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reality11
USA
48 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 30 2015 : 8:12:40 PM
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I'm so miserable lol. Emotions are confusing me and making me suffer. I know that they are transient, but their pull is too strong and I have a hard time dealing.
Meditation is the cure, I know it is. I have to have faith in that to keep on going.
But I skip many sessions and practice half heartedly because of my high levels of impatience and restlessness that I feel.
Is there anything I can do specifically to fix those issues, of restlessness and impatience? |
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Dogboy
USA
2294 Posts |
Posted - Apr 30 2015 : 8:29:46 PM
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Don't blame impatience and restlessness for missing yoga. Start there.
Now, sit down and shut up     |
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ak33
Canada
229 Posts |
Posted - Apr 30 2015 : 10:16:23 PM
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Don't get caught in this vicious circle. To break it all you have to do is develop some discipline in your practice, which will allow momentum to form and carry you out of the hole.
So stop thinking, sit down and shut up - Dogboy 2015 |
Edited by - ak33 on Apr 30 2015 10:16:59 PM |
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Charliedog
1625 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2015 : 04:20:04 AM
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Hi Reality 11,
quote:
but their pull is too strong and I have a hard time dealing.
You are stronger! Don't let the emotions and thoughts win from YOU...
Ask yourself " why am I practice AYP"
What helped me in difficult restless times, yoga nidra & cosmic samyama. On the left side, key lesson 299.
It was before I found AYP, I had a guided yoga nidra which was very helpfull at those days....
Better days will follow, don't be to harsh on yourself, practice with love... |
Edited by - Charliedog on May 01 2015 05:21:07 AM |
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Ecdyonurus
Switzerland
479 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2015 : 07:35:38 AM
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Same advice from me, based on my own experience : life began to improve as yoga twice a day became a habit.
So, first you have to create a habit.
For me, using a simple app to monitor my sits was very useful. |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1734 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2015 : 10:00:56 AM
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Be kind to yourself reality11.
The restlessness and impatience are the results of events in the past that were not your fault. Probably nobody's fault. Maybe they seemed a good way to react then, when you didn't have yoga in your life. Now you do have yoga and things will slowly change.
Do your sits for the length of time you have assigned. If all you get during that time is restless and impatience, hold them in awareness. In loving awareness if you can. They are part of you and they deserve a hearing. For as long as they are there. Don't fight reality, remember? What is, is.
And don't forget those grounding activities. Self-pacing might be an issue too, if you feel rough outside practices.
All the best. |
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reality11
USA
48 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2015 : 12:01:07 PM
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Thank you for the kind words. I practiced last night and this morning after not practicing for a long time and my mind feels a lot better already.
I have a habit of slowly slipping from good routines and going back to bad ones. I hope I have the strength to keep doing this. |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1734 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2015 : 1:45:51 PM
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Could it have been overload that stopped you from parcticing?
It's better to do less, expect less, but keep the practice steady.
Very important to keep the meditation going. The energy cultivation side of things can wait, but the meditation will give you the inner silence that is the foundation of everything.
Take care. |
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reality11
USA
48 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2015 : 3:40:44 PM
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| I don't think I overloaded. I just gradually became more attached to materialistic thoughts and lost my drive to practice. Now I am experiencing the consequences of materialism and my desire is back. I hope I never forget again of what happens when I indulge my thoughts. |
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kensbikes100
USA
192 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2015 : 4:53:39 PM
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| You don't want to suppress your thoughts, however. The point is to let them happen, and let them finish and pass. |
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reality11
USA
48 Posts |
Posted - May 02 2015 : 11:33:32 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by kensbikes100
You don't want to suppress your thoughts, however. The point is to let them happen, and let them finish and pass.
Right, I hear and read that a lot. And it's a bit confusing.
So let's say I'm focusing on the mantra. Then a very strong emotion and a thought pops up. So I have a choice of redirecting my attention away from the pull of that thought and back to my mantra. But do I, instead, allow my attention to stay on that thought while simultaneously keeping my attention on my mantra, with the knowledge that the thought will eventually fade?
I read from previous posts that the general advice in this situation is to gently return to the mantra. But to me, this seems to be a form of suppressing the thought. Because the thought wants to blossom and take over, but I am redirecting my attention, albeit gently, and not allowing the thought to turn into more thoughts and more emotions. |
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Charliedog
1625 Posts |
Posted - May 03 2015 : 03:21:03 AM
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Once you have gotten comfortable, slowly close your eyes. You will notice thoughts, streams of thoughts. That is fine. Just observe them without minding them. After about a minute, gently introduce the thought …I AM… and begin to repeat it easily and effortlessly in your mind. If your mind wanders off into other thoughts, you will eventually realize this has happened. Don't be concerned about it. It is natural. When you realize you are not repeating the mantra, gently go back to it. This is all you have to do. Easily repeat the mantra silently inside. When you realize you are not thinking it, then easily come back to it. The goal is not to stay on it. The goal is to follow the simple procedure of thinking the mantra, losing it, and coming back to it when you find you have lost it. Do not resist if the mantra tends to become less distinct. Thinking the mantra does not have to be with clear pronunciation. I AM can be experienced at many levels in your mind and nervous system. When you come back to it, come back to a level that is comfortable, not straining for either a clear or fuzzy pronunciation.
Do this procedure for twenty minutes, and, then, with your eyes closed, take a few minutes to rest before you get up.
This practice is to be done twice each day, before you start your day and before you begin your evening activities. It is best done before meals, as digestion can interfere with the process of meditation. Make a commitment to yourself to do it for a few months. Give it some time....... 'Yogani'
Edit: The only way is practice, practice, practice........every day with |
Edited by - Charliedog on May 03 2015 03:58:48 AM |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1734 Posts |
Posted - May 03 2015 : 10:50:30 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by reality11
I read from previous posts that the general advice in this situation is to gently return to the mantra. But to me, this seems to be a form of suppressing the thought.
I wouldn't say 'gently favouring' another thought over the one that has just popped into your mind is suppression. It really depends how much emotional tension accompanies a thought - if the mind is not hang up on it, then it is easily replaced by a new though (the mantra). If you have to force yourself to repeat the mantra while impatience and irritability are building up, then yes, that is suppression. In that case you follow the instructions in lesson 15, 4th paragraph:
"Sometimes physical discomfort can happen during meditation. This is usually a symptom of the release of obstructions in the nervous system. If it interferes with the easy process of meditation, then pause with the mantra and allow the attention to be drawn to the physical discomfort. Just be with it for a while. Usually, this will dissolve the discomfort naturally. Once it does, go back to the mantra and continue your meditation until your time is up. Count the time you spent with your attention on the physical discomfort as part of your meditation time. If the sensation does not dissolve, lie down for while, until the sensation subsides. It is a good thing. A big obstruction is going. Let it go easily, naturally. The same procedure applies if you are overcome with a barrage of overbearing thoughts, which may or may not be accompanied by physical sensations. If you can't easily go back to the mantra, just be with the thoughts until they dissipate enough so you can easily pick up the mantra again. Remember, meditation is not a fight with physical or mental activity we may have." |
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jacquic
Australia
14 Posts |
Posted - May 04 2015 : 07:29:00 AM
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Hi there,
A couple of things I can suggest. I too have had my fair share of emotions in the last few months and I can understand the pull. The hardest thing for me was to disconnect - from the emotion, from the issue, from the person, from the situation. It was really, really hard to disconnect from it all. But once I did (with a lot of persistence) it changed everything. And the emotions, well they would still rise up if I fed them, but I don't. I can see it all more clearly from a distance. It's easier said than done to 'disconnect' but is very effective.
With the meditation, I've seen this saying going around (not this exactly, but something to this effect):
Meditate every day for 1/2 an hour. If you're too busy to meditate, meditate for an hour instead.
It's totally ok to feel restless and impatient. It really is! It is normal! So perhaps instead of trying to fix it, just sit in your meditation, give yourself half an hour when you have permission to not have to solve your problems, and just sit there. And if you feel restless or impatient, that's ok too, just observe it and come back to the focus of your meditation, whatever that may be.
If all you can manage is half-hearted, that's ok. I believe the main thing is showing up for the meditation in the first place. What happens in the session is of lesser importance.
Wishing you all the best. |
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reality11
USA
48 Posts |
Posted - May 04 2015 : 10:57:30 PM
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Thanks everyone. I guess I'll just have to have faith that I am making progress, even if my 70% of my session consists of getting lost in my thoughts and losing the mantra.
I do feel much much better today than a couple days ago though. I'm really glad I picked my practice back up. |
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joseph
117 Posts |
Posted - May 05 2015 : 5:39:39 PM
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Hey reality11. I have the same thing every now and then. I feel clarity slowly slipping away.
What's helpful is to do some routine activities that I usually do (vacuuming, washing up, or whatever) and take some breaks in that. I'll stop for a minute or two and take some air in, maybe do a couple of asanas.
Can do it with a lot of activities; not all, mind you  |
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reality11
USA
48 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2015 : 12:38:51 PM
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Pleasure is not the goal of this, is it?
Yesterday during spinal breathing, I started feeling orgasmic feelings. I was gasping and couldn't breath normally and it felt really good. But once that's over, my mind was still distracted and I still felt the emotion of dissatisfaction with my life.
I never felt that type of pleasure during spinal breathing before, and it was like a milestone for me. But will that type of pleasure help me, or might it actually hurt me by making me crave for it? |
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jusmail
India
491 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2015 : 1:16:49 PM
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| No attachments. Let them go like passing clouds. |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1734 Posts |
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reality11
USA
48 Posts |
Posted - May 14 2015 : 1:21:39 PM
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| Thank you. I wasn't able to reach that same pleasurable state in my next few sessions, and I can't help but feel disappointment, but like the lessons said I shouldn't be seeking them anyway. |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1734 Posts |
Posted - May 14 2015 : 1:45:35 PM
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Don't be disappointed reality11 - you moved from that state to another state - that is Progress and you are evolving my friend. Groundhog day is not something to wish for, not even a pleasant groundhog day  |
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reality11
USA
48 Posts |
Posted - May 15 2015 : 01:27:35 AM
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I wish you are right, but I really think I just regressed. I regressed today too. I had a great morning session, where the mantra was physically and mentally pleasurable, booming in my head, and I felt like I was expanding. Then I had a horrible day where certain circumstances caused me to feel very low self-worth as a human being, and I wasn't able to complete my evening session because my mind was too clouded with bad emotions.
But I am grateful that I am experiencing tangible results from my practices. Hopefully tomorrow will be better :) |
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Charliedog
1625 Posts |
Posted - May 15 2015 : 03:24:50 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by reality11
But I am grateful that I am experiencing tangible results from my practices. Hopefully tomorrow will be better :)
Practice and notice there are bad emotions is also a valuable practice. Like every day starts fresh and new, keep a fresh eye on every practice, there will never be two exactly the same
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1734 Posts |
Posted - May 15 2015 : 04:42:50 AM
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The only thing that matters, from a yoga point a view, is that you sit down every day at the appointed time and follow the procedure of meditation (and whatever other practice you've taken on). All the rest is water under the bridge. You will learn that soon enough.
The bad emotions, and you being aware of them, are part of your progress. They are to be acknowledged and accepted. We all go through this. The least opposition you get into, the smoother the process.
Glad to hear you're sticking to your meditation routine these days.
Steady practice and good progress! |
Edited by - BlueRaincoat on May 15 2015 04:52:07 AM |
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reality11
USA
48 Posts |
Posted - May 15 2015 : 7:05:54 PM
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Ah, I see. Perhaps I will adopt that mentality to just be concerned only with my practices. Hmm, very interesting. There are certainly pros and cons to it, I think. Other systems might say that this type of spiritual pursuit should be extended to our daily lives as well.
In either case, my expectations are a big cause of my discontentment. I have a great session, so I expect my day to go great, then I am very disappointed when it doesn't.
Thanks again for the tip. I'll do my best to just be concerned about keeping up with my practices. |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1734 Posts |
Posted - May 16 2015 : 08:08:16 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by reality11
I'll do my best to just be concerned about keeping up with my practices.
You will be adding a very important ingredient to your yoga - surrender.
Expectations only get in the way - instead of living in the moment, they make you fight reality every time it happens not fit with that mental image of your spiritual journey which you have fabricated. |
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Topic |
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tips for a very restless and impatient mind?
