Meditation?

[Lote-Tree]

1. Yes. I meditate regularily.
2. Yes. But not often.
3. Yes. Sometimes.
4. No. Never.
5. No way! Meditation is ego-self absorption.
6. Meditation - what is that? :D


What is meditation?

Meditation is a way of bringing your mind and body to stillness.

Some Benefits of meditation

Greater Orderliness of Brain Functioning
· Improved Ability to Focus
· Increased Creativity
· Deeper Level of Relaxation
· Improved Perception and Memory
· Development of Intelligence
· Natural Change in Breathing
· Decrease in Stress Hormone
· Lower Blood Pressure
· Increased Self-Actualization
· Increased Strength of Self-Concept
· Decreased Cigarette, Alcohol, and Drug Abuse
· Increased Productivity
· Improved Relations at Work
· Increased Relaxation and Decreased Stress
· Improved Health and More Positive Health Habits

[SleepyWitch]

yes, I meditate sometimes, but the only time it ever helped/worked out the way it's supposed to was on a rock in Mongolia

[Madhuri]

I used to do pranayam, but that was a few years back, I thought it would help in calming my nerves and keeping negative thoughts away. But, it didn't. Maybe I was doing it wrong, or something else.

[SleepyWitch]

what is pranayam, Madhy?

[Madhuri]

It's a type of breathing exercise in Yoga. There are different types of pranayams. I used to do Nadi shuddhi; in that you close one nostril, say left, and inhale from the right one, once done, you slowly open the closed nostril (left one) and exhale, and then repeat with the right nostril closed and so on. It is said that it's good for the nervous system, and helps in keeping mental peace.

[SleepyWitch]

i see. I'll try it tonight :)
but the only thing that helps me keep mental peace (or achieve it in the first place) is sports.
what do you think about that? my boyfriend used to be friends with some spiritualist guy who styled himself as kind of guru for his friends. this guy said, it's all in the mind, the world is an illusion, the body is an illusion, it's only that soul/mind that matters, so if you meditate you don't need sports blablablablabla.
but I think I'm more the agressive, physical type and meditation doesn't really work for me on its own

[Madhuri]

i see. I'll try it tonight :)
but the only thing that helps me keep mental peace (or achieve it in the first place) is sports.
what do you think about that? my boyfriend used to be friends with some spiritualist guy who styled himself as kind of guru for his friends. this guy said, it's all in the mind, the world is an illusion, the body is an illusion, it's only that soul/mind that matters, so if you meditate you don't need sports blablablablabla.
but I think I'm more the agressive, physical type and meditation doesn't really work for me on its own

Yes, Sleepy, sports works for me too. Pranayam did not work, I felt it was too still, and for me, like you said it has to be agressive. What worked was, swimming. I love it ! To keep my mind, body and spirit in good shape it has to be some kind of sport.

If you are planning to do pranayam, have a look at this -- http://www.healthandyoga.com/html/pran/pran_type.html (Nadi Shuddhi one -- alternate nostril breath), because it requires certain body posture before you start, the way you sit, etc. Every pranayam has a different posture, to be effective.

[Lote-Tree]

Meditation is not for everyone. But everyone can benefit from regular meditation.

Regular practice is the key to meditation.

And you need to find a meditation techniques that suits you and works for you.

Some people find mantra based meditation works for them others it is Vipassana...in the end you need to find a technique or combination of techniques that works for you...

[SleepyWitch]

thanks for the link, Maddhy

my boyfriend's got a CD by this Filipinian guy, some chakra (sp?) stuff like 'meditation of the two hearts' or something (crown thingy and heart).
it's OK but it works better if I do it in nature, plus my problem with those instruction CDs is that the speakers are invariably too fast for me. I'm very slow at imagining things, so when the instructor is already half-way through the meditation I'm still trying to locate my heartbeat (unsuccessfully most of the time. I've come to the conclusion I don't have a heart at all :lol:)

[Virgil]

imy boyfriend used to be friends with some spiritualist guy who styled himself as kind of guru for his friends. this guy said, it's all in the mind, the world is an illusion, the body is an illusion, it's only that soul/mind that matters, so if you meditate you don't need sports blablablablabla.


Yeah, and next time his dentist pulls out a tooth he can do it without novicane. :p ;)

I used to spend five minutes every so often meditating. I should go back to it. It is relaxing. I'm not really sure of the health benefits (other than perhaps releasing a little stress), but it can't hurt.

[Nossa]

I always wanted to learn and understand how to meditate and how to do Yoga, but I never got the time to actually. I'm not sure if it can be self-taught cuz I'm pretty sure we don't have any Yoga or Meditation classes here. But I hope I can learn it someday though.
And I just realized that I voted for the wrong choice...I hate my mouse! I wanted to vote for No Never...but I ended up voting for Yes Sometimes :lol:

[SleepyWitch]

Yeah, and next time his dentist pulls out a tooth he can do it without novicane. :p ;)


:D yeah :) exacly my opinion.
besides, I think this guru guy got the whole shaman thingy he preached all wrong. as it happens, Mongolian shamans knock themselves into the world of spirits by chainsmoking and drinking one or two bottles of vodka a day (=using the effect of drugs on their body to reach an altered state of consciousness :) I suppose if I drank a whole bottle of vodka in one go, I'd be riding to the world of my ancestral spirits on a magic drum, too :)

[Virgil]

:D yeah :) exacly my opinion.
besides, I think this guru guy got the whole shaman thingy he preached all wrong. as it happens, Mongolian shamans knock themselves into the world of spirits by chainsmoking and drinking one or two bottles of vodka a day (=using the effet of drugs on their body to reach an altered state of consciousness :) I suppose if I drank a whole bottle of vodka in one go, I'd be riding to the world of my ancestral spirits on a magic drum, too :)

:lol: :lol: That is so funny. God, do they even have livers and lungs?

[TheFifthElement]

As you know Lote, I try! I find meditation really, really difficult, though when I do it I do feel the benefits afterwards. I have always visited the local buddhist centre to gain instruction, I find their calmness and self-assuredness very impressive.

Madhuri - the type of meditation you're trying sounds far too complicated. I have only ever tried the mindfulness of breathing and this in two ways, one where you simply concentrate on the sensation of your breath coming in and out, another where you count your breaths up to ten, and each time you find your mind becoming distracted by other thoughts you start back at one again (and when you reach ten, obviously!). I found both of these very successful in inducing something resembling a meditative state. The mindfulness of breathing exercise has always been preceded by a process of relaxing the body, starting with the feet and working your way up, so you relax the body first, then focus the mind.

There is a school in the North West of England which includes meditation as part of the daily school routine, and attainment and learning at this school are one of the highest in the country. I think that schools would benefit immeasurably from introducing short meditations as part of the school day, to help children gain the discipline of concentration and focus, as well as helping to ease tension. I always find it strange when people expect children to be able to concentrate (don't teachers tell them to do it often enough) without teaching them, or aiding them in how to concentrate.

Details about the school here : http://www.maharishischool.com/index.html

[Madhuri]

Madhuri - the type of meditation you're trying sounds far too complicated. I have only ever tried the mindfulness of breathing and this in two ways, one where you simply concentrate on the sensation of your breath coming in and out, another where you count your breaths up to ten, and each time you find your mind becoming distracted by other thoughts you start back at one again (and when you reach ten, obviously!). I found both of these very successful in inducing something resembling a meditative state. The mindfulness of breathing exercise has always been preceded by a process of relaxing the body, starting with the feet and working your way up, so you relax the body first, then focus the mind.

This type that you have mentioned here is another type of pranayam. All pranayams are breathing exercises, and meant to chanalise the energy (pran) in the right direction, so that the ailments, whether mental or physical can be removed. I tried this one too, and I used to do it while saying 'aum'; I would try to focus on the sound while breathing in and out.

It definitely helps; my father used to do it (don't remember which type it was) and it helped him lower his blood pressure. But, you must know that each pranayam is meant for a different purpose, and also what is the reason behind doing that particular breathing exercise. If you are looking for concentration, mental peace and issues with nervous system, then what you do, as well as what I mentioned earlier will, work. But, say you want to focus on liver, or lungs or a different body part, then for these there are different pranayams.

[applepie]

I used to meditate often, but not so much any more. It isn't that I don't like it, I just never seem to fit the time into the day. Maybe I should get back to it:)

[Lote-Tree]

I used to meditate often, but not so much any more. It isn't that I don't like it, I just never seem to fit the time into the day. Maybe I should get back to it:)

I say you should :D

[TheFifthElement]

This type that you have mentioned here is another type of pranayam. All pranayams are breathing exercises, and meant to chanalise the energy (pran) in the right direction, so that the ailments, whether mental or physical can be removed. I tried this one too, and I used to do it while saying 'aum'; I would try to focus on the sound while breathing in and out.

It definitely helps; my father used to do it (don't remember which type it was) and it helped him lower his blood pressure. But, you must know that each pranayam is meant for a different purpose, and also what is the reason behind doing that particular breathing exercise. If you are looking for concentration, mental peace and issues with nervous system, then what you do, as well as what I mentioned earlier will, work. But, say you want to focus on liver, or lungs or a different body part, then for these there are different pranayams.


Madhuri, I'm very impressed with your knowledge!

[Madhuri]

Madhuri, I'm very impressed with your knowledge!

:blush:

I don't have extensive knowledge about yoga, but, yeah I know a little bit about pranayam. Maybe, if you want, the next time you visit the meditation center, you can ask them more about it.