Guide · Reading
Before you sit: what gets in the way
The common obstacles to a sitting practice, and how to meet them.
Awaiting subject reviewWritten from our source material and not yet checked by a teacher of this practice. Read it as reference, and learn the practice from someone who teaches it.
Practical guidance
Everyone who sits meets the same obstacles: a restless body or mind, practice that comes and goes, impatience for results, doubt about whether it is working, poor health, stress, and not enough rest.
None of them means you are doing it wrong. Each is met the same way: by noticing it, and sitting anyway, for as long as is kind to yourself that day. A missed day is simply a missed day. The next sit begins where you are.
Terms
- Restlessness
- Shorten the sit, or begin with Kaya Sthairyam.
- Irregular practice
- A short sit at the same time is easier to keep than a long one at any time.
- Impatience
- The effects are gradual. Let the practice be the point.
- Self-doubt
- Sitting with a teacher or a group can help.
- Health, stress, rest
- Look after sleep and food first. Meditation rests on them.
Practices
Sources and tradition
- YOG Union App Content Map, 2 November 2026, p. 9, Before you sit