but not on WordPress, so I’ll be learning as I go. I have a lot to learn, so I hope you’ll bear with me.

All that said, it’s time to get my butt on the cushion!