Sitting/Laying Meditation & Falling Asleep

[ValleyStream]

I have a regular problem of falling asleep when meditating if I am sitting or laying down.

 

I can usually meditate for 10-15 minutes without a problem but whenever I go any longer there is a good chance that i will fade into sleep.

 

Through my Taiji practice I have been able to accomplish effective standing meditation without dozing off to dream land but when sitting or laying I find myself falling asleep while meditating on a regular basis.

 

I have a good diet. I exercise regularly. I sleep a solid 8 hours a night (usually 930pm-530am). I never meditate after a large meal or in the evening when i am tired.

 

Granted, i am fairly new to meditating and some advice i have read on other forums is that this problem will pass with time and practice but i thought that you guys would have a few helpful things to say.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[Daeluin]

Persistence pays off, and is really the name of the game.

 

Some tips I've read about include standing up and walking calmly around for a moment, then returning to sitting. Or allowing the eyes to be half open, and quasi focused on the tip of the nose, though you still want your focus to be inward, but this helps allow a little light into the eyes, and this and the focus help cultivate that merged state of conscious/subconscious.

 

Try meditating after tai chi, after you've got some energy circulating. Try mediating after doing standing mediation. See if you feel a difference when mediating after wuji vs standing like a tree. What about after palms to the ground, vs palms/arms open to embrace heaven?

 

See if it helps to keep the room brightly lit.

 

See how your experience changes when mediating during different parts of the day.

 

Just some stuff I thought up - I'd barely be considered a meditator at all compared to some people here. But I'm doing my best to change that, and the things I listed seem to help. But what helps most of all is consistency... and as much as I don't like using one, a timer. (Any good timer apps recommended?)

Edited September 19, 2014 by Daeluin

[Daeluin]

Also, I've heard that the more full your shen, the less sleepy one is. So meditating after being busy thinking might not be very helpful. Things like the internet, work, being social, absorbing music and movies all keep my mind spinning.

 

Meditating after cultivation helps my focus. So does taking long walks deliberately avoiding thought, and anything that cultivates emptiness. Might help with avoiding falling asleep too.

 

Also, sleeping is a pretty good emptiness practice. Try meditating after taking a nap. Or maybe wake up in the middle of the night and meditate. I certainly feel sleepy when I do this, but also very empty and spiritually aware.

Edited September 19, 2014 by Daeluin

[ValleyStream]

I like the idea of a timer being utilized. I could set up a timer on certain intervals and if i find that i can stay awake from one interval to the next i could extend the intervals it to where it would wake me up after a certain amount of time. It may distract me from my actual meditation but at this point i am more concerned to training myself to stay awake.

 

Perhaps i should try meditating after exercise. Like you said, Daeluin, i could walk around or wait until after Taiji. This is something i have yet to put into practice because i usually do Taiji in the evenings but i could start a morning Qigong routine and meditate in correlation with that. Good advice.

 

One thing is for sure though... it will just take time and persistent practice.

[Daeluin]

Personally I don't like to be interrupted. But a timer helps me avoid deciding to stop early - instead I surrender the notion that I have any control over when I am going to stop.

 

Also just now in my meditation I realized how awake the act of "turning around the light of the mind" keeps me. It's the idea of sealing the light of consciousness using inward intent. There's a bit more on this in The Secret of the Golden Flower, a great taoist meditation guide. Hey look, there's one available for $4.64 shipped in volume 3 of Cleary's taoist classics. Either way, you'll want the Cleary tl.

[Cheshire Cat]

What's the meditation technique that caused you to fall asleep?

Try another one! :-)

[Mystique Enigma]

Meditation is not about closing ones eyes and imagining the Universe... Its more about opening ones eyes and being aware of it ......

 

[子泰]

do you close your eyes when you meditate? try meditating with your eyes open by just a little bit, one of the things it aims to help is to beat drowsiness

[ValleyStream]

do you close your eyes when you meditate? try meditating with your eyes open by just a little bit, one of the things it aims to help is to beat drowsiness

 

I plan on attempting this. Sounds like it will be very effective. Thank you.

[Apech]

There's sleepiness and there's sleepiness. Sometimes it's due to energy depletion. If say you have dissipated a lot of energy then your mind seeks way to renew and you will become drowsy. Not necessarily a bad thing ... in fact a good thing. Take a nap. Otherwise as your attention begins to shift from normal waking consciousness into something deeper there is a kind of barrier like a cloud which you have to navigate. This can make you sleepy if you don't know how to switch attention to a new way of seeing. Here you just need to persist. By repeated trying you will eventually stumble on the knack for this cross over.

[ValleyStream]

What's the meditation technique that caused you to fall asleep?

Try another one! :-)

 

Well, i have an "audiobook/guide" for breathing & meditation that i sometimes refer to. It is basically designed to help you breathe into your lower dantian and adding more depth to your breath with an interval chime. It has a guide walking you through it all and i am sure there is more techniques beyond these two but i cant get past the 3rd or 4th chapter without falling asleep when sitting or standing. I have decided to not go beyond these beginning chapters until i can successfully keep myself awake for 20-30 minutes(perhaps indefinitely).

 

Also, i do the 6 healing sounds and internal smile techniques. this seems to work up until a certain point. Once i go through the 6 healing sounds and i focus on converting the negative energy into positive energy i tend to doze off. Perhaps i should just run though another round of healing sounds if ever i feel tired.

 

I will take your advice of trying other techniques. i just need to find some good resources. Any suggested online forums or documents for techniques?

[ValleyStream]

Personally I don't like to be interrupted. But a timer helps me avoid deciding to stop early - instead I surrender the notion that I have any control over when I am going to stop.

 

Also just now in my meditation I realized how awake the act of "turning around the light of the mind" keeps me. It's the idea of sealing the light of consciousness using inward intent. There's a bit more on this in The Secret of the Golden Flower, a great taoist meditation guide. Hey look, there's one available for $4.64 shipped in volume 3 of Cleary's taoist classics. Either way, you'll want the Cleary tl.

 

I will have to check that out. It seems that ol' Tom Cleary knows his stuff.

[thelerner]

I was told its a sign you need more sleep.

 

A possible solution is meditate in a less comfortable position. That could be meditating in Seiza position (sitting on your knees) or wearing a stiff starched shirt/jacket.

Edited September 20, 2014 by thelerner

[Cheshire Cat]

I will take your advice of trying other techniques. i just need to find some good resources. Any suggested online forums or documents for techniques?

 

This one is highly recommended

 

[soaring crane]

add me to the eyes-open crowd. And not just a little. Try to meditate on being awake. Wide awake and fully aware of your surroundings :-)

 

Try ...

 

But honestly, this is also a completely normal phase in the earlier stages. Do you also start to yawn a lot? If you do, don't suppress it. Open up the maw and yawn deeply, with all the noises that want to come out. After a while (months?) this phase will pass all on its own.

 

One more thing to consider: The less attention you give the internal processes, the more freedom they have to rectify themselves at their own pace.

[ValleyStream]

I was told its a sign you need more sleep.

 

A possible solution is meditate in a less comfortable position. That could be meditating in Seiza position (sitting on your knees) or wearing a stiff starched shirt/jacket.

Well, there is really no need for me to sleep more at night. perhaps i just need to nap and then meditate.

 

I do like the idea of sitting in a more uncomfortable position and what-not. I will put that into practice for sure.

[ValleyStream]

This one is highly recommended

 

 

Thank you for this!

[ValleyStream]

add me to the eyes-open crowd. And not just a little. Try to meditate on being awake. Wide awake and fully aware of your surroundings :-)

 

Try ...

 

But honestly, this is also a completely normal phase in the earlier stages. Do you also start to yawn a lot? If you do, don't suppress it. Open up the maw and yawn deeply, with all the noises that want to come out. After a while (months?) this phase will pass all on its own.

 

One more thing to consider: The less attention you give the internal processes, the more freedom they have to rectify themselves at their own pace.

 

I really do think that this is what i need to do (for now); focus more on staying awake and external things to train myself to relax while staying awake.

 

But yes, it comes down to time and persistent practice.

 

All in time.

[Wu Ming Jen]

If you wake up with answers and tranquil peaceful mind, no worries. If you wake up being disappointed that you fell asleep tell your mind to settle down and to get over it.

 

Peaceful calm mind in the mist of activity AND sitting in an empty room with no thing to do then you are already successful. The big deal is keeping this center when you stand up and engage in life.

 

Your doing meditation so I will give you a humble bow, be sure to spread the light

Edited September 20, 2014 by Wu Ming Jen

[ValleyStream]

If you wake up with answers and tranquil peaceful mind, no worries. If you wake up being disappointed that you fell asleep tell your mind to settle down and to get over it.

 

Peaceful calm mind in the mist of activity AND sitting in an empty room with no thing to do then you are already successful. The big deal is keeping this center when you stand up and engage in life.

 

Your doing meditation so I will give you a humble bow, be sure to spread the light

 

This is good insight.

 

I was told before that falling asleep while meditating is not a bad thing as long as you wake up feeling clear. Whenever i do fall asleep i try to just wake up with ease and not beat myself up about it.

 

Sleeping clears my head, so it is great.

 

I am able to actually meditate and remain clear minded due to my Taiji practice. So my problem is not a failure of meditation from falling asleep. I just personally want to be able to stay awake for 40 minutes and sit still while emptying.

 

I have received some great tactics on this thread that I will be putting into practice.

[ValleyStream]

Rode my bike to the market to fetch some grub. Came home and immediately meditated while heart rate was up. Single cross legged seated to avoid becoming too relaxed. Well lit room and kept my eyes cracked open. I kept it kinda chilly in the house so that i would not become warm and too relaxed; it did not impede on my meditation (i was worried that the cold would). Meditated for a solid 30 minutes and only dozed off once or twice. i caught myself dozing and focused on my breathing and continued the practice. id say it was a success.

 

I will be using more tactics that were suggested by others in upcoming sessions.

 

Thank you, all.

Edited September 22, 2014 by ValleyStream

[joeblast]

I have a regular problem of falling asleep when meditating if I am sitting or laying down.

 

I can usually meditate for 10-15 minutes without a problem but whenever I go any longer there is a good chance that i will fade into sleep.

 

Through my Taiji practice I have been able to accomplish effective standing meditation without dozing off to dream land but when sitting or laying I find myself falling asleep while meditating on a regular basis.

 

I have a good diet. I exercise regularly. I sleep a solid 8 hours a night (usually 930pm-530am). I never meditate after a large meal or in the evening when i am tired.

 

Granted, i am fairly new to meditating and some advice i have read on other forums is that this problem will pass with time and practice but i thought that you guys would have a few helpful things to say.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

take an active role in the mechanics of breath, work towards mechanics of energy.

 

This one is highly recommended

 

like-a deece!

[dust]

Probably not what you're looking for, but worth noting as a practice:

 

 

 

I've recently started focusing on deeper, slower breathing using a mala to count breaths. If you don't want to ask a friend to smack you with a stick every 30 mins, perhaps a simple tactile sensation like this would be helpful? Certainly I've not felt at risk of dozing off while using it

 

 

 

 

This one is highly recommended

 

“你们都是我的父母”

Wonderful