how do i get past restlessness?

[drizzit]

what could i focus on besides my heart and breathing (i find my heart beat to be vary disturbing and all pulsating in general) i go through breath excises but cant seem to stay still for more then 15 min. ill get an itch or something stupid like that. thank you for any wisdom.

 

[toogoodforyou]

I think you're overanalyzing your restlessness cause some restlessness is bound to be there where you're meditating for a long time in a fixed position. It is something very innate in most human beings. If your restlessness is so intense that you cannot focus on your meditation technique at all, try a different one which is proven to work.

Earlier i was doing the Sudarshan Kriya which was very effective but it involved sitting in one position which was strenuous for me, so i switched over to more active meditations which were slightly more fun to do. But whatever meditation/yoga practice you do will be uncomfortable when done for long periods of time and you will really have to push yourself to get results. Don't let slight body disturbances and restlessness affect you, even if it does get back to focusing on your breathing exercise as soon as possible. I noticed my efficiency increased and pushed myself way more in Power Yoga which involves holding your body is really tough positions after i stopped smoking cannabis regularly. Also, with practice it gets easier.

Hope my post helps

 

[drizzit]

thank you vary much if you have any fun practices or a link to share id appreciate that as well. but i suppose over analyzing is my daily problem thank you again for your information.

 

[toogoodforyou]

Osho Dynamic Meditation & Kundalini Meditation are active meditation techniques that are fun to do. Basically, they involve activity and catharsis at start which prepare you to sit calmly afterwards so you won't really feel restless. Another fun to do meditation is the Osho gibberish meditation, this is a technique which you can throw in as a supplement to your main meditation. If you use google/torrent you may find some information/videos on the techniques and can practice them by looking at the videos, but its more fun to do in a setting where many people are doing it.

These are the techniques that i like, along with the Sudarshan Kriya. Once you know how to get in to that meditative state you can get into it while doing any activity like dancing, singing, listening to music, exercising or without any activity as well.

 

[Glen222]

Get up early in the morning and inhale fresh air of morning through long breaths. Do cardio , jogging would be best for you. Long breathing would improve your respiratory system and hearth health.

 

[ophiuchus]

^ while this may be good practice, i don't think those techniques, except for the jogging, will help with restlessness or sleeplessness at night...

what could i focus on besides my heart and breathing (i find my heart beat to be vary disturbing and all pulsating in general) i go through breath excises but cant seem to stay still for more then 15 min. ill get an itch or something stupid like that. thank you for any wisdom.

dont worry so much about being strict on yourself. nobody has said that one must stay perfectly still while meditating. if you develop an itch or need to move, then do so. it's all about trying to become comfortable anyhow. the same goes for intruding thoughts. one can never totally cease their thoughts. the idea is that once a thought comes, try to acknowledge it for what it is, let it come, let it be, and then let it go, and then center again. repeat ad nauseum. one will develop much faster by simply accepting their intruding thoughts vs trying to shut them out. the latter will never work.

ones heart beat and breath are the only things anchoring them to this world. why do you find them disturbing? they are the core of your physical existence, and are really the only beneficial focus points of meditation, especially if restlessness is an issue. meditation is all about centralizing on ones existence. if one is not comfortable with their existence, then those focus points become an even better, in fact, the best option for them to overcome this.

one cannot find peace anywhere but in themselves.

 

[beefcharcoal]

I had the same problem and jogging or any cardio workout really helped me

 

[BrainEater]

maybe try holding your breath coupled with trying to get a better body feeling and experiment a little bit with that. for example if you hold your breath for a long time, you will notice that at some point "it"/your body will start to breathe on its own.

and meditate about why you shouldn't have a rest. it could be this has got to do with your thought-program or operating system of your thoughts. think deeply about that.
in eastern philosophy or so there is a concept that we have many bodies, besides the physical body something like a dream body and some more that i don't remember now... maybe there is some disturbance in that. well i am only speculating, but if you ask me, it's in that context and in general in that topic very much about feeling and the subleties that feeling can have. for example try to remember how you felt and/or perceived as a child and how you do that now. hope that helps!!!

my speculation is that on a mind level you realized the importance of the ability to cope with stress or just stress in general (which would at least in some sense equal restlessness), but haven't completely got over that or been able to deal with that. so maybe think about why and when you would want or need to be restless and when or why not and then find a solution that feels good to YOU!

hmm and maybe in order to find inner peace or peace with nature or so try to listen to music or look at fantasy images or simply do sports... just try to get a feeling for yourself so to say... so you can know what feels right to you and if you know that then you can do that... it's simple lol!!


peace

 

[Mrboxey]

I have found that a good cardio workout an hour to an hour and a half before climbing into bed works wonders. However, climb into bed any earlier than that after the workout, and it just makes you more restless.. At least in my experience.

So, about an hour before you plan on sleeping, get a good Tae Bo, or Kickboxing workout in and drift away to dream land.

it's really weird how it works both ways. I found if I did a routine in the morning, I had more energy to last through the day, and when I did it at night, it helped me to relax and not be as restless and I usually slept pretty well...

Wonder why that would be....

Also, something that helped me to be less restless was for about 5 minutes before shutting my eyes I would look at the ceiling in my room and think of all the things I am happy/thankful for, and I find my thoughts stop racing so much and I feel more positive and can sleep better. I tend to do the same thing in the morning before getting out of bed, helps to start the day off right.

 

[drizzit]

Ty mrboxey iv been trying similar methods but still love any new advice. I can somewhat accept my heart beat and am able to focus on my counting only and can be calm.

 

[Mrboxey]

A nice cup of green tea works wonders too

 

[Amos]

Along the way, I trained my capacity for prolonged sessions of sitting meditation. Ironically, I spent far too much time observing and measuring the process of seeking enlightenment. This becomes a meaningless divergence from the true purpose of said 'meditation....

 

[beefcharcoal]

Yeah, I think maybe you're putting to much emphasis on your restlessness and trying to succumb it instead of just relaxing and being peaceful. It's like while meditating its at the back of your mind so you dont have a clear mind. Everyone gets restless. I reckon the more you meditate the longer you'll be able to go without having an itch etc

 

[Henrichon]

why dotn you try to move for a long walk and do running and jogging after this try to have yoga this will pretty much solve your restlessness

 

[Mrboxey]

You know what else you could do to relieve restlessness?

This works for me anyway... I find that after sexual intercourse you can often find yourself relaxed and not as restless and wanting to take a nap. So you could also engage in self stimulation for the same effect.

Of course, you need to be careful to just not doze off into dreamland if you are going to do that... Happened a few times.. Not all unpleasant, but I certainly didn't spend much time actually meditating..

 

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[BrainEater]

maybe one question could be what the mind has got the do with itches... it's interesting to think about... for example the idea of a body-mind and how the "real mind" lol is connected or is it in some sense... mind you, i am only speculating a little bit here...
so this could mean your body wants you to really focus on your mind or vice versa or something similar?? anyway... another thought that i got was that a problem with relaxing is often probably the constraint/compulsion to relax. i found myself often thinking about how i should relax instead of really trying to relax or actually relaxing... if you tell yourself "i must to this or that" or "i must relax" too much wouldn't it be logical that because of that it wouldn't work in all cases or so? it's also a common wisdom that trying too hard ( or maybe not enough???) can lead to failing...
so yeah i guess it's a bit like "just do it" or so... maybe ask your heart a little bit more "how it feels"...
i had moments of restlessness too... in my experience it often was more uncomfortable than comfortable...
this tells me, that our culture and society didn't always cope and/or understood really well with stress...
it's probably the balance aspect. i mean like it can be good to relax, but it can also be good to do something.
got to ask yourself what exactly and/or what approximately you would want to do or the other way round, what you don't want to do and find your way from there. and then of course maybe the idea of relaxing while doing something... however not totally sure what all that would mean or so...
a vedic astrologer who has some videos on youtube said that "some people don't even synchronize their body moment with their breath"... i think this is very interesting... how the heart frequency connects it all... from an esoteric perspective the heart is what connects the upper and lower body..
and i would say as far as i understand it, at least in some sense the breath can be seen as the "spirit" or so... hope that helps!!!! 8)



peace

 

[jasonorland88]

Multi-tasking is vastly over-rated, more stressful than useful. Try thinking sequentially instead of simultaneously. Make a list of tasks in the order you want to accomplish them. Do one thing at a time until you achieve a degree of completeness that will allow you to walk away from it and do something else. Repeat and rinse. Remember: activity is not always synonymous with accomplishment. Sometimes it is just energy used up. I call it "Rocking Chair Syndrome" -- continuous movement, but going nowhere. Following through to completeness instead of giving everything a quick lick-and-a-pro