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I felt restless. I couldn't sit still
All sorts of experiences can come up in meditation, including restlessness. Although feeling restless isn't pleasant while it's happening, continuing meditation will be useful in helping your system to settle down. You can think of it as a release of "nervous energy".
You can be aware of the breath at the same time that you are aware of feeling restless. Just continue meditating, no resisting the restlessness. If it’s so strong that it’s difficult to focus on the breath, you can simply allow the restlessness to be in your awareness and let go of the focus of the breath. It’s never necessary to concentrate hard to keep your attention on the breath. Just easily favor the experience of the breath.
If it helps to stretch or shift your position at these times, feel free to do so.
Copyright 2008 Mary and Richard Maddux
