Safety in Meditation

[humbleone]

Hello, This problem has been haunting my meditation practice for the past 20 years. Whenever I meditate I have a great experience. However the next day and day after, my anxeity and agitation goes up dramatically. rapid heart beat, sweaty palms etc. If I continue to meditate, the problem gets worse and worse forcing me to stop.

So I stop and go in hibernation for a few months, at times for few years.

 

This anxeity/agitation increase also happens if I do hypnosis, simple muscle relaxation techniques. So it

happens with anything I do to quiten myself. basic zen meditation etc.

 

I was recently given some great advice, and that is to spend time on closing. Bring the energy down to the lower dan tien. This helped quite a bit. Cut the symptoms down by 50%. I am pleased to say I am now doing daily practice for 1/2 hr. but the symptoms do show up and at times very strong.

 

I would be grateful if any one has advice on how to fix this dreaded issue. Thanks very much.

[Encephalon]

Hello, This problem has been haunting my meditation practice for the past 20 years. Whenever I meditate I have a great experience. However the next day and day after, my anxeity and agitation goes up dramatically. rapid heart beat, sweaty palms etc. If I continue to meditate, the problem gets worse and worse forcing me to stop.

So I stop and go in hibernation for a few months, at times for few years.

 

This anxeity/agitation increase also happens if I do hypnosis, simple muscle relaxation techniques. So it

happens with anything I do to quiten myself. basic zen meditation etc.

 

I was recently given some great advice, and that is to spend time on closing. Bring the energy down to the lower dan tien. This helped quite a bit. Cut the symptoms down by 50%. I am pleased to say I am now doing daily practice for 1/2 hr. but the symptoms do show up and at times very strong.

 

I would be grateful if any one has advice on how to fix this dreaded issue. Thanks very much.

 

Greetings -

I fell under the marketing spell of Transcendental Meditation back in the late 70s and eventually plopped down the $$ for it in the late 80s. They placed a great deal of emphasis on coming out of each session as gently as possible, because the practice lowers your stimuli threshold significantly, and for some, like me, coming out too fast resulted in headaches and irritability from what seemed like a a bombardment of normal waking stimuli. In Iowa, where the TMers started a campus, we were encouraged to take naps after the group meditation cycle because of this dramatic difference in stimuli. The TM movement was created by people who were savvy businessmen who used lots of technical information to sell their product to westerners, so you can probably find their book used for cheap and possibly dig up some helpful clues.

 

It seems like the ideal is to lower your stimuli threshold so that you don't need crack cocaine and skydiving to feel alive, while keeping your nervous system resilient and stress-free as possible. My guess is that the nei kung practitioners among us would probably vouch for their path, but in the mean time, ask Taomeow how to lower the stimuli content of your environment; color therapy, diet, music management... the woman's a wizard.

 

typo

Edited February 18, 2011 by Blasto

[Birch]

" the woman's a wizard."

 

Well, technically, one might say "the woman's a witch"

 

Edited for weird typo

Edited February 18, 2011 by Kate

[Sunya]

[humbleone]

Blasto, I sent Taomeow a message. Hopefully she will reply. Thank you for the referral.

 

I have looked into this problem I have with meditation quite a bit. Have been to many Zen monastaries in the USA, have been told to just work through the issue. Problems/stress after meditation is quite common, I checked out this thread(see below). It has some interesting information about chemical changes in the brain after meditation. Which is understandable. but there must be a way to fix this issue.

 

http://www.openbuddha.com/2002/09/06/the-dangers-of-mediation/

 

All the best.

 

PS. Regarding TM, Amazon.com has a few books, most appear to be their marketing material. There is one however written by a critic of TM which i may get. TM organization protects their techniques like they are the NSA.

[Encephalon]

Blasto, I sent Taomeow a message. Hopefully she will reply. Thank you for the referral.

 

I have looked into this problem I have with meditation quite a bit. Have been to many Zen monastaries in the USA, have been told to just work through the issue. Problems/stress after meditation is quite common, I checked out this thread(see below). It has some interesting information about chemical changes in the brain after meditation. Which is understandable. but there must be a way to fix this issue.

 

http://www.openbuddha.com/2002/09/06/the-dangers-of-mediation/

 

All the best.

 

PS. Regarding TM, Amazon.com has a few books, most appear to be their marketing material. There is one however written by a critic of TM which i may get. TM organization protects their techniques like they are the NSA.

 

I am heavily biased toward nei kung practice as it refines and strengthens the nervous system specifically, which is where a solution to this plight may ultimately lie. I'm a Buddhist in my moral, ethical, and intellectual life, but I need the Taoist arts for the refinement of essential bodily processes.

www.neikungla.com

[markern]

Doing some sort of qigong for a while might balance out whatever is causing this through balancing out your energies in ways normal meditation does not or does slowly. Some sort of movement form perhaps.

 

Also since bringing energy down to the dan tien helped so much furhter grounding might help you. I have experienced two types of anxiety/panick type fear in my life I think. One is connected to the kidneys and the other to the spleen. The one connected to the spleen seems to be essentially worry but in an extreme way. The one from teh kidneys seems to be more common fear and anxiety. Once any of the two are strong I have always labeled both anxiety and not seen so much difference between them. Only lately have I been able to make this distinction when I have worked with acupressure and healing sounds. Both types of anxiety I experience as energy going upwards. When I calm them down through acupressure or healing sounds the energy goes down again. Doing standing meditation had a particularily calming effect on anxiety for me, especially on the spleen anxiety/worry. Part of this was because of a general calming and mindfulness effect but a large part of it was also that it made the eenrgy go down. I could distinctly feel the energy start sinking and worry turn to trust as is happened. THe wuji posture works especially on spleen and kidneys and so might be ideal for you.

 

I would also highly recomend healing sounds or inner smile or both. That way you can start working directly and efficiently with the bothersome emotions and connected energies. It will also help you distinguish just were the problem lies. THen you can also add in extra stuff to work on the area you discovered was the main problem. If it is in the kidneys for exampl add some kidney qigong and ask for advice on food and herbs that are good for the kidneys.

 

Doing a short inner smile before and maybe also after you start your other meditation could also be something to try. The inner smile state is more or less the oposite of anxiety.

 

You could also rub your hands warm and hold them over your kidneys. THey like being warmed up.

[humbleone]

I am heavily biased toward nei kung practice as it refines and strengthens the nervous system specifically, which is where a solution to this plight may ultimately lie. I'm a Buddhist in my moral, ethical, and intellectual life, but I need the Taoist arts for the refinement of essential bodily processes.

www.neikungla.com

 

I checked out the site you listed www.neikungla.com. It lead me to this

 

http://www.chutaichi.com/chu.shtml

 

I actually live in NYC. I am going to visit this place and try to meet with grand master C K Chu. Will report back.

 

Thanks very much. You have been of great help blasto.

[humbleone]

 

--Doing some sort of qigong. Some sort of movement form perhaps.

 

-- One is connected to the kidneys and the other to the spleen.

 

-- Both types of anxiety I experience as energy going upwards. When I calm them down through acupressure or healing sounds the energy goes down again.

 

-- The wuji posture works especially on spleen and kidneys and so might be ideal for you.

 

-- I would also highly recomend healing sounds or inner smile or both. Doing a short inner smile before and maybe also after you start your other meditation could also be something to try. The inner smile state is more or less the oposite of anxiety.

 

-- You could also rub your hands warm and hold them over your kidneys. THey like being warmed up.

 

great post Markern. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. I am going to follow-up on all the points listed and report back.

 

I think what startled me couple of months ago was a serious road rage episode while driving. All of this with my wife and young children in the car. Since then I have taken upon myself to fix this issue.

 

All the best.

[Encephalon]

I checked out the site you listed www.neikungla.com. It lead me to this

 

http://www.chutaichi.com/chu.shtml

 

I actually live in NYC. I am going to visit this place and try to meet with grand master C K Chu. Will report back.

 

Thanks very much. You have been of great help blasto.

 

I'm glad to be of help, and I'm envious! I understand he's very accessible. Nei kung is the heart of the matter. I'm moving into my 4th year of practice and it's like night and day. Best wishes.