Ketsurou

You don't need to actively block outside sounds, because that is still giving focus to what is going on outside. Just turn your attention inwards. Like someone that walks into a pole because they are focusing on texting, if your attention is on something other than the sound of the fridge than the sound of the fridge will not bother you even though it is still there.

Marjaryasana. Bitilasana. Bhujangasana. The above three are all good, and there are plenty of others. There are also general stretching routines for the back you can find with a quick google search. There are a lot of ways to stretch, and sometimes even Yogis have to do some stretching before getting into an asana. Those with particularly bothersome lower back injuries should, as AsaPond said, avoid back bends for a while. If it's just a flexibility issue though, you should be fine the three I've listed here. Just work your way into the pose slowly. Don't rush anything.

The reason for no music is explained in my first post in the thread. It's a distraction. You want to focus on internal stuff, not external stuff. Otherwise it's easy to overlook internal stuff because you're paying attention to you music or whatever instead of your mind.

Don't meditate when you are sleepy, and you likely won't fall asleep while meditating. Though focal meditations like zazen may be easier for you than passive meditations, since you do have something to think about and focus on, like your breath, to keep you awake. Trees have different sorts of significance depending on all sorts of things. I'm guessing your friend is some sort of wiccan or pagan, as that sort of practice has particular meaning in those paradigms. Meditating on a tree isn't necessarily bad, and what he is teaching you isn't necessarily complete fluff. He just may not know much else to share with you, but I don't think it will be as useful to you as it is to him. A more simple practice to fulfill your more simple goals will likely benefit you more, which is why I've suggested those things. It is good to be skeptical of all things, particularly of those who attempt to teach spiritual or magical things. I have my own beliefs and practices, and I've been around long enough to see more frauds and even more self-deluded amateurs than I have genuine teachers. Take everything with a grain of salt. But, also, remember what true skepticism is. "It is the mark of an educated mind to entertain a thought without accepting it." -- Aristole. Questioning the validity of something, and applying reason where reason is due, is not the same as the hard edged doubt and disbelief most people associate with skepticism these days.

Whatever thought you want to use for the meditation. In your "lesson one" from the first post, you were focusing on your breath. Some people focus on the darkness of their closed eyelids. Some people focus on a dot on the wall, or an image of their deity, or a mantra. Though, those last two are a bit more complicated for some. The point isn't to replace all thought entirely, but just to learn how to concentrate by practicing meditation as such. Then, during the day, you can concentrate on whatever you are doing better and "live in the moment" more easily.

*rereads last post* Woah. Maybe I shouldn't make forum posts right after meditating. Thought Observation involves relaxing the mind by observing it, and learning to detach from the storm of thoughts. Because the mind is shy, the storm will eventually quiet down on its own, and thus all you have to do is be a passive observer. As such, this is a very passive meditation. Thought Control (zazen, et al) involves concentrating on a single thing, so that only that one thought takes up space in your mind. Because all of the mind is focused on that one point, other thoughts will dissolve because the minds resources are being used on that one thing and, similarly to what happens in Thought Observation, those thoughts just fade away for lack of proper attention. If you do not feed a thought, it withers. This is an active meditation, since you are actively concentrating on something. There are many meditations to achieve many things, and when you get into the more serious spiritual side there are even many stages of achievement and attainment as things get deeper. In the occult side of things, it's all even more complex. These two basic meditations, however, are essentially just two ways to achieve the same thing. Or you can practice one for a few months and then practice the other, as I was taught, and they will build on each other. You will learn to relax, and then learn how to concentrate. But, doing either one will help you tame the mind, so just do whichever you enjoy more.

I seem to say "relax" often enough for it to be a personal motto. Also, "we are people first, and labels second." "Semper Tuam Naturam Sequere" is my family motto, which I also say where needed. "Always be true to your nature."

Why should it be a problem that the mind controls some things? It has a job to do, too. It is there to help you think; it is there to run all those little processes that the body requires be done, so we don't need to think about them; it is there to store memory, and knowledge, and wisdom. The mind is not evil or bad. All things serve a purpose. The problems only rise when the mind is allowed to run rampant, and do what it wants -- when ones inner nature is out of balance, and peace is lost. What are mental limits? The mind has no limits. It is not the body, which is bound by gravity, and space, and time. The mind can go anywhere. You can imagine yourself as a soldier in the civil war, or as a space pilot on the enterprise. You can imagine yourself weightless, or so rooted that no strong man can budge you. The limits are the things that you decide are limits. "You are what you think, having become what you thought." -- Buddha. To pursue mastery of the mind is noble. After all, that is the point of basic meditation. For how can one master themselves, or anything at all, if they are already a slave to their own mind? But to have a perfect mind is a grand thing, and is not something very useful. A perfect mind can learn nothing, for it is already perfect. What else is left for it to do? Balance and Peace are more useful attainments. And, let's not forget, basic meditation is just basic meditation. It is like a white belt learning how to punch. A punch is extremely important, but is that all there is to his craft? Or is there instead no destination at all, and just countless paths to endless peaks? Good night.

I found the show by chance on Netflix once and became a fan of Dresden then. The books are on my list, though. I just quite haven't gotten to that shelf yet. Because, you know, normal people have "to be read" stacks. Readers have "to be read" shelves.

If you know your goal, you can easily google or youtube search plans and routines to help you achieve that goal. For bakasana in particular, the preparatory poses that Yoga Journal recommends is a good place to start. It just depends on where you're already at, which is something that you have to figure out for yourself for the most part without an instructor. Jump into some of the poses, and even bakasana. See what you can do and what you can't, and if you like you can even use the Yoga Journal recommendations to build your own routine based on exactly what you wish to achieve.

It sounds like a bunch of basic stuff with a general new age aura mixed in, and yes, a lot of magic influence. Frankly, it's not very useful for you to learn how to become the tree unless you wish to become a magician. And even then, more time with basic practice leading up to that should be done. As a general rule of thumb, be careful with people who claim to practice magic. Not necessarily because they themselves are malicious, but because there is so much misinformation about western occult practice now that a lot of people don't even know how fluffy they are. This doesn't mean your friend is like this, though I do wonder why he is teaching you this particular progression of meditation when there are far more basic things for you to learn. There are actually quite a lot of ways to practice meditation incorrectly, and your attitude here is one of them. Traditionally, the entire point of basic meditation is to gain control of the mind. Consider this: Mental Peace = Mental Relaxation. For the average person, especially in our modern world, the mind is a chaotic storm of thought, feeling, and information. We intake so much from the world around us, everything from work to offline social interactions to online social media, that we easily get overwhelmed. The mind runs rampant, undisciplined, and the storm of our thoughts drives us so crazy that at the best of times all we can do is try to ignore it by turning our attention to other things -- games, television, movies, books, or even forums such as this. Anything to turn our attention outward, to ignore the mental tension which is so bothersome. Meditation, then, reverses this process. Instead of looking outwards for a solution, we look inwards. Here is a basic meditation called Thought Observation: 1) Take a posture that you use to meditate. It doesn't matter what it is, as long as you are comfortable, not slouching, and won't fall asleep. I've known people who do everything from lay down, to hold full lotus for hours at a time perfectly, to many other things. Just sit however you like. The body isn't the point with this practice, it just shouldn't be a distraction. 2) Turn your attention inwards. Don't focus on your breath, don't listen to music, don't focus on the back of your eyelids. All of these things are thoughts, and outer influences -- you want to look past those things. Your space, then, should be as quiet and peaceful as possible, so that you can look within without being influenced by what is without. 3) As thoughts come, watch them. Let your thoughts play out, passively observing them. Become detached, not thinking or imagining anything, just watching as your train of thoughts flow by you. Every storm has an eye. Detach yourself from the storm and Center yourself in this eye, and as such, watch the storm peacefully as it rages chaotically around you. And that is all. The mind is shy by nature, and in watching the storm, it will begin to quiet down. The peace of the storms eye will slowly become natural, and as the mind relaxes deeper in meditation so will it relax deeper during the day. Practice for at least thirty minutes a day, and you'll see progress soon enough. An hour a day, even more so. You don't have to practice all at once either, it's fine to practice morning and evening or throughout the day, as long as you practice. Edit: Alternatively, your "lesson one" is also a common form of concentration meditation called Zazen (among other things), where the point isn't to relax the mind as much as to develop "one-pointedness" of mind -- proper concentration. I learned a form of this too, but I was taught Thought Observation first. After all, is it not better to focus the mind when it is relaxed? You could do either of these every day though and achieve a lot with mental discipline.

I mostly read Asian manga, manwha and such. Making a complete list of what I'm currently keeping up with would take too much time, but I will mention my all time favorite series, since a new chapter came out today. It's a Korean series named The Breaker, and its sequel which is still running, The Breaker: New Waves. If you like underground martial arts, warrior clans and secret societies of martial artists, The Breaker is for you. It is truly awesome.

I write a bit, here and there. Mostly short stories, though I am putting together a thriller novel to see how that sort of thing works out.

By Crow Pose, do you mean Bakasana? http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/468 Yoga Journal's list of poses is a great resource in any case, because they give a lot of information about poses -- including both preparation poses and follow up poses. As for an overall plan, it helps to know exactly what you want to achieve with yoga. It sounds like you're already doing a lot with lifting and running, so is there anything in particular you want to get out of yoga? Flexibility, strength, tone? There are a lot of good reasons to practice yoga, even on the spiritual side of things. Always know the destination before looking at a map for directions.

I've been doing one rep of it. I feel it during the workout itself, then after its done it's just...done. Though, I did help my library move the entire English and American Lit sections this week. That I am feeling, a little.