For this meditation I will describe ONE way to perform it. This is the method I use, and I will explain why. You are free to do this any way you want to achieve the same things.
Intro
It can be found during practice that the lotus flower and other flowers seen in yoga, are a kind of graph. They represent the "gradient descent" method. You can look into this yourself by searching online if interested. Depending on what algorithm is used, different kinds of forms will appear. They can look like bowls made from clay or different kinds of flowers with overlapping petals. All of these are different ways of using a fixed method (algorithm, in mathematical thinking) to find a truth. It is not a very intelligent method, it's based off trying many times until reaching the bottom of the bowl or the middle of the flower. This is one reason for meditation often being a chore which has to be performed daily for a long time.
Depending on what exact method was used, the result will turn into different flowers or bowls. The lotus flower is one popular end result. Other results may look like orchids or any other type of asymmetrical flower. Many other methods result in the formation of a bowl.
The sunflower meditation will result in the formation of a sunflower. There is also the possibility of forming a bowl artifact from the sunflower.
Preparation
I have picked out a few exercises from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika which I usually do as a warm-up for a longer meditation. These were chosen based on what I personally need to balance to get into a good state of body and mind. You should pick out the exercises you need to get into the proper state for meditation yourself. It will be assumed that you are already in a proper mental state when beginning the meditation as described.
