|
|
 |
|
| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 30 2006 : 1:32:00 PM
|
For some time now I seem to fall asleep during my meditation, Shamyama and/or the rest later... it is such deep sleep that I almost feel like I am totally unconscious.. I know this has been discussed before and one of the lessons Yogani said that this is not sleep..
This is getting really annoying though. I generally don't run over my meditation time.. and now I seem to sleep through meditation.. by the time I open my eyes 30 min has passed.. so I start Shamyama.. fall asleep between sutras.. get all mixed up about which sutra I was on.. and if I was done with it twice or not.. this gets so confusing that there are times I am laughing at myself ..and by the time I am done 20 mins had passed..and then at rest too.. I seem to fall asleep and wake up after 20 or 30 mins sometimes.. I don't feel rested.. I feel all groggy and heavy headed.. but generally it is already so late that I have to get up.. and that is not a very pleasant feeling . I thought is was a purification phase.. but this has been going on for some time now. It's not that I am tired and sleepy all day or even when I sit for my practice.. esp. the morning one.. I am wide awake after my asanas, spinal breathing and chin pump... but once I start my meditation.. sleep takes over.. why am I sleeping so much?
I wonder if it has anything to do with what David said about fatigue in this thread
http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic....OPIC_ID=1392 |
|
|
nearoanoke
USA
525 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2006 : 1:47:27 PM
|
Hi Shanti,
For me it happens only if i am tired during the day. So whenever i feel tired or had less sleep the day before, i just take a 30 min nap and then do meditation a bit late in the day. |
 |
|
|
weaver
832 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2006 : 2:31:29 PM
|
Hi Shanti,
I think this phenomenon is very common, and I experience it also to some degree, especially during the evening meditation, when the mind is a little tired after the day's activity. In the morning my mind is more alert. It is a purification phase, and I suppose we can't assume on a time limit it will last, it can probably last for several months (or years?).
As you say, Yogani writes about it in Lesson 17 http://www.aypsite.org/17.html and I post some of it here for reference:
"Meditation sometimes produces a sleep-like state, like you described, but the physiological parameters are different. The metabolism goes much lower than in sleep. Heart rate and breathing are much slower than in sleep, nearly stopped. The body and mind come to a state of complete silence, while still awake inside. The level of rest in the body and mind in meditation is deeper than sleep. It is a different kind of rest that removes impurities; obstructions to consciousness that sleep cannot reach."
(edit is fixing link only) |
Edited by - weaver on Aug 31 2006 09:59:47 AM |
|
|
|
riptiz
United Kingdom
741 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2006 : 4:07:10 PM
|
Dear Shanti,
This is likely to increase as you purify further, and as you have noticed you need to come around a lot slower to stop being grumpy.When we have much need of purification then we usually have sessions of spontaneous thoughts that drive us mad but as we have less clearing to do we sink deeper into the superconscious.Try meditating immediately after having a row with someone and my guess is you will have the maddening thoughts as you try to resolve the argument in your mind.
L&L
Dave |
|
|
|
david_obsidian
USA
2602 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2006 : 11:25:16 PM
|
I know this has been discussed before and one of the lessons Yogani said that this is not sleep..
Not necessarily Shanti. Yogani is referring to conscious sleep-like states which occur in meditation; where you enter what is physiologically even more rested than sleep, but you remain conscious.
It seems you are actually falling asleep, losing consciousness, a somewhat different phenomenon.
Are you sitting with an unsupported head and does you head fall, BTW? If the answer is no, it still doesn't mean you haven't fallen asleep as far as I understand, though it isn't normal sleep either (else your head would certainly fall). When I am tired, I can certainly pass into an unconscious sleep-like state while I remain sitting.
My guess is that it is in fact deep fatigue, and that it will correct itself eventually. Deep fatigue can take some years to get through, so don't necessarily expect correction overnight. Of course, you also need to make sure you are getting enough sleep (if you can) and also the right food or exercise.
When deep fatigue is being released, your body may even go through times of wanting more sleep than usual. If your life situation permits it, it can be good to take it at those times.
|
|
|
|
bipinjoshi
India
30 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2006 : 11:25:25 PM
|
This is a common observation. When mental waves and thought patters stop (or considerably reduce) body sleeps  . Similar thing is happening during meditation. Just continue and it will evantually disappear. |
Edited by - bipinjoshi on Aug 30 2006 11:30:53 PM |
|
|
|
Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2006 : 08:15:34 AM
|
Thanks Guys.
I think it is tiredness.. I seem to be mentally exhausted.. and although.. during the day I really don't have any time to think about it.. when I sit for my practice and actually let go.. this exhaustion catches up with me.
No. I am not conscious during these times.. I may even be thinking.. but don't remember I word of it..
David, my head does not fall.. But at the end of my practice my mind feels really tired.. like I have been working on solving a real tough math problem.. but not come up with a solution yet.
If I can go on for the next 15 - 20 min without talking .. and anyone else talking to me.. I seem OK for the rest of the day.. Getting any more sleep during the day is not a luxury I have. Anyway.. guess I will have to live through this one.. the end result may be great.. |
Edited by - Shanti on Aug 31 2006 08:16:50 AM |
|
|
|
Maximus
India
187 Posts |
Posted - Sep 06 2006 : 03:12:04 AM
|
| I sometimes have the same thing happening to me. I enter into a different kind of sleep during which I lose track of time and my head does not fall. But I don't feel tired or drowsy after meditation. |
|
|
|
Yogini3
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - Sep 09 2006 : 12:29:46 AM
|
Hi,
Yes, I, too, have gone through the "sleeping" in meditation phase. I believe it's dhyana. I've heard that this is a pleasant state in which the meditator can get stuck in the pleasantness and lose sight of the Truth. I still sit down for samyama or shoonya and I'm out like a light. I sometimes have an inbetween time where it's like a move (akashak record) - but most of the time I have no awareness of what is happening. I'm gone. I was upset at first, because I thought "Meditation should be like ____(you fill in the blank)." I then realized that my preconceived ideas of "meditation" were all wrong. Each time it should be a new time, like the very first time meditating.
Don't worry about the time. After a while of meditating, you should be able to set yourself like a clock, getting up when you need to. And if you really are falling asleep (for instance, if you are sleepy when you sit down to meditate), do something to wake yourself up before you meditate. Splash water on your face, jog in place for a while... Sleeping beforehand isn't a good idea for several reasons, or so I've heard. I've heard you should be slightly tired before you meditate and also that sleep lowers your metabolism - as does meditation - so I guess that's too much metabolism lowering all in one jaunt.
This is my first time participating on the forum part of AYP. I'm enjoying the posts!
peace ~
y3
quote:
Originally posted by Shanti
For some time now I seem to fall asleep during my meditation, Shamyama and/or the rest later... it is such deep sleep that I almost feel like I am totally unconscious.. I know this has been discussed before and one of the lessons Yogani said that this is not sleep..
This is getting really annoying though. I generally don't run over my meditation time.. and now I seem to sleep through meditation.. by the time I open my eyes 30 min has passed.. so I start Shamyama.. fall asleep between sutras.. get all mixed up about which sutra I was on.. and if I was done with it twice or not.. this gets so confusing that there are times I am laughing at myself..and by the time I am done 20 mins had passed..and then at rest too.. I seem to fall asleep and wake up after 20 or 30 mins sometimes.. I don't feel rested.. I feel all groggy and heavy headed.. but generally it is already so late that I have to get up.. and that is not a very pleasant feeling. I thought is was a purification phase.. but this has been going on for some time now. It's not that I am tired and sleepy all day or even when I sit for my practice.. esp. the morning one.. I am wide awake after my asanas, spinal breathing and chin pump... but once I start my meditation.. sleep takes over.. why am I sleeping so much?
I wonder if it has anything to do with what David said about fatigue in this thread
http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic....OPIC_ID=1392
|
|
|
|
Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Sep 13 2006 : 6:00:19 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by Yogini3
This is my first time participating on the forum part of AYP. I'm enjoying the posts!
peace ~
y3
Hi y3,
Thanks you for sharing your experience. I really appreciate it.
Welcome to the forum.
Wish you all the best in your chosen path... |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
| AYP Public Forum |
© Contributing Authors (opinions and advice belong to the respective authors) |
|
|
|
|
Asleep during Mediation?
