Do You Meditate?

Mellor

I never read through this thread until now. My initial thoughts were that no I don't meditate. But the more I think about it, I suppose I do. Albeit in my own way.

I do a lot of stretching, yoga type stuff at home. I'm not particular flexible, so spending relatively long sets in An awkward position involves me zoning out and focus nothing but my breathing.

Regarding listening to meditation sounds/noise in bed. I tried one app but found the noises very "obvious". Would try again if a good app was recomended.
I still find the best way for me to relax at night is to read a book. I might get 2 pages read or 50 pages. But when I'm out, I'm out in seconds.

Mr. CooL ICE

I'm 5 days into the Headspace trial. I'm determined to get it working for me. I really scoffed at the idea of meditation beforehand but reading this thread and what it does for people made me realise how wrong I was all along.

My thoughts are horribly unfocused and my attention span is terrible. It made studying during college a near-impossible task and makes me unproductive in work. Hell, even while training, it has made me miss the most basic of cues. If I could even increase my focus by 10%, it would be a massive improvement for me.

YFlyer

I practice Transcendental Meditation for 23 years.

pinkstars

YFlyer wrote: »

I practice Transcendental Meditation for 23 years.

What's this exactly?

YFlyer

pinkstars wrote: »

What's this exactly?

It's a mental technique where the person uses a mantra to innocently and effortlessly allow the mind to settle down. The mind becomes fully alert and the body get deep rest, deeper than sleep. It's a forth state of consciousness that is different to waking, dreaming or sleeping. Stresses are released resulting in a number of health benefits.

Mellor

YFlyer wrote: »

The mind becomes fully alert and the body get deep rest, deeper than sleep. It's a forth state of consciousness that is different to waking, dreaming or sleeping. Stresses are released resulting in a number of health benefits.

Has the claim of being "deeper than sleep" backed up by test? In the past, people were free to make those claims and there was little available to validate (or refute) it. But it should be fairly simple with modern technology.
Same situation for health benefits. Any research to show these health benefits, or to highlight exactly what benefits exist?

Hanley

Mellor wrote: »

Has the claim of being "deeper than sleep" backed up by test? In the past, people were free to make those claims and there was little available to validate (or refute) it. But it should be fairly simple with modern technology.
Same situation for health benefits. Any research to show these health benefits, or to highlight exactly what benefits exist?

You only really get meditation once you've meditated for a while tbh.

Pseudo scientific arguments to refute it aren't hard to create, but I'd put money on it being like bodybuilding in the 60s / 70s. It'll take science years to back up and "prove" what those practicing it already know thru empirical observation.

Mellor

Hanley wrote: »

You only really get meditation once you've meditated for a while tbh.

Pseudo scientific arguments to refute it aren't hard to create, but I'd put money on it being like bodybuilding in the 60s / 70s. It'll take science years to back up and "prove" what those practicing it already know thru empirical observation.

My comments weren't aimed at meditating, but rather the specific claims by that particular organisation. In particular, "deeper than sleep" sounds a bit flakey to me. In particular because it was coined years before anyone had the means to measure consciousness.

And, if those claims end up being tacked-on pseudo-science, that only refutes those claims specifically. I've no doubt that mediation is beneficial. I'm just not convinced about all the claims.

Have you done it? Transcendental meditation that is.

Hanley

Mellor wrote: »

My comments weren't aimed at meditating, but rather the specific claims by that particular organisation. In particular, "deeper than sleep" sounds a bit flakey to me. In particular because it was coined years before anyone had the means to measure consciousness.

And, if those claims end up being tacked-on pseudo-science, that only refutes those claims specifically. I've no doubt that mediation is beneficial. I'm just not convinced about all the claims.

Have you done it? Transcendental meditation that is.

Haven't done a TM training course but its on my radar. Heard a lot of good things from it (Tim Ferriss and Arnie love it) and Sarah was on a mindfulness course recently with some TM students and they were singing its praises too.

Getting into a really deep state with conventional meditation does feel like a different level of consciousness. It's really hard to explain. It's like the breaks have been taken off and solutions / ideas just come to you.

Confucius say

Close to a year now meditating nearly every day. My advice is not to think about your progress too much and approach each session innocently without judging your performance afterwards.
Why is this in the fitness forum?

Confucius say

Close to a year now meditating nearly every day. My advice is not to think about your progress too much and approach each session innocently without judging your performance afterwards.
Why is this in the fitness forum?

siochain

Taking time out for Meditation is one of the best investments you make in yourself.

Always try and get the audio versions of the good books out there, some good ones

Mindfulness in 8 weeks by Michael Chaskalson
Guided mindfulness mediation series by Jon Kabat Zinn

Headspace and plenty of good podcasts to get started out on.

Hanley

Confucius say wrote: »

Close to a year now meditating nearly every day. My advice is not to think about your progress too much and approach each session innocently without judging your performance afterwards.
Why is this in the fitness forum?

Because I post a lot in the fitness forum.

And having the headspace to train, be happy and get on with life is a pretty important topic within the idea of "fitness".

Fitness isn't just about how many laps you can swim.

What forum would you have suggested?

Confucius say

Hanley wrote: »

Because I post a lot in the fitness forum.

And having the headspace to train, be happy and get on with life is a pretty important topic within the idea of "fitness".

Fitness isn't just about how many laps you can swim.

What forum would you have suggested?

I think there's a spirituality or Buddhism forum where people regularly post about meditation.
I'm into both fitness and meditation but I don't think they should be classed together as most people are involved in the fitness discussed here purely for aesthetic reasons. Meditation goes a lot deeper than vanity and I hope it doesn't end up as another box people tick as a past time like Pilates or hell and back. It's as much about compassion and empathy for others as it is about improving yourself.

Hanley

Confucius say wrote: »

I think there's a spirituality or Buddhism forum where people regularly post about meditation.
I'm into both fitness and meditation but I don't think they should be classed together as most people are involved in the fitness discussed here purely for aesthetic reasons. Meditation goes a lot deeper than vanity and I hope it doesn't end up as another box people tick as a past time like Pilates or hell and back. It's as much about compassion and empathy for others as it is about improving yourself.

It's ironic you talk about box ticking, compassion and emphathy and express concerns over what people make of meditation, only to go and take a very narrow minded view of what health and fitness is about.

I'd say for the majority of regular posters here, "purely aesthetic reasons" are one of the least likely reasons why people are in a gym.

I can certainly say for me that while it might be on the list, it's not near the top.

Alf Veedersane

Considering meditation, by its very nature, is very much holistic, it seems odd that it can't be discussed across many forums rather than be boxed off in a meditation forum.

Compassion and empathy come about as a result of improving oneself, no?

And just to add I get a lot out of this forum because it isn't just people interested in aesthetics.

Dotcomdolly

Yes, I've started recently & it has definitely helped my stress levels and anger flare-ups (kid I tell ya!)

I am doing the AltShift diet and the author really stresses its importance when it comes to fat loss, he has a great little video here -
http://30kview.com/meditation-and-fat-loss/

I am using the Stop, breathe & think app to get me on the road,
http://stopbreathethink.org/
but hopefully I will be able to do it unassisted soon, I have found that I am definitely getting better at the shavasna in yoga, instead

YFlyer

Mellor wrote: »

Has the claim of being "deeper than sleep" backed up by test? In the past, people were free to make those claims and there was little available to validate (or refute) it. But it should be fairly simple with modern technology.
Same situation for health benefits. Any research to show these health benefits, or to highlight exactly what benefits exist?

Hi there I'll get back to you later in the week. Busy with college work atm.

Confucius say

Mellor wrote: »

Has the claim of being "deeper than sleep" backed up by test? In the past, people were free to make those claims and there was little available to validate (or refute) it. But it should be fairly simple with modern technology.
Same situation for health benefits. Any research to show these health benefits, or to highlight exactly what benefits exist?

There has been research to show the neural structure of a long term meditators brain as having more grey matter and a stronger cortex. It also reduces the size of the amygdala, which controls anxiety basically, the fight or flight response in you. Look it up and you'll see there's research to back this up.

Mellor

Hanley wrote: »

Haven't done a TM training course but its on my radar. Heard a lot of good things from it (Tim Ferriss and Arnie love it) and Sarah was on a mindfulness course recently with some TM students and they were singing its praises too.

Cheers Hanley, report back if you can. Genuinely interested and not just picking holes

YFlyer wrote: »

Hi there I'll get back to you later in the week. Busy with college work atm.

Thanks, take your time, when ever you get to it.

Confucius say wrote: »

There has been research to show the neural structure of a long term meditators brain as having more grey matter and a stronger cortex. It also reduces the size of the amygdala, which controls anxiety basically, the fight or flight response in you. Look it up and you'll see there's research to back this up.

That's a health benefit of meditation. I was asking about TM specifically, and the specific claims.
The studies I've seen that I've seen suggest that meditation affects brain activity and waves in the same or similar way to sleep. In that people who experience deep meditation, are experiencing non-rem sleep stages 1-4.
And in case anyone this that analysis is being dismissive, it isn't. Sleep is one of the best things for our bodies in terms of health and fitness*.




*As an aside, TIL Fitness is only concerned with vanity.

Hanley

Confucius say wrote: »

There has been research to show the neural structure of a long term meditators brain as having more grey matter and a stronger cortex. It also reduces the size of the amygdala, which controls anxiety basically, the fight or flight response in you. Look it up and you'll see there's research to back this up.

I'd believe that. I hadn't considered the actual structural change, just that my noggin was operating more efficiently. I'm much less reactive to situations, and have more mental dexterity after just a few weeks of meditation.

I was so skeptical, but am glad I gave it a go.

The compassion and empathy thing is happening too, and its related to me being less reactive and less likely to go into defense mode straight away.

Confucius say

Headspace is good and worth the small subscription fee but may I also recommend the book on mindfulness by Prof Mark Williams of Oxford Uni. I think it's called finding peace in a frantic world. The book and cd are great and it amounts to an 8 week course with various types of meditations. I got mine in hodges fidges last year.

hidinginthebush

I used to do a lot of, I suppose you could call it physical meditation, through Kung Fu. One example would we'd have a set of movements, not unlike Tai Chi, where your focus would be to feel the movement, feel the increased blood flow (they'd call it feeling your "Chi", but I always had reservations about fully engrossing myself in that level of belief in the unknown). That said, there's no denying that you feel absolutely brilliant afterwards. Relaxed, attentive, stress-free, focused, the benefits are limitless. One of the greatest benefits is it would let you really focus on your posture, so you could clear your head of niggling thoughts, notice your shoulders for example, might feel tense, then through the set you can focus on relaxing those muscles.
Another example we would do regularly, is we'd perform a set form ("kata" is probably the better known term for this) 108 times. It would take about 90 secs to do once, so to do it 108, you would be looking at about 3 hours of repetition of the same motion. Once again, this would lead to you focusing on the small parts, dissecting movements as simple as a punch or a step, and afterwards the feeling was one of the best I have ever experienced. Yes, extremely tired, but so alive at the same time.
Then finally another example would be to hold static postures for as long as possible. You assume a posture, say horse stance, and stay there for as long as you can. You learn to test your limits, how to relax in times of stress, as your muscles start screaming for release, and you know all you need to do is stand up and everything will be ok again, you have to steady your breath and push yourself past that mental boundary. This really helps in dealing with pretty much any situation of stress.

I know a lot of what I wrote might seem too esoteric, and the traditional chinese martial arts can be a bit too engrossed in the spiritual aspect of the system, but there is no denying the fact that these movements, and the art as a whole, make you feel absolutely brilliant.

pinkstars

Well how is everyone doing with the meditation? I am slipping myself last few days...have to get back on it

pinkstars

Well how is everyone doing with the meditation? I am slipping myself last few days...have to get back on it

deisedude

pinkstars wrote: »

Well how is everyone doing with the meditation? I am slipping myself last few days...have to get back on it

Doing 10 minutes morning and evening. Some days I find it great and other days my mind wanders and I feel like I get little out of it.

Overall I've added it to my daily routine and I intend to stick to it

Hanley

Fell outta the morning routine a couple of weeks back, kept at it during the evenings.

NOTICEABLE level of stress increase and less clarity as a result. I feel infinitely better on days I get it done.

scrumqueen

pinkstars wrote: »

Well how is everyone doing with the meditation? I am slipping myself last few days...have to get back on it

I have yet to successfully complete the first free week.

Hanley wrote: »

Fell outta the morning routine a couple of weeks back, kept at it during the evenings.

NOTICEABLE level of stress increase and less clarity as a result. I feel infinitely better on days I get it done.

You are on the paid version right? The first day I did it my head definitely felt less "buzzy" and I loved it, but the past couple of times, I felt like I haven't gotten a huge amount out of it. Could be a consistency issue though?

Do you find the consistency is the key thing, or is there a big difference in the quality and variety of content on the paid version?

twiddleypop

Hello there,

Remember reading this a few months ago.

Just if anyone had fallen off the meditation bandwagon there's an
offer on for the first three months 99cents.

https://www.headspace.com/hspromo?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=email&utm_content=everybodyhs2_99&utm_campaign=2016fallresub#facebook

I love this app, had sort of forgot about til I got the email about the offer yesterday