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TallTaff
United Kingdom
5 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 01 2012 : 6:58:32 PM
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Hi All,
I was wondering whether anyone was drawn to this site while looking for ways of dealing with Stress / Anxiety and also whether these practices have helped you?
This was my reason for stumbling across these practices (searching for information on mindfulness at the time).
In some ways I find these practices helpful in dealing with anxiety issues, but at other times I wonder whether the anxiety is preventing me from making any real progress.
As an example of what I mean - if I am totally anxiety and stress free when I meditate (very rarely), then I will usually experience a lot of what I see other people talking about e.g. a feeling of stillness, peace etc.
If I meditate while anxious, which is most of the time, my thoughts race to the extent that at the end of the meditation, I wonder if I've made any progress at all. Especially when I compare it with a non anxious meditation.
In my experience, I find the anxious state (racing thoughts, tense muscles, a sense of unease) to be the polar opposite of the meditative state (stillness, relaxation, being at ease) which makes be think that being anxious could make you insensitive to the practices i.e. First you need to return the mind from an anxious state to what I'd call a normal state and then from normal to the deeper meditative states.
For me at least, this seems to be true as I can meditate for 40 minutes or even an hour (I appreciate this isn't recommended) without ever experiencing any of the scenery, side effects or negative aspects that can occur from too much meditation, which leads me to think the anxiety makes me insensitive to a degree.
To add to these doubts, as soon as I begin to say the mantra whilst anxious, I immediately experience very strong pressure at my temples.
I guess what I'm asking is whether anyone who may be further down the line than I am (about 5 months Deep meditation and about a year fumbling about with different forms of mindfulness practices!) has experienced similar issues, how they dealt with them and how your practice has progressed in relation to the anxiety.
* I've just re read this before posting and I can see it seems very goal orientated and also quite negative. I must stress, I'm not looking for miracles straight away and my experiences so far have by no means been completely fruitless, but I sometimes think that I need just a little more than I am feeling at the moment to keep the faith and perhaps some positive advice from people who've had similar experiences will let me know I'm on the right track.
Thanks in advance. |
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Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2012 : 8:34:49 PM
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Yes, I am that person who practiced meditation more for anxiety/stress reduction than anything else. And yes, AYP meditation is the remedy for stress and anxiety.
Don't worry about anxiety reducing effectiveness. Just use meditation as recommended in the lessons and books, twice a day, and the stress reduction is cumulative.
It has to be done consistently and over a long period of time. Once it starts to take effect you will see that nothing else is necessary. We don't need any special yoga effects. Once our stress and anxiety is mostly gotten rid of through meditation, you will find that it is everything you need.
It is part of the stress to think that we need something more. Just do it to get rid of stress, and you will find that life is completely fulfilling and you don't need anything at all.
You may experience other spiritual effects that are talked about in the forums, but they are completely unnecessary for living a great life.
It could be said that i am missing something, because i don't care about advanced yoga or mystical experiences at all, although i have had plenty. But I just feel like I don't need anything additional.
But also you will find discussion of people who are held back from those experiences because of desiring them too much and thereby being attached, so it is the best of both worlds.
With your pressure in the temples, I would hesitate doing any longer sessions than recommended in the lessons and books.
If you want you can do other non-meditation stuff during the day that is relaxing like mindfulness or deep slow breathing or whatever, but be consistent with twice daily meditation, and it's all you need.
PS:
Oh yeah, you need devotion/faith in your highest ideal, "bhakti";
see the yoga faq link above. You can practice that during the day too.
It is the most powerful tool for implementing change. |
Edited by - Etherfish on Jun 01 2012 8:42:18 PM |
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tonightsthenight
846 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2012 : 02:33:29 AM
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I will add to what Etherfish has provided you because I come from a different perspective.
For me, anxiety/stress has been such a powerful force in my life that simple meditation would not help it.
In fact, I only came to meditation after I had resolved the anxiety.
The best thing for me was facing my fears in the external world. No amount of internal work was sufficient to reduce the anxiety. Maybe try going out and facing your fears directly in the external world.
The other thing that worked for me was the physical part of yoga: asanas. For me, anxiety is deeply stored and deeply felt in the tissues of my body. Through asana work, I was able to release that stress.
I'm sure you'll find some way to do it. The practices found here may help, or they may not, but certainly something will. |
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Will Power
Spain
415 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2012 : 07:53:59 AM
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Hi TallTaff,
yes the yoga practices (asanas+spinal breathing+meditation) have made me more calm, and I feel much more love for everyone.
According to AYP one should start with Deep Meditation, and after some time add practices like asanas and pranayama.
In my opinion asanas (Maha Mudra is the one that I practice) and Spinal Breathing before meditation is a key element from the beginning to enjoy the meditation time, making it much more deep, stilling the mind so that the meditation is confortable.
Perhaps running a bit may help you also.
All the best and be constant with the practices!
PD: I like a lot this practices that dear Radharani posted http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbQw...F1561DC97B28
Also the Work, by Byron Katie helps a lot. However I find that it's not very well formulated what to do in their webpage. In this thread http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic....&whichpage=2 there are good advices about how to do it. Specially use "should" or "shouldn't" in the first step. |
Edited by - Will Power on Jun 02 2012 08:27:06 AM |
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Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2012 : 07:58:27 AM
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I think anxiety is caused by fear, and that is greatly reduced by faith in God. If you don't believe in God you can find something else to have faith in, like nature or another high ideal (bhakti). The idea is to find that there is a power more important than yourself that can be depended on.
Facing fears- yes very good. I was afraid of heights so I learned sky diving. I was afraid of blood and knives so I learned surgical technology (assisting surgeons). Every fear just dive in and gain as much knowledge in that area as you can to combat fear. If you are afraid of snakes or spiders - learn about them and watch them. Learn what they do and their habits and how they contribute to the earth etc. Thanks TNT. |
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Will Power
Spain
415 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2012 : 08:04:12 AM
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Yes good advices Etherfish, like when Batman was terrified of bats and he went to a cave and faced his fears  . I love the film Batman Begins and how he is trained to conquer his fears. |
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tonightsthenight
846 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2012 : 10:50:36 AM
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No problem Ether... I was always afriad, of everything! 
Facing fears is the only thing that really ever worked for me.
The insidious thing about anxiety/fear is that the body begins to produce chemicals that cause symptoms linked to fear (or fight or flight).
So the process may include re-training the body to produce the appropriate chemicals again, as well as re-programming the mind. |
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TallTaff
United Kingdom
5 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2012 : 7:19:08 PM
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Cheers for all the advice.
It's been a very reassuring read.
I will look into the suggestions made here and try to add them to my current regime.
As I said at the end of my post, it's not all doom and gloom and I've definitely seen some positive experiences from my practices so far, but when I'm having a bad day I get caught in the trap of expecting too much.
I'll keep a copy of these responses as I think they'll be valuable for those situations.
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karl
United Kingdom
1812 Posts |
Posted - Jun 03 2012 : 08:40:03 AM
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Yes, sort of. I didn't consciously meditate with the idea of stress reduction, it's become an additional benefit along the way.
As has been said, it always manifests because of fear. Even more than that, it manifests because we think we control our destinies. We get anxious because we think we might do the wrong thing, or might not be up to a challenge, or that we might fail. All these are because we believe that we have control.
As Ether says, contact with God ( or whatever higher power feels correct ), giving up the idea of control into Gods hands. Doing all action through God ( that's a concept until you recognise that God is within). All these things follow from that.
I experienced a terrifying anxiety after waking up one night. I realised that the only way to deal with it was to let it have it's way and do its best while I endured. It felt like dying and drowning at the same time. It lasted about an hour and from then on I have been at peace. |
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snake
United Kingdom
280 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2012 : 08:16:05 AM
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Thats a lovely answer Etherfish,its true once stress leaves the naturalness of living and life is revealed and searching for higher states for me now isn't anything i desire,thanks for reminding me .quote:
Originally posted by Etherfish
Yes, I am that person who practiced meditation more for anxiety/stress reduction than anything else. And yes, AYP meditation is the remedy for stress and anxiety.
Don't worry about anxiety reducing effectiveness. Just use meditation as recommended in the lessons and books, twice a day, and the stress reduction is cumulative.
It has to be done consistently and over a long period of time. Once it starts to take effect you will see that nothing else is necessary. We don't need any special yoga effects. Once our stress and anxiety is mostly gotten rid of through meditation, you will find that it is everything you need.
It is part of the stress to think that we need something more. Just do it to get rid of stress, and you will find that life is completely fulfilling and you don't need anything at all.
You may experience other spiritual effects that are talked about in the forums, but they are completely unnecessary for living a great life.
It could be said that i am missing something, because i don't care about advanced yoga or mystical experiences at all, although i have had plenty. But I just feel like I don't need anything additional.
But also you will find discussion of people who are held back from those experiences because of desiring them too much and thereby being attached, so it is the best of both worlds.
With your pressure in the temples, I would hesitate doing any longer sessions than recommended in the lessons and books.
If you want you can do other non-meditation stuff during the day that is relaxing like mindfulness or deep slow breathing or whatever, but be consistent with twice daily meditation, and it's all you need.
PS:
Oh yeah, you need devotion/faith in your highest ideal, "bhakti";
see the yoga faq link above. You can practice that during the day too.
It is the most powerful tool for implementing change.
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Stress / Anxiety
