Brian K.:
i like to practice my meditation in the morning, i usually get up between 6 and 7 am to do so. but sometimes i just wake up at that bad REM cycle or didn't get enough sleep and i'm just too sleepy to be able to focus during meditation. if i keep my eyes open they keep pulling down and if i keep them closed i literally doze off to sleep.
I used to fight this same syndrome, so I know what you are speaking about. Countless times I would have to fight off drowsiness just in order to get in my requisite meditation session in the mornings. I finally had to stop fighting it and give in to the drowsiness, so that hopefully I could muster enough energy to eventually substantiate a decent meditation session.
If you recognize yourself to be in this situation in the future, you might well consider just dozing off for a few minutes just to satisfy the body's need for physical rest (a brief "power nap" in order to strengthen
an energetic and alert state strong enough to be able to carry on meditation without falling asleep).
In conjunction with that solution, you might try recognizing the advice that Gotama was pointing at in his instruction to "establish mindfulness" before endeavoring to meditate. And here, we need to define what he meant by "establishing mindfulness" in terms of how it can affect one's meditation session. Especially when one is feeling drowsy.
In the two Satipatthana suttas (MN 10 and DN 22), the Buddha gives the following instruction:
"And how, monks, does a monk abide contemplating the body as body? Here a monk, having gone into the forest, or to the root of a tree or to an empty place, sits down cross-legged, holding his body erect,
having established mindfulness in front of him. Mindfully he breaths in, mindfully he breaths out. Breathing in a long breath,
he knows that he breathes in a long breath, and breathing out a long breath,
he knows that he breathes out a long breath. Breathing in a short breath,
he knows that he breathes in a short breath, and breathing out a short breath,
he knows that he breaths out a short breath. . . ."
This is simple instruction, yet
powerful when correctly understood and performed. Never underestimate the power of the simplest of instruction.
This simple instruction to "establish mindfulness" in front of oneself (i.e. prior to entering meditation)
is key if one is to have a fruitful and significant meditation sitting. The kind of mindfulness being alluded to here is an alert mindfulness, much in the same way as if one were a hunter's prey and being hunted. If you've ever observed animals — dogs, cats, birds, ground squirrels, rabbits, etcetera — in the wild, you will have noticed that they are always ALERT. Especially wild animals, because they are either looking for food or attempting to escape becoming a meal for some other animal predator. If you will stop, right now, and vividly imagine yourself in the latter situation (i.e. being the prey for another animal) while paying close attention to the affective phenomena that arise within your awareness, you will have a graphic idea what it means to be mindfully alert in the way that the Buddha spoke about in his instruction to "establish mindfulness."
There are some further helpful hints about this in the thread entitled "
The Practical Aspects of Establishing Mindfulness."
When I finally realized that "mindfulness" (or
sati) could also be meant to point toward this alert state of "presence of mind" and thus "energetic attention," it began to click that it meant establishing that presence of mind (like on the breath or whatever your initial object is)
beforehand so that it can facilitate a substantial and energetic meditation session. When I began to focus on establishing
this kind of mindfulness before meditating, I never suffered from drowsiness in my meditation sessions ever again!
In terms of a practical approach to "establishing mindfulness
beforehand," you might try focusing on your meditation object (let's say it is the breath) for three to five minutes before attempting to formally begin your meditation session. This will allow you some time to actually "establish" mindfulness on the object (meaning the breath in this example).
I hope you will take this to heart and use it. Because it WORKS! Period. Also, remember what was said above about taking a short power nap if you find yourself feeling drowsy. In other words, don't attempt to meditate until you are
wide awake and are able to overcome any weariness with an energetic attention.
In peace,
Ian