Meditation

[djmotion Senior Member Member of the Month March 2019 Find all posts View Profile Close djmotion]

So I just started my first session of meditation and had to quit unfortunately. It was for de-stressing and had me breathing and trying to feel light so I feel like I'm floating into the sky and seeing the street then city then country, etc. I was sat up-right with my back against the wall with duvet between and legs crossed and felt my head get quite heavy so I had to point it down and then I began to get headache probably from the breathing, is this normal for first timers?

[Venti Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Venti]

While meditating it's important to have neutral posture because if you are out of balance and holding the position you'll put strain on some muscles while stretching others and you get similar issues as you'd get from sleeping in a bad position. This is probably what happened when you tilted your head forward.

I think sitting without support (the traditional meditation pose) is meant to keep you from getting too sleepy as the shifting balance will alert you if your muscles are about to give in when falling asleep. If sleepiness isn't an issue you could try meditation in better supported position, like lying down.

I also think plain awareness is as relaxing as visualization but you can try different methods to find which suits you best. It might be just because I have poor imagination but when I meditated I found just focusing on breath as relaxing as picturing myself on paradise island.

[djmotion Senior Member Member of the Month March 2019 Find all posts View Profile Close djmotion]

I think I struggle with the breathing part of it too. I feel like it's making me light headed, I just don't think I'm good at breathing into my belly. I want to master it but I'm thinking maybe I just don't have the patience/ability. I'm fair creative in my mind so I probably find visualization easier. Listening to my breath just irritates me and so does sitting still lol I heard meditation is good for helping you be patient though.

[Venti Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Venti]

I think it's difficult for everyone to find the patience to sit still but that's where the benefits of meditation come from. The mind is very efficient at self-stimulating but the better you learn to let go of the racing thoughs the farther you'll also get from the discomfort and anxiety caused by them.

You shouldn't get light headed from meditating either. I get difficulty breathing as well if I'm getting over conscious about it. It's best to not try to interfere with the natural flow too much at once.

[djmotion Senior Member Member of the Month March 2019 Find all posts View Profile Close djmotion]

I think it's difficult for everyone to find the patience to sit still but that's where the benefits of meditation come from. The mind is very efficient at self-stimulating but the better you learn to let go of the racing thoughs the farther you'll also get from the discomfort and anxiety caused by them.

You shouldn't get light headed from meditating either. I get difficulty breathing as well if I'm getting over conscious about it. It's best to not try to interfere with the natural flow too much at once.

So when they say take a deep breath in and out then do it following their timing but when they are talking about something else like the floating I mentioned or relaxing muscles then just let my breathing flow naturally instead of focusing on the ins and outs? and instead focus on the floating or muscle relaxation?

[Venti Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Venti]

So when they say take a deep breath in and out then do it following their timing but when they are talking about something else like the floating I mentioned or relaxing muscles then just let my breathing flow naturally instead of focusing on the ins and outs? and instead focus on the floating or muscle relaxation?

I don't like guided meditation for that reason because I think disrupting the natural breathing pattern only takes away from relaxation. I'd say if you are doing visualization meditation focus on the image instead of forcing deeper breaths or changing the rhythm of your natural breathing. The breaths will automatically get deeper as you get more relaxed into the meditative state.

But different things work for different people. I don't think the way you do it matters as long as you get what you want out of it, at least in things like meditation.

[djmotion Senior Member Member of the Month March 2019 Find all posts View Profile Close djmotion]

I like the ones I've been doing. Has deep breathing a few times then says allow your breathing to enter into its natural rhythm. Ones I used to use never did that and I'd be breathing deeply for 15 mins feeling like I'm gonna pass out lol