Flickering muscles?

[Ohm-Nei]

I have a muscle on my back, or a small group of muscles that lay on the right side of my back. Along with the super high frequency ringing in my right ear, my back spasm/twitching occurs during meditation. I'm at the point now that I act as if its a universal energy pump that helps circulate energy through my microcosmic orbit (Yeah, dumb I know)

I once fell asleep while trying to meditate and the last thing I remember thinking about was that god awful distraction, the rapid twitching in my back. The next day I was slightly sore in that area so I suspect the twitching lasted hours through the night.

 

I'm sure everyone is familiar with the pulsing, twitching nature I'm talking about.. The SCIENTIFIC nature of the problem is most likely related to neurological firing. As if my brain is rapidly telling that muscle to contract and relax, but it happens so fast that there's no discomfort, just a rapid twitching.

 

I'm very interested in hearing similar stories/ insight on advice.

[goldisheavy]

I have a muscle on my back, or a small group of muscles that lay on the right side of my back. Along with the super high frequency ringing in my right ear, my back spasm/twitching occurs during meditation. I'm at the point now that I act as if its a universal energy pump that helps circulate energy through my microcosmic orbit (Yeah, dumb I know)

I once fell asleep while trying to meditate and the last thing I remember thinking about was that god awful distraction, the rapid twitching in my back. The next day I was slightly sore in that area so I suspect the twitching lasted hours through the night.

 

I'm sure everyone is familiar with the pulsing, twitching nature I'm talking about.. The SCIENTIFIC nature of the problem is most likely related to neurological firing. As if my brain is rapidly telling that muscle to contract and relax, but it happens so fast that there's no discomfort, just a rapid twitching.

 

I'm very interested in hearing similar stories/ insight on advice.

 

It happens sometimes when I am too tense. As soon as I relax, it goes away. I do not recommend you dwell on it, because that doesn't help it go away. You shouldn't try too hard to ignore it either, but don't spend extra time on the sensation. If your attention drifts to it, that's OK. Just move your attention to something else, preferably something you enjoy or need. Sometimes you need to relax for a while, before twitching goes away.

 

If you have trouble relaxing on your own, I recommend a hypnotic relaxation tape/MP3. I purchased some for myself and they worked a miracle when I was in severe pain. Better than percoset/vicadin. If you want to go the whole hog, you can learn self-hypnosis, that's even better.

 

Good news is that this kind of problem should be easy to overcome. Ringing in your year could be from thinking too much or thinking too hard. It could also be from listening to loud music or being in a noisy environment. Try to focus on sounds you care about instead of the ringing noise -- this should help. If you focus on the noise, it gets louder and more pronounced.

 

Also be careful associating ideas with these kinds of phenomena. If you truly enjoy this twitching, go ahead and associate it with something positive. But if you want to get rid of it, don't associate it with anything good, or it will make it hard for you to get rid of it, because we don't want to get rid of things we consider good.

Edited November 11, 2009 by goldisheavy

[doc benway]

Muscle twitches are often a sign of fatigue, sometimes dehydration or mineral imbalance.

They can be related to your posture while sitting - I would take a look at that.

In very rare instances they can be a sign of neurologic illness.

Generally a twitch has little to do with the brain but is a reflex arc through the spinal cord or firing of the muscle due to local changes in things like Magnesium, Phosphate, pH, Calcium, Potassium levels and so forth.

I know more about the Western paradigm explanations than the Eastern...

I experience them periodically and ignore them and they generally come and go as they please.

Edited November 11, 2009 by steve f

[fiveelementtao]

I have suffered in the past from persistent muscle "twitches." There is a difference between muscle spasms and spontaneous twitching from energy work. spontaneous movements from energy work are not distracting or annoying. They are pleasant and cease when the practitioner stops the exercise. If you are having spasms that continue after your meditations it is a spasm. Muscle spasms can be a result of a dietary imbalance caused by overheating possibly from obsessive thinking. I suggest getting a magnesium supplement to balance your nervous system. My preferred magnesium supplement is "Ionic Fizz Magnesium plus"

 

If the spasms only occur during meditation, it is also possible that your spine may be out of alignment and the twitching may be a result of your muscles trying to realign themselves. So, a trip to the chiropractor and/or a an acupuncturist may help.

 

Someone more knowledgable about Chinese medicine may be able to explain the cause of the ringing in the ear...

 

Good luck.

 

 

I have a muscle on my back, or a small group of muscles that lay on the right side of my back. Along with the super high frequency ringing in my right ear, my back spasm/twitching occurs during meditation. I'm at the point now that I act as if its a universal energy pump that helps circulate energy through my microcosmic orbit (Yeah, dumb I know)

I once fell asleep while trying to meditate and the last thing I remember thinking about was that god awful distraction, the rapid twitching in my back. The next day I was slightly sore in that area so I suspect the twitching lasted hours through the night.

 

I'm sure everyone is familiar with the pulsing, twitching nature I'm talking about.. The SCIENTIFIC nature of the problem is most likely related to neurological firing. As if my brain is rapidly telling that muscle to contract and relax, but it happens so fast that there's no discomfort, just a rapid twitching.

 

I'm very interested in hearing similar stories/ insight on advice.

Edited November 11, 2009 by fiveelementtao

[Taomeow]

In a vast majority of cases, it's magnesium deficiency, although Steve F is right -- could be other mineral deficiencies as well, but magnesium is the first and most likely suspect. That's because this is the mineral that acts as a mediator between the muscles and the brain and specifically carries the command to the muscles to "relax." If twitching occurs in meditation, this might be due to conflicting messages -- the activity (or, rather, inactivity) signals "relax," and neural receptors that know how to tell the muscles to relax and rely on magnesium for that go, "like, how?.. Where's the messenger? We keep paging and paging, magnesium, come in, do you read me? -- and nothing happens!"

 

Supplementing with good-brand magnesium (some prefer chelated, some swear by magnesium malate) usually eliminates those twitches if nothing more serious is involved.

 

The reason magnesium deficiency is extremely widespread is the way they process all potable water, normally in its non-chemically-processed natural state the main source of trace minerals in general and magnesium specifically. In Europe, it is processed to ten times lower than the required amount for humans, but in the US, it is over one hundred times lower, so there's going to be ten times as many Americans as Europeans getting those twitches. Twitches is no big deal but heart disease -- magnesium deficiency is the real leading cause, not cholesterol, smoking, stress and what have you.

[SingaporeGuyHere]

i dunno if this helps, but let go of the phenomena and focus on the method

 

example, some beginners like to focus on qi sensations when they should be focusing on doing the correct method

 

if you keep on thinking and thinking about some feeling that occurred during qigong or meditation, then it becomes a unhealthy attachment, leading to a 'false' situation where your mind artificially forces the feeling to happen, so that you may feel "ahhhh...theres comes the feeling again as i expected"

 

but if you keep a clear mind and the same feeling occurs again and again, then you have a 'real' situation

Edited November 12, 2009 by SingaporeGuyHere

[cheya]

 

 

Supplementing with good-brand magnesium (some prefer chelated, some swear by magnesium malate) usually eliminates those twitches if nothing more serious is involved.

Transdermal magnesium gel or oil is another good way to raise magnesium levels. This form of magnesium chloride absorbs through your skin, so no digestive concerns. It can bring your mag levels up really fast. You can rub it in your skin or soak your feet in it. If you rub it on your skin and follow with vibration, it goes in REALLY fast. Turbocharged! Great for sore muscles and headaches too.
Prices vary tremendously for essentially the same product. Best source I've found is
Health and Wisdom . (Amazing and unending testimonials!) Swanson carries it too.

Try rubbing it directly on yer twitches. Mag chloride is a form of salt, so it can sting on some people. Cut it with oil or lotion if that's a problem for you.

 

[Zenshiite]

It could also be that what you're experiencing is a muscle or muscle group releasing built up tension. You ever notice how an animal twitches after doing something that involves the fight or flight response? Watch a nature video of a gazelle or zebra escaping a lion or other predator. They twitch afterward. They are releasing tension.

[Ohm-Nei]

It could also be that what you're experiencing is a muscle or muscle group releasing built up tension. You ever notice how an animal twitches after doing something that involves the fight or flight response? Watch a nature video of a gazelle or zebra escaping a lion or other predator. They twitch afterward. They are releasing tension.

 

I enjoy it to be honest, I use it as a reminder that i am still in my body without asking my body to prove it.

 

That twitch reminds me that it's possible for my brain do accomplish things that I have not asked of it, which gives me hope that my body can accomplish things that I have asked of it. <- Asking for my reasoning behind this may leave you with more questions than answers

 

Thank you all for your insight!