I Was Trying to Meditate With My Brain. That Was the Problem.

On the part of meditation that doesn’t need words

Ilham ✨, Nick Hashemi, Alexis Vale, and 4 others

Feb 22, 2026

Many of us carry a very caricatural image of meditation:
Stopping your thoughts. Thinking about nothing. Controlling your mind.

I know I did. Still, I suspected the body had a bigger role to play than we give it credit for.

So far, we’ve learned what meditation actually is in Chapter 1, how to deal with resistance in Chapter 2 and how to relate to boredom and distraction in Chapter 3.

In this fourth chapter, I wanted to go somewhere more physical.

I asked the same six fantastic teachers and creators this question:

“What role does the body play in your meditation practice?”

Let’s find out.

Nick Hashemi from The Mindfulness Mentor: Peace Notes from a Former Monk

Nick’s work is truly special. A former Buddhist monk turned mindfulness mentor, Nick writes about Vipassana Meditation in a way that feels simple and doable.

“The body is both the stage and the teacher of meditation.
In the beginning, the body often protests.
Knees ache, the back stiffens, sensations itch and pulse.
This physical resistance is how the mind tries to escape stillness.
But the body is also what brings you home.
The breath.
The posture.
The raw sensations of sitting.
Through Vipassana, I learned to observe not only thoughts, but the body’s changing sensations, pain, pressure, heat, restlessness, vibration, without trying to control them.
When you stay with the body in this way, it teaches you directly what impermanence means.
Every sensation arises.
Every sensation passes.
And when you stop fighting that process, the body reveals something extraordinary:
freedom does not come from changing experience,
it comes from understanding it.”

Sonia from Tranquil Nurturing Space

Sonia’s Substack is a place of poetry, reflection, and mindfulness. Her writing invites us to slow down and nurture body, mind, heart, and soul.

“Our body is a powerful anchor and tool to bring us back to the present moment, through awareness of breath or physical sensations. Our bodies also carry so much wisdom and can help guide our practice, we can notice areas of tightness and invite softness. Listening to our body’s signals can help us deepen our meditation practice and overall awareness.”

Alexis Vale from Hidden Frameworks

Alexis explores the architecture of transformation with a fresh perspective. His unique work guides readers towards deeper alignment and meaning through spiritual curiosity and lived experience.

“A crucial one.
In my experience, posture has a real impact on the quality of a meditation session. A straight spine is key.

A good progression looks like:

Start in a supportive chair with your back upright
Move to a meditation stool to strengthen self-support
Then try sitting cross-legged on a cushion
Eventually, explore half or full lotus if your body allows

Each step typically deepens the experience.

Also: don’t force stillness. If your body is restless, try a walking meditation or move first. Yoga, tai chi, and other movement-based practices pair beautifully with seated meditation. But of course, those are practices on their own that take their share of time, effort and dedication.”

VedicSoul - By~ A Bhardwaj from VedicSoul

A Bhardwaj writes beautifully about central themes of the human experience such as vulnerability and desire. He inspires us through ancient wisdom and his own profoundly human lens.

“The body is not separate from meditation; it is the temple of awareness and it needs to be treated like a temple, the sacred vessel and the gateway to the present moment. Many beginners try to meditate by focusing only on the mind, but the mind cannot rest if the body is tense or neglected. The posture of sitting needs to be “steady and comfortable.” We so often live in the conceptual world of our thoughts, that we forget we are a flesh and bones beings.

Meditation, for me, begins with a conscious, loving return to the physical temple of the body. It starts with feeling the weight of the body on the seat, the subtle sensations in the hands, the awareness of my inhale and exhale through the nostrils. This helps in feeling grounded and anchors the wandering mind to the eternal Now.

Before beginning meditation, I spend a few moments tuning into the body. This requires learning to listen to the body's subtle whispers, a tension in the shoulder, the coolness of an in-breath, the steady rhythm of the heart, we access a wisdom far older than thought. As the body settles, the breath deepens on its own, and the nervous system begins to soften.

The body does not dwell on the past or project into the future; it only exists here, in this breath, in this sensation. Honouring it as an integral part of the practice transforms meditation from a purely mental exercise into a holistic communion of body, mind, and soul, allowing a deep, embodied stillness to flourish. Over time, awareness of the body becomes a profound practice in itself.”

Sue Reid from Confidence Matters by Sue Reid

Sue is a confidence coach with such an inspiring life story. She meditates every morning and says the practice has helped her a lot in her journey towards self-belief.

“I have changed my practice over the years. The way I practise now is lying down, rather than sitting. It’s easier to relax. I talk to my body at the beginning of my practice, which usually lasts between 15 and 30 minutes. I ask my body to relax by mentally saying ‘Calm, relax now.’ I check in with my body and ask if anything is wrong. I ask it what it needs and if we need help (i.e., medicine or a doctor). I don’t usually get an answer, but something might come up during the day. In summary, my body is meeting with my mind in my meditation to check everything is okay.”

Paul Dalton (dharma⌁licious) from dharma⌁licious

Paul is a mindfulness meditation teacher who blends Buddhist teachings with modern life in a powerful way. His reflections make ancient teachings both digestible and practical.

“It took me a long time to truly appreciate the importance of embodiment in my practice. Through many encounters with depression, I’d become quite dissociated from my body. It was a place it didn’t want to be. I very much resonate with a line from the James Joyce novel, The Dubliners, “Mr Duffy lived a short distance from his body.”

But with a lot of guidance and practice, I slowly learned to recognise and ‘feel into’ my physical sensations and bodily signals. This is what unlocked my ability to finally feel present in—and for—my life. Embodiment is now the most important aspect of my practice. The mind will inevitably get lost in the future and the past, but the body is always already present. My job is simply to help the mind land where the body already is. I consider my body to be my portal to ‘now’.

It is no accident that the Buddha taught the first foundation of mindfulness is ‘Mindfulness of the Body’, and one of his first meditative instructions is to “Remember there is a body”. As well as helping us to come into presence, the body contains within it all the lessons and insights that can guide us toward building a more peaceful and harmonious relationship with life. I’ve certainly found this to be true. I have come to trust that the body is my most truthful advisor about what’s really going on for me. When I truly listen to it, it becomes much easier to let go of whatever is standing between me and peace.”

These insights carry so many lovely images.
The body as a portal to “now.”
A temple. A stage.
An advisor worth listening to.

Meditation as a conversation with it.
A space to enquire about its needs.

I also love the permission to adjust to what feels comfortable: Sitting straight up, lying down, or moving first.

For us sensitive people, occasional over thinkers, and anxiety-prone modern adults, meditation is a brilliant way to get reacquainted with our bodies and find our way back to calm.

I’d love to know: where do you usually feel calm first, in your mind or in your body?

And if you missed them, here are Chapters 1, 2, and 3:

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