Deep breathing is okay but meditation is worsening

Shared Left Border

Help Yourself
And Others

Notices

What's New on
AYP Plus?

AYP Retreats
Worldwide Listing

AYP Teacher Training

Local Contacts
Meditation Groups,
Training & Retreats

Key Lessons

Spinal Breathing
Pranayama

Spinal Bastrika
Pranayama

Heart Breathing

Yoga Nidra
Cosmic Samyama

Self-Inquiry
Jnana - Advaita

Modifications to
Baseline System

Teaching

Retreats

Enlightenment
Milestones

More Resources

audioicon1.jpg (812 bytes)
AYP on Radio & TV

International
Translations

Press Releases

Articles & Media

Promotional
Materials

AYP Public Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

AYPsite.org Forum

Building a Daily Practice with Self-Pacing

Deep breathing is okay but meditation is worsening

New Topic

Reply to Topic

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

benjamin

USA
5 Posts

Posted - Sep 26 2018 : 8:03:42 PM

Deep breathing is okay but meditation is worsening my anxiety

Hi all,

I have the generalized anxiety disorder and had accumulated stress over the past many years.

Now I am trying yoga to get relief from anxiety.

If I meditate (mantra meditation) for 10 minutes, the immediate effect is calmness and peace. Very enjoyable state. But the problem is after a few hours, my anxiety hits back with more intensity. My situation actually becomes worse than the pre-meditation state. I also tried the mindfulness meditation but the result was the same.

On the other hand, if do deep breathing (nadi shodhana or deep and slow breathing with both nostrils), I get some relief. But this relief is nowhere close to the peace and happiness I experience immediately after meditation. But my situation does not get worse after a few hours like with meditation.

I must admit that I am kind of addicted to the peace and happiness I experience after meditation and as such I am biased towards it. But I must be ready to suffer from more anxiety after a few hours.

Also, because I get only a little bit of relief after pranayama, I don't know if it is going to have any long-term benefits.

What should I do? I am confused. Should I do meditation or pranayama?

Please advise.

BlueRaincoat

United Kingdom
1634 Posts

Posted - Sep 27 2018 : 03:51:14 AM

hi benjamin

As you were already advised on your other thread, it is not a good idea to do pranayama without meditation. Yogani explains the reason in Lesson 43 - see the last paragraph.

There is a possibility that either the mantra or the meditation procedure that you have been using is causing you problems. If you want to rule that out, give AYP mantra meditation a go. See Lesson 13 for instructions. Do not practice I AM meditation for more than 10 minutes once a day till you find out how it compares to your previous meditation.

If I AM meditation is too strong, then you will need to switch to breath meditation.

quote:
Originally posted by benjamin
I tried to replace mantra with breath, but (just my experience) breath meditation was so bland compared to mantra meditation.

That is the very attitude to land you in a pickle.
Yes, it is very tempting to pile up the excitement, but so the overload can pile up. So we have to apply some judgement ant restraint. And remind ourselves that we do not do practices for immediate excitement. We must choose and self-pace our practices so that we get a steady amount of purification over time. Yoga practice is a long term cleansing process, not an instant entertainment routine.

Good luck!

Edited by - BlueRaincoat on Sep 27 2018 05:02:38 AM

benjamin

USA
5 Posts

Posted - Sep 27 2018 : 12:19:43 PM

quote:
Originally posted by BlueRaincoat

hi benjamin

As you were already advised on your other thread, it is not a good idea to do pranayama without meditation. Yogani explains the reason in Lesson 43 - see the last paragraph.

There is a possibility that either the mantra or the meditation procedure that you have been using is causing you problems. If you want to rule that out, give AYP mantra meditation a go. See Lesson 13 for instructions. Do not practice I AM meditation for more than 10 minutes once a day till you find out how it compares to your previous meditation.

If I AM meditation is too strong, then you will need to switch to breath meditation.
quote:
Originally posted by benjamin
I tried to replace mantra with breath, but (just my experience) breath meditation was so bland compared to mantra meditation.
That is the very attitude to land you in a pickle.
Yes, it is very tempting to pile up the excitement, but so the overload can pile up. So we have to apply some judgement ant restraint. And remind ourselves that we do not do practices for immediate excitement. We must choose and self-pace our practices so that we get a steady amount of purification over time. Yoga practice is a long term cleansing process, not an instant entertainment routine.

Good luck!

Thank you again for your response. I think I am being tempted to follow the excitement as you mentioned. And in that process, I might be ignoring self-pacing. I will try your suggestions. Will let you know how it went.

Topic