Problems from yoga/pranayama/meditation

[soonya85]

Hi,
I have been doing yoga/pranayama/meditation for the last couple of years. But I have had problems with my practice all this time. Whether I do them in the morning or in the evening, I would abruptly get up from my sleep after 6 hrs in the night. After that, though I still feel sleepy and tired, I won’t be able to sleep again. The following day would be very exhausting and frustrating.
I followed different advices like cutting down my practice time, taking enough rest etc but the result was same. Even as minimum as 10 mins mantra meditation would cause the same sleep disturbance.
But the other day I tried something totally different. I marked a dot on a wall at the same level as my eyes, and with the help of a small stick, I would touch the dot with the stick and count 1. Like this I counted upto 10 everytime touching the dot with the stick. Once I reached 10, I started from 1 again. I continued this procedure for 20 mins. I didn’t read this procedure anywhere, but just because I was so frustrated with yoga/pranayama/mantra meditation that I wanted to try something unconventional.
That night I had a wonderful sleep and the next day was very peaceful and relaxing. I tried this for few more days and everytime it was either very relaxing or atleast it was normal. It never created any problems.
Could somebody explain what the difference was? I personally feel that even the new method I am following is some kind of meditation. I am not able to understand why all other methods are disturbing my sleep while this is actually improving my sleep quality. I am also not sure if I contimue with this new method, I would eventually achieve the same results as with mantra meditation.
I thank you very much for your response.

[thimus]

I had a lot of troubles with my sleep too, but in my opinion they are not directly caused
by yoga practices.
Here is a remedie ( from Eckhart Tolle) : when you go to sleep, lie on your back, hands next to the body or on the belly : go with your attention into the body : feel hands, feet, belly and so on. This to prevent you to fall asleep from mental noise, from thoughts.
Let thoughts fade away, dont support them, only feel your inner body. Then go to sleep.
When you wake up in the middle of the night : dont complain : you are awake, just go again with your attention to the inner body : dont listen to the mental noise : the thoughts will go from them selfes ( and these thoughts can be very disturbing). The most important thing at that moment is to feel your inner body, that is what want and support, let thoughts go from themselfes : the mean nothing.

[soonya85]

Hi thimus,
Thank you for your reply.
If I don’t do yoga practices on a specific day, I won’t have the sleep disturbance and all the frustration that comes with the sleep disturbance. It will be just a normal day. It happens so precisely on the day when I practice yoga/pranayama/mantra meditation.
When my sleep gets disturbed, there will be pain in the eyes, I feel very tired and sleepy, and I will become very restless and anxious. On the following day I would get irritated for even very insignificant events. I tried a few times to remain positive and accept the situation without judgement but I could not do it. The changes, physical or mental, come very strong.
But as I said before, none of this happens if I try the numbers couting method with my eyes open. It is confusing.

[Shanti (Mahasweta)]

Hi Soonya,
Welcome to the forum.
Some people are very sensitive to mantra meditation.
In lesson 188 Yogani explains…

Mantra syllables are like tuning forks in the nervous system. Each
vibration resonates in a different part of our inner circuitry. This
is true with or without ecstatic conductivity previously awakened.
The resonating effect of a syllable deep in the
silence of the mind loosens obstructions in a particular way unique
to that syllable. With that experience-based feedback, and knowing
the most effective and safest order of awakening the nervous system,
especially the spinal nerve, the mantras can be suitably assembled.

In Lesson 160 - Q&A – Extreme sensitivity to meditation - what to do? Yogani says

You are one of the few people who are very sensitive to meditation,
with a lot of obstructions coming out very fast with just a little
practice.

He suggests to play around with your practice and see what suits you…

First, try and meditate for 10 minutes only in the morning before
breakfast for a few days. Lie down for 5-10 minutes afterward, or
longer if you feel uneasy. Taking adequate time to “come out” after
meditation is very important, especially if there is a lot of release
going on during meditation. See if you can get a comfortable routine
going with just 10 minutes of meditation plus rest in the morning. If
you can, then try adding a second 10 minute session in the early
evening, before dinner, not near bedtime
If strong sensations or headache come in meditation stop the mantra
and just sit and let the attention be easily with the sensation. It
is obstructions dissolving, and easy attention on it without mantra
will help it dissolve. If it is too much, as you described before,
then lay down and continue to be easy with the attention letting it
be drawn to the sensation. Don’t force the attention at all. Just be
easy with it. Try not to get up until the sensation subsides. Then
you will know the dissolving process has completed. Don’t meditate
beyond your allotted time - that includes time spent in thoughts, on
sensations, etc. Everything that happens in the allotted time (10
minutes in this case) is considered part of meditation.
Make sure you have good activity during the day and during the
evening after meditation. This is important to stabilize the
purification happening in the nervous system during meditation. Being
with people, family activities, walking, doing creative work or
service - wherever your heart takes you.
Don’t meditate right before bed. Always meditate before activity.
If you get it to 10 minutes twice a day with good stability and are
feeling okay in activity during the day and evening (and in sleep
too), then try for 15 minutes twice a day. If that is good after a
few weeks or months, try for 20 minutes. If you are feeling
discomfort and feel you are meditating too long, then back off to the
last comfortable level you found and stay there for a while.
Self-pacing matched to your experience is what you should do. This is
the key to long term success in all practices - finding stable daily
practice over many months and years.
Another thing you can try is some light spinal breathing before
meditation (5 minutes or so), as given in the lessons. This can help
smooth out meditation. Spinal breathing is very good for balancing
unruly energies in the nervous system, which includes mind and
emotions. Finally, you can also try some light asanas, bending and
stretching, (5-10 minutes) before spinal breathing and meditation.
Maybe only spinal breathing will help at this stage. Maybe only
asanas. Maybe both. Maybe neither. You will only know by trying.
Maybe you will find that only asanas once or twice a day with or
without spinal breathing, and no meditation, are what you need to do
for a while until the obstructions get cleared out of your nervous
system a bit. Then you can try and add meditation later. Where there
is a will, there is a way.
Those are some options to consider for finding a stable routine.

In the lines above in italics… Yogani suggest… you may do just asanas for awhile. So I would suggest… the meditation technique you have figured out for yourself… maybe exactly what you need right now… and just continue with that for a few days/weeks… then maybe you could add 5 or 10 min of mantra meditation just in the morning… If it still causes sleeplessness or irritability… back off again. If spinal breathing is not working… add alternate nostril breathing. Make sure you take plenty of rest after meditation and also make sure you are active during the day.
I hope some of this helps.
Wish you all the best in your chosen path.

[soonya85]

Hi Shanti,
Thank you very much for this wonderful reply. Very useful information. I will follow the numbers couting meditation for a while as you suggested. I will start with 5 to 10 mins of mantra meditation after few weeks.
One more question though. Let us say after few weeks of practice of my current meditation technique, if I observe that I am making progress, do I still need to start mantra meditation? Is “present moment awareness” not the ultimate goal of all spiritual practices? Can it be achieved with other methods too or is mantra meditation necessary on the path?
I thank you again for your advice.

[Shanti (Mahasweta)]

@soonya85

One more question though. Let us say after few weeks of practice of my current meditation technique, if I observe that I am making progress, do I still need to start mantra meditation? Is “present moment awareness” not the ultimate goal of all spiritual practices? Can it be achieved with other methods too or is mantra meditation necessary on the path?

Hi Soonya,
I have been thinking how to answer your question…
Fortunately, I won’t have to put my understanding into words, Yogani has already done this…

Lesson 21 - Meditation Q&A – Objects of meditation
Meditation is the bridge between attention on an object and the
great beyond we know as bliss consciousness without thoughts or
external sensory experience. The goal is to make that journey
repeatedly, like clockwork, on a daily basis. The technique we use is
simple, yet delicate, relying on the natural ability of our mind to
become quiet. Other forms of meditation may not be so simple and
natural, and may involve focusing on intellectual meanings or on
multiple objects. This can bog down passage of the attention to the
expanded realm of bliss consciousness residing within us. This is not
to say other forms of meditation will not work. But in our approach,
simplicity and efficiency are at the forefront. This is an advanced
method of meditation anyone can do. We will discuss meditation on
other objects from the point of view of the method we are using here.
What is the difference between meditating with our technique using a
mantra, versus using chakras (energy centers in the body), a
religious icon or other physical objects? Again, it is a matter of
simplicity and efficiency. The goal is to bring the attention beyond
the thinking process, and, in doing so, take the attention beyond
outer sensory experience. The mind is the neurological process in us
that links consciousness with the outer world. It is a very intimate
connection. Our attention, engaged in the dynamics of the mind, is
always an inch away from experiencing the divine bliss of pure
consciousness. When the mind is allowed to come to rest, we are
there. So we begin with the mind, the most intimate connection to
bliss consciousness we have. We begin inside, so we can quickly and
easily go deeply inside. If we were to begin with a physical location
in the body or a physical object, we could still go deep. No question
about it. But it is a longer journey, a more complicated journey. The
further outside we are when we start, the more physical, intellectual
and emotional baggage we have to shed on the way in. This is also why
we do not verbally utter the mantra during meditation, or give any
attention to meanings while meditating. It is an inner process right
from the start. By beginning meditation with a thought, using the
specific procedure, we bypass external obstacles in the nervous
system that can bind our attention. Ultimately we dissolve them
naturally from the inside going out, rather than trying to dissolve
them from the outside going in, which is not easy.
We begin with a thought, not focusing on any meaning, just picking up
the repetition of the thought of the mantra’s sound easily, on the
edge of letting go. We let the mantra go its own way naturally to
less and less – this is the simplest and most efficient way to dive
into the infinite sea of bliss consciousness within us. Having done
so repeatedly, we come back out after twenty minutes soaked with
peace and bliss, achieving much purification during the process.
In time, the distance between consciousness and outside experiences
evaporates as the obstructions become less and less. There was really
no distance at all! Then it becomes natural to experience many shades
of bliss consciousness while gazing upon chakras, religious icons,
our loved ones, beautiful landscapes, scriptures, or even a book on
theoretical physics. When bliss consciousness has arisen, everything
is seen in terms of that. But this is not the procedure of
meditation. This is enjoying the fruit of meditation – living life
with an increasing appreciation of its many gifts. The rise of this
appreciation inspires us all the more to carry on with our practice.

I hope this helps. It really is the simplicity of Deep Meditation that makes it so powerful. That is why you feel the restlessness… Because your meditation is making energies in you move, which will cause purification, which will result in openings. It is very effective and very powerful. If you feel drawn towards staying with your current form of meditation, please go ahead. Your inner guru will guide you, if you listen. When you need something in life, everything around you will guide you to it. Just relax and enjoy your journey.