Usually, meditation instructors say that it's best to meditate sitting up, so the central channel is upright.  This is hard for me, due to back pain from scoliosis (and yes, I do see a chiropractor).  I meditate sitting when I can, but it's much easier to meditate lying down.  I'd like to hear some opinions on this, on what the different effects are of each.  With the grounding meditation, it is difficult for me to do the meditation lying down because of the visualization....would i imagine the string of light  I'm on to be bent?  Does this still work?  Or could I instead visualize myself as sitting and keep the cord of light straight, even though I"m not sitting? Lately I am just doing the grounding briefly, and then lying down and doing other meditations, but I'd like to spend more time in the grounding space without pain.  Any suggestions?
Also, when doing the chakra meditations workout I felt I should start bringing the K energy into my chakras and storing it there as if my chakras are batteries.  Don't know why I do this, but it is helping me manage the energy when it feels too intense.  Any ideas about this?
thank you
Jennifer

  However you can get grounded, is fine. Details of whether you see the cord bent or imagine yourself sitting, don't really matter, that is resistance in disguise, ego stressing over nothing. The important thing is communicating to your unconscious, your intention and desire to be grounded. You can even see yourself third person, in your mind's eye and do the visulization on the mental image, once you are practiced.

  I usually meditate lying down, when I really set out to meditate... but meditative or trance states happen for me often, if only momentary.

  A lot of meditation teachers work with methods that are intended to awaken Kundalini, once awakened the practices needed are dictated by the energy itself. With traditional meditation, you are supposed to sit up so you don't fall asleep! With Kundalini, a nap after meditating is beneficial.
  As you are discovering, when you get it right, Goddess rewards you with peace.

  Energy must flow. You are not storing the energy in your chakras, you are directing it there, putting it to work doing its cleansing thing. You might find this brings up some emotional bumpiness, days or hours later as the stuff it triggers comes into consciousness. Be mindful to practice surrender and you will get smooth sailing.

   Blessings!

I will more than happily agree with Mystress here and share my own perspective as well.  Some of the most powerful tantric meditations such as Yoga Nidra are done laying down. In fact, Shavasana (corpse pose) is by some said to be the most powerful meditation pose.  There is one drawback however, which is that the tendency to fall asleep tends to be strong.  If you can stay awake however, it's absolutely great, so easy to stay relaxed!  No tired back, no legs falling asleep.

As far as grounding goes, I found this to be difficult as well, but only as long as I was intellectualizing it. If you focus on the top of your head only for a while, and then only on the soles of your feet before the energy moves into the earth, it'll find a natural course.

It's good to mention that when we visualize energy pathways, it is often just our experience of them. For example, in a certain healing technique you can draw energy through Pingala nadi (hot snake).  This is done in a curve, that can be experienced as several inches wide or almost as wide as the trunk.  In reality, Pingala, Ida and Sushumna Nadis (Hot snake, cold snake and central channel) are all inside the spine.  But it doesn't matter, the energy will use it's natural pathway, as long as the right direction is given.   So if you feel the earth heart below your soles when you lie down, as if it would be further away along the surface, that's fine. (As long as it -feels- like it moves into the earth) It's also fine if you see a curve and it moves down into the earth.  Personally, I often experience it as if I was standing up, even though I am laying down. It is not really important, as long as the same experience of grounding is there; Light and balance filling you, expanding, the soles of your feet and top of your head tingling, and/or any more individual experience you may have yourself.

It's all good.

Namaste
Gustaf

Hi Jennifer. I have never had scoliosis, but have had lots of back problems due to operating Heavy Equipment and Driving Trucks. So this reply is a little off the topic and maybe you have already tried everything I did.

The first thing I found out is that going to a chiropractor is more or less useless without first getting a massage. Second, just getting a massage on the back is also not very effective. One needs a complete body massage, from head to toe, and only then will the body be relaxed enough for the bones to pop back into their proper place and stay there. One needs to do this at least every second day until the problem goes away. I had to do it for two weeks straight last year. The longer one waits the longer it takes.

As for massage therapists, one needs to shop around. There are quite a few poor ones out there, lots of good ones, and very few amazing ones. And the only for a person to really find this out themselves it to try a bunch of different ones. The one I am using now, just about makes the chiropractor obsolete!

Also, for anyone having back problems I would recommend an inversion bed. I have a invertrac that holds a person by the top of their thighs, instead of by the ankles. I have read lots of testimonials about from people who have suffered back problems for years and have had them go away after purchasing an inversion bed of some sort.

Hope this post helps you, or someone else out there.

Scott K