 Welcome to my tantric winter meditation journey. Step one in our journey of winter meditation. So the very first thing that you do to meditate at any point is that you have to withdraw from any sensory awareness of external objects, which essentially means that you have to try and make sure that you don't get distracted by anything that is around you. Now, of course, that is far easier said than done. I mean, how do you actually withdraw from outside awareness? So in tantra, they actually give you a couple of helpful hints to start off with your very first position. Now, in this position of moving inwards, the very first thing that you have to focus on is the position of your spine. Your legs basically just need to be open so that the thighs have to be open so that your pelvis is open. Now, whether you cross your legs into a lotus position, whether you actually place your legs so that they're out like this, it doesn't matter. I choose to keep my legs in this particular position because I find this the most comfortable. The most important thing is your spine. It has to be very, very straight. So in Buddhist tantra, it actually says you have to visualize your spine almost as though it was a stack of gold coins, one on top of the other, which means basically that your vertebrae have to line up so that they're very, very straight. And to give you an idea of just how straight it must be, when you finally put your hands down in front of you to begin your meditation, the hands should be a minimum of four inches below your navel. So if that's my navel, they have to be at least over here. So the first thing is your spine. It has to be very, very long. The second thing is your eyes. Now, your eyes have to be focused downwards but you do not bring your head down because the moment you bring your head down, your spine is not straight anymore. And that energy you have to remember has to travel up your spine so the spine has to be very straight. So they say that you have to focus on a point which is six feet in front of you on the ground and that's where you lower your eyes too. So that way your eyes are down but your neck is not bent. And now finally the most important part of this particular position, at least for me. So they say that if your mind is clouded with desire and that's what you need to get rid of, you put your left hand on top of your right hand. If your mind is clouded with aggression and you need to clear your mind of aggression or violent thoughts or angry thoughts, you put your right hand over your left hand. Now, it's not that if you put your left hand over your right hand that automatically your mind will just be cleared of all desire or if you have your right hand up on top then automatically it will just clear your mind of aggression. That's not the point. This is actually about you becoming aware of what your mind is going through, what you're feeling. And awareness or understanding of your own emotions is the very first step to emotional healing. Remember the position? Spine nice and straight like a stack of gold coins piled one on top of the other. Shoulders back like an eagle drying his wings in the winter sun. Hands in front of you, the left hand on top if your mind is clouded with desire and that's what you want to fix. Right hand on top if it is aggression that you want to get rid of. Okay, so you've got that, right? Now, I want you to try this every single day for the rest of the week and by the end of the week I promise you you will be one step closer to your meditation goals. Remember to like, comment, subscribe. See you in the next one.