What do you think?
Rate this book
Sit Your Self Down: A Novice's Journey into the Heart of Vipassana
When Gayatri Jayaraman embarks on a ten-day vipassana course in the Himalayas, she has no inkling of the ways in which it will transform her.
Sharing the rarefied air with nine other women initiates, she begins her journey inward, learning to focus on her breath and body, and spring-clean her mind. With good humour and an open mind, she seeks to simply observe her thoughts - but as days of absolute silence sink into introspection, what comes tumbling out catches her unawares.
Tugging at the thread of the breath from the tip of the nose unravels a lifetime of action and reaction - some good, some bad - and wrongdoing, both her own and those of others. She persists with this intense process and, guided by her teachers, starts to sift through the clamour and goes through a cleanse that plumbs depths no juice diet has ever reached.
Sit Your Self Down is Gayatri's witty, heartfelt, searingly honest account of what it takes to make this journey. Through serious self-exploration and with cheerful humility, she arrives at deep insights and invaluable lessons for any beginner looking to learn about vipassana and discover their inner self.
Sharing the rarefied air with nine other women initiates, she begins her journey inward, learning to focus on her breath and body, and spring-clean her mind. With good humour and an open mind, she seeks to simply observe her thoughts - but as days of absolute silence sink into introspection, what comes tumbling out catches her unawares.
Tugging at the thread of the breath from the tip of the nose unravels a lifetime of action and reaction - some good, some bad - and wrongdoing, both her own and those of others. She persists with this intense process and, guided by her teachers, starts to sift through the clamour and goes through a cleanse that plumbs depths no juice diet has ever reached.
Sit Your Self Down is Gayatri's witty, heartfelt, searingly honest account of what it takes to make this journey. Through serious self-exploration and with cheerful humility, she arrives at deep insights and invaluable lessons for any beginner looking to learn about vipassana and discover their inner self.
224 pages, Paperback
First published August 25, 2020
1 person is currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Gayatri Jayaraman
9 books14 followersGayatri Jayaraman is the author of Sit Your Self Down (Hachette India, August 2020), Who Me, Poor? (Bloomsbury India, 2017), Indigenius (Juggernaut, 2016). She was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize for poetry in 2021, and long listed for the Commonwealth Short Story prize in 2018.
She is a counsellor and founder of Shamah | शम:, a Mind Body Spirit therapeutic practice.
She is a counsellor and founder of Shamah | शम:, a Mind Body Spirit therapeutic practice.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 21, 2020
SIT YOURSELF DOWN...
Sounds so simple.But not that simple to practice.!!!
Gayathri Jayaraman 's book says it's not impossible.. Right from the word
' Go' Gayathri is with you, holding your hands , throughout the journey, walking not in front of you, behind you, but side by side with you, till the end of the journey, making you so comfortable...
" I'm flawed...but I'm here to embrace my flaws '....!!!
' I feel like a shaken bottle of cola, with a fizzy bubbles erupting through me , each carrying, effervescent memories of people and events that have scarred my life..'
'The meditation has inserted layers of separation between me, my anger,and the object of my anger'......
'My body is still, my tears are all done, resolution is distinct; I past so much and on the course to healing.... "
What do you call it....???
A transformation....!!!!!
The healing is very slow, natural and not forced..That is VIPASSANA....
We laugh with her, cry with her, have fun, enjoy the Tibetan bread with potato curry ( yummy!!!) and get to know her friends...
What an inward journey....!!
Not just worth reading... Worth preserving too..!!!!
Sarasa suri....Short story writer... Blogger.. Special Educator.
Sounds so simple.But not that simple to practice.!!!
Gayathri Jayaraman 's book says it's not impossible.. Right from the word
' Go' Gayathri is with you, holding your hands , throughout the journey, walking not in front of you, behind you, but side by side with you, till the end of the journey, making you so comfortable...
" I'm flawed...but I'm here to embrace my flaws '....!!!
' I feel like a shaken bottle of cola, with a fizzy bubbles erupting through me , each carrying, effervescent memories of people and events that have scarred my life..'
'The meditation has inserted layers of separation between me, my anger,and the object of my anger'......
'My body is still, my tears are all done, resolution is distinct; I past so much and on the course to healing.... "
What do you call it....???
A transformation....!!!!!
The healing is very slow, natural and not forced..That is VIPASSANA....
We laugh with her, cry with her, have fun, enjoy the Tibetan bread with potato curry ( yummy!!!) and get to know her friends...
What an inward journey....!!
Not just worth reading... Worth preserving too..!!!!
Sarasa suri....Short story writer... Blogger.. Special Educator.
April 30, 2021
So beautifully written - very engaging, humorous and thought provoking!
There’re so many stories and experiences I could totally relate with. I love how honest the author is in sharing her journey with the world, that the journey to the self is immensely difficult but it IS possible!
“I have learnt that the trick to meditating is not to try harder; it is to stop trying and step back. It sounds paradoxical, but it is not. When I stop trying to focus, what is blocking the free passage of the mind has space to emerge and dissipate.”
“Compassion puts some distance between you and the object of compassion. It is not personal. You can’t hurt me by not accepting my compassion. It flows towards you regardless. But don’t take it personally either; it flows in pretty much the same quality and quantity towards an earwig or an owl.”
There’re so many stories and experiences I could totally relate with. I love how honest the author is in sharing her journey with the world, that the journey to the self is immensely difficult but it IS possible!
“I have learnt that the trick to meditating is not to try harder; it is to stop trying and step back. It sounds paradoxical, but it is not. When I stop trying to focus, what is blocking the free passage of the mind has space to emerge and dissipate.”
“Compassion puts some distance between you and the object of compassion. It is not personal. You can’t hurt me by not accepting my compassion. It flows towards you regardless. But don’t take it personally either; it flows in pretty much the same quality and quantity towards an earwig or an owl.”
September 6, 2020
I’ve had to keep mine aside and revisit it over the last few days. Some bits hit too close home; loved the humour - if it hadn’t been there, would have been very intense. A great book. The Monkey Brain parts were so real😃 - really how the brain converses in meditation & Savasana
Great illustrations and really enjoyed it.
Will use your insights to go to a Vipassana retreat one day!
Great illustrations and really enjoyed it.
Will use your insights to go to a Vipassana retreat one day!
Read
December 31, 2020a well written read through the questions that arise when you change the very path of your life, and meet spirituality with a lot of hunger, and a bit of scepticism.
well worth reading.
well worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews