Yogi: Every time I sit on the cushion, I get very tense. I think there are a lot of wanting and forcing; and they get stronger by the day.
Sayadaw: If you continue like this, it’ll become a bad habit. You need to break the habit and have a different pattern.
When you sit, don’t think that you’re going to meditate. Sit informally and relaxingly, not in a meditation posture.
Don’t sit in a way that reminds you that you’re meditating; sit in a way that you’re not there to meditate, like you’re just killing some time.
If you sit in a posture you usually sit to meditate, the entire idea of what meditation means comes back and you’ll have the same attitude, feelings and tension. You want to break out of that.
You could also lean against a wall and simply check in on yourself what is the mind thinking and feeling. That’s all you have to check.