I slept (on my back) on the floor for a while. It was at times amazing—I would wake up and feel ready to go. Not like my muscles were weak or temporarily atrophied. Like, I didn’t know that was possible after a full nights sleep.
There seems to be so much potential in just reflecting on an considering what a “paleo” approach to something would be. And then you can just do that. You don’t even need to buy hundreds of dollars worth of supposedly ergonomic equipment. Just sleep in a funny-looking position. Just squat instead of sitting on a chair… if you can bare the social awkwardness or ridicule.
It’s so simple. Why do we make things complicated?
Well in part because “modern humans” cannot just do these things without becoming regarded as merely a modern human with eccentric hobbies. Because that’s what you get pegged as!—not as a modern human who rediscovered (through YouTube/the Web) some ancient wisdom but as a paleo-hipster, just another quirky modern human subculture.
And in part that is correct. You cannot be, say, a Western Buddhist who has all the know-how and experience of a born-in-the-culture (Asian) Buddhist. And in that same way you cannot become a non-modern… human.
But wait. Why would you want to? You are who you are. You may be a Buddhist from Scranton, PA who has no relation to Asian culture. Or an office worker who squats at the office. But why is that weird? Yeah you’re not a “real Buddhist” in that terribly essentialist sense, and you’re not a born-in-the-culture kind of human who has never used a chair. But why do you have to be that in order to make these (eccentric) choices for yourself? If it works for you, just go for it you paleo-hipster.
I also slept on my floor for about 5 months - until I saw a huge cockroach (common in Sydney) run across my floor and hide under my pillow.
I agree, it felt great.
When I moved into my new, almost cockroach free apartment, I built my own shikibuton by taking a futon cover and stuffing it with a comforter and a thin foam mattress topper. The whole thing is about 7cm (2.7 inches) thick. I roll it up each morning and have been sleeping like this for the last 8 months.
I also use only 1 thin pillow, and for a while was placing it lengthwise along my spine, which is apparently good for fixing the hunchback posture of modern humans.
I slept (on my back) on the floor for a while. It was at times amazing—I would wake up and feel ready to go. Not like my muscles were weak or temporarily atrophied. Like, I didn’t know that was possible after a full nights sleep.
There seems to be so much potential in just reflecting on an considering what a “paleo” approach to something would be. And then you can just do that. You don’t even need to buy hundreds of dollars worth of supposedly ergonomic equipment. Just sleep in a funny-looking position. Just squat instead of sitting on a chair… if you can bare the social awkwardness or ridicule.
It’s so simple. Why do we make things complicated?
Well in part because “modern humans” cannot just do these things without becoming regarded as merely a modern human with eccentric hobbies. Because that’s what you get pegged as!—not as a modern human who rediscovered (through YouTube/the Web) some ancient wisdom but as a paleo-hipster, just another quirky modern human subculture.
And in part that is correct. You cannot be, say, a Western Buddhist who has all the know-how and experience of a born-in-the-culture (Asian) Buddhist. And in that same way you cannot become a non-modern… human.
But wait. Why would you want to? You are who you are. You may be a Buddhist from Scranton, PA who has no relation to Asian culture. Or an office worker who squats at the office. But why is that weird? Yeah you’re not a “real Buddhist” in that terribly essentialist sense, and you’re not a born-in-the-culture kind of human who has never used a chair. But why do you have to be that in order to make these (eccentric) choices for yourself? If it works for you, just go for it you paleo-hipster.