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Webimpulse
14 November 2012, 12:24 AM
Namaste all,

I have a few questions about insomnia as it relates to meditation. (It's kind of ironic as it's after 1 AM where I live as I'm typing this :p ) If anyone has any input on these, I'd much appreciate it:


Can meditation potentially cause insomnia?
If so, are certain methods of meditation more likely to cause it?
Which meditation methods are best for reducing insomnia?


I guess I'm asking this right now because earlier today after I got home from work I was meditating after chanting the mantra "On Gam Ganapataye Namaha" 108 times. Nothing happened at the time, but right now I can't sleep. Go figure. :rolleyes:

Anyone have any advice for my sleepless mind? :D

Amrut
14 November 2012, 03:45 AM
Namaste all,

I have a few questions about insomnia as it relates to meditation. (It's kind of ironic as it's after 1 AM where I live as I'm typing this :p ) If anyone has any input on these, I'd much appreciate it:


Can meditation potentially cause insomnia?
If so, are certain methods of meditation more likely to cause it?
Which meditation methods are best for reducing insomnia?


I guess I'm asking this right now because earlier today after I got home from work I was meditating after chanting the mantra "On Gam Ganapataye Namaha" 108 times. Nothing happened at the time, but right now I can't sleep. Go figure. :rolleyes:

Anyone have any advice for my sleepless mind? :D

Namaste,

It all depends upon how do you meditate i.e. your approach.

Generally, after meditation one should feel peaceful.

But this does not happen everyday. There are some points which I would like to share.

You should end any meditation or Japa when there is more of mantra and no thoughts i.e. you are not fighting with thoughts. If you quit meditation when there are continuous flow of thoughts, you will end up stressed after meditation. The thoughts keep continuing thought day and so at night you are restless.

If the force of thoughts is too much and you cannot handle them, you can quit meditation and leave the room. After 2-3 minutes, come back again and meditate.

If you still cannot meditate, then read spiritual books, which you like the most. IF you like to read or find a particular section of book very inspirational, you can read the same. This will help calm down mind.

Alternatively, listen to devotional songs that you like. Though some people listen to slow instrumental, I do not prefer it. They can give temporary peace but does not help on a longer run.

The most important thing is the approach during meditation. While meditating mind calms down and then suddenly any random thoughts springs up. At that time, do not force yourself to concentrate on mantra or worst DO NOT try to avoid thoughts. This will have a negative impact. You will end up frustrated and may even shamelessly get angry on someone without any reason.

The more force you use, the more mind will bounce back, just like a pressed spring bounces back.

The key is not to force, but convince your mind that this is not the time to think on any issue, but it's time to meditate. Thoughts come in mind because you give importance to any issue or person or any incident has an impact upon you. This is the reason why moksha has to be the only goal. When moksha is the only goal, you do not give importance to any other activity or any issue. Though issues affect the person with moksha as the only goal, seeker can easy shift attention to mantra, because he/she is constantly trying to stay with god even during day time. So, withdrawing your attention and focus on any issue avoids excessive thinking and does not allow thoughts to enter into mind. Even if they enter, their force is less as compared to when you give full importance.

We cannot live without work and need to earn to survive. IF your goal is not earning money, then you will select a job of your choice or liking. Such a job is not a burden as compared to a job that does not suit your nature.

e.g. a hardcore programmer when gets promoted he gets a managers post, who just manages other programmers and coordinates with client. This is not is nature. His nature is to do coding. So stress produced is high. People accept job which gives offers more money, whereas it should be opposite. People should do a job that suits one's nature, atleast if you live a spiritual life.

This stress does not allow one to sleep. Your eyes may become heavy, but still you cannot sleep, because there are too many thoughts that keep changing and moving with great speed.

So it's not just incorrect meditation which is responsible for insomnia. I hope you get my point.

To sum up

1. Do not use force in meditation. If you use force a day will come when you will try to run away from meditating. The word 'meditation' will produce resistance and you will find is difficult to even sit for 5 minutes.

2. do not avoid thoughts

3. do not quit meditation when mind is full of thoughts

4. Do not give importance to thoughts, but convince mind to chant mantra (reading shastras can be helpful) and then silently and smoothly shift the attention to the mantra.

5. Faith is God is extremely important. One should have strong faith in God. When you are chanting his name, nothing can be more influential than the mantra. Thoughts cannot overpower mantra.

6. Do not ask why thoughts come? They will keep coming infact, thoughts are not coming they are going. Why stop them when they are leaving :)

incase thoughts overpower you:

1. Take a break, leave the room and come back after 2-3 minutes.

2. Read spiritual books that you like the most till mind calms down

3. Listen to your favourite devotional songs till mind calms down.

4. Meditating even for 10 minutes before sleeping can be helpful to sleep and even help to meditate well in the morning.

5. Sometimes it's better to take a break for a day or 2 to meditate when it's getting really hard. Go on a vacation and enjoy. Things will come back to normal.

6. Pray: this is very important. Pray to God to 'teach me how to meditate'

7. Pray: Pray to God to remove any stress and help me to sleep so that I can meditate in the morning.

8. A temporary solution is an auto suggestion for relaxation (http://indiaspirituality.blogspot.in/2009/02/autosuggestion-for-relaxation.html)

Apart from meditation, other factors which affect meditation and insomnia are:

1. Keep moksha as only goal of life.

2. Give important to things that are necessary. E.g. if your job requires you to do a certain thing or a research or analysis, then do it, but never make it a habit of exploring things that are optional. e.g. addiction to FB and twitter and social networking

3. Select job or business according to your nature. Do not keep money as the goal of life.

*4. Develop a habit of Letgo. It's very helpful.

Hope this helps.

Aum

devotee
14 November 2012, 10:07 PM
Namaste WI,




Can meditation potentially cause insomnia?
If so, are certain methods of meditation more likely to cause it?
Which meditation methods are best for reducing insomnia?

I guess I'm asking this right now because earlier today after I got home from work I was meditating after chanting the mantra "On Gam Ganapataye Namaha" 108 times. Nothing happened at the time, but right now I can't sleep. Go figure. :rolleyes:


a) Meditation doesn't cause insomnia. What causes insomnia is not meditation.
b) Insomnia is due to excited state of mind ... when you are actively thinking to solve some issue, some problems are disturbing you, there is something exciting which you want to enjoy/participate in etc. etc. It can also be caused due to intake of some substances like caffeine.

Meditation is just the opposite. It is to calm the mind down ... the thought-waves are being brought to rest. If anything is doing just the opposite i.e. exciting the mind instead of calming it down, how can it be considered Meditation at all ? Please remember, "Yogaschittavritti nirodhah" : Controlling mind-waves is (called) Yoga.
c) Now coming to your problem : How were you feeling when you got up from meditation ? Was it a blissful, calm state of mind ? If yes, you won't have problem in sleeping at all. Meditation is being advised by even Allopathic Doctors actively these days to people who are suffering from High-Blood pressure, insomnia and other psychological problems etc.

d) The best way to calm the mind down is to be simply become witness to thoughts but don't do it for sleeping as meditation if done properly will not make you sleepy.

To induce sleeping, you should try ShavAsana. Just lie down comfortable on you back on the bed with your arms and legs in most comfortable position. Then tense your legs while breathing in from your knees slowly to toe and relax at once with conviction that they have gone to sleep. Do it slowly for waist to the knees, then both your arms, then below your neck to the waist, then your head with eyes closed ... if thoughts are coming ... you are not bothered with them and you are neither trying to generate them nor trying to stop them ... you are feeling fully relaxed ... there is no tension anywhere in the body and no tension/excitement in mind. This would slowly take you to sleep.

e) There is another way. Keep your eyes closed as if looking downwards and then keep watching your thoughts as they are arising without participating in the thought process but don't stop if mind drifts with thoughts. This would also take you to sleep.

OM

Twilightdance
15 November 2012, 01:07 AM
Can meditation potentially cause insomnia?
If so, are certain methods of meditation more likely to cause it?
Which meditation methods are best for reducing insomnia?It is documented that experiences of samadhi can reduce or even eliminate the need for sleep. Too much japa can have some effect also. But it is necessary to understand that these would not be insomnia but rather elimination of the need to sleep more.

Insomnia does not mean one needs to sleep less, but when one can't sleep adequately.

In general meditation practices however should make sleep more sound, i.e deep and adequate.

Necromancer
15 January 2013, 04:01 AM
Namaste. I have a short answer and a long answer for you.

The short answer is Yoga Nidra (insomnia meditation).

The long answer: When you've had a few hours of deep meditation, 'insomnia' is not even an issue, as the meditation totally replaces it.

Sometimes though, our bodies may be weary from sitting and require rest, but because we have been in deep meditation, we can't seem to quieten our mind down anymore.....which is quite ironic, I know.

This is the time when I find an hour's worth of relaxation/reiki/Ravi Shankar (RIP)/mantras or chanting on Youtube and begin Yoga Nidra.

It's basically a full-focus awareness technique that starts at the feet, using Pranayam techniques to breathe into your feet...tensing all the muscles up for 15/20 seconds, then letting go...letting all the tension and worries flow out...you can say 'Om' or 'Peace' as you do it.

Then, in the same way, you do the calves, knees, thighs, buttocks, lower back, abdomen (breathing fully into it and holding) and chest (doing the same), upper back, drawing shoulders up to ears and pulling them down, upper arms, lower arms, making fist, stretching fingers, then screwing up my face to touch my nose, then trying to tense my scalp and release it...yeah, like that..working your way up and through every muscle in your body.

After this, I go into one of a few internal 'guided meditations' I have (one involves laying on a beautiful beach on a sunny day with waves crashing around...maybe a hunky lifeguard giving me a massage...)

Anyway, by about an hour of this and listening to something containing Delta Waves or some binaural stuff, I am fully asleep (in my 'yoga coma' I call it).

I hope this can help you too.

Aum Namah Shivaya