In Mahamudra, distraction, dullness, and agitation are not treated as enemies to be defeated, but as appearances within awareness that can reveal the nature of mind when met correctly. A stable basis is essential: an upright yet relaxed posture, a straight but unforced spine, and a natural breath help balance clarity and ease. When distraction arises, gentle mindfulness is applied without suppression, sometimes supported by briefly resting attention on the natural flow of the breath. The key is to recognize thoughts as transient appearances, to label them simply as “thinking” or “remembering,” and to release them without following their story. This relaxed alertness allows one to look at the nature of the distraction itself rather than its content, returning again and again to the natural state of mind.

Dullness is approached by increasing brightness and clarity while avoiding strain. Slightly straightening the posture, opening the chest, and raising the gaze can counteract heaviness and sleepiness. A few deeper, more vivid breaths and a brief sharpening of attention—whether to the breath, bodily sensations, or the vividness of knowing itself—help cut through mental fog. Subtle dullness is best met early, before it becomes full torpor, by gently increasing effort and clarity. In this way, awareness becomes more vivid without becoming tight, maintaining a balance between relaxation and alertness.

Agitation, whether experienced as restlessness, anxiety, or strong emotion, is met by softening effort and grounding awareness. Lowering the gaze slightly, relaxing the body, and emphasizing longer, slower exhalations allow mental turbulence to settle naturally, like sediment in clear water. Attention can be brought into the body—the weight on the cushion, the contact with the floor—so that the raw energy of agitation is felt directly rather than elaborated into stories. One rests in whatever arises without resistance or indulgence, acknowledging emotions and letting them pass, while recognizing them as movements within awareness rather than something separate from it.

Throughout all of this, the universal orientation of Mahamudra is to see that every mental state—clear or confused, calm or turbulent—is an expression of mind’s natural awareness. Each moment of noticing distraction, dullness, or agitation is already a flash of that lucid knowing. By repeatedly recognizing this and resting in relaxed, non-grasping awareness, the apparent division between meditator, meditation, and mental events begins to soften. The practice then becomes less about manufacturing special states and more about returning, again and again, to the simple, present, luminous mind that is already there.