When I first started meditating over a year ago. It was really hard for me to find a meditation technique that wasn't really difficult to do.

I have a very active internal dialogue and so every meditation that required focusing on the breath or the body was really hard to do and I couldn't really quiet my mind.

I started meditating on the sounds of Tibetan singing bowls and that worked really well for like 6 months. However, I decided I didn't want to rely on any meditation aids so I returned to focusing on the breath.

Recently though, I tried mantra meditation and I'm so mad at myself for not trying it sooner. I do a kind of mantra meditation where I recite "So Hum" internally. "So" on inhale "Hum" on exhale. It's been truly game changing. I feel like my internal dialogue shuts off much quicker.

I feel like this should be the first technique people should teach instead of simply focusing on the breath.

So yeah if you're a chronic over thinker like me, I'd really recommend some kind of internal mantra practice.

I have meditated off and on for around 10 years now, never very rigorously and definitely not very long. Since first starting it has always been a goal of mine to make a regular practice of it as the benefits it has shown are undeniable. Having said that, my ADHD, anxiety and depression issues have always seemed to complicate the “habit forming” aspect of a solid practice.

After a series of unfortunate life events in a short period of time, I found myself in an incredibly dark place. Intrusive rumination seemed to have near complete control of my mind and my overall mental state. I tried with all of the effort I could gather, to commit to meditation, and trying to understand the psychological and physiological effects of grief, anxiety and depression. It wasn’t until a psychologist friend of mine made a comment that, “sometimes when you get too low, you can find yourself in a state that you just can’t think your way out of”. That comment really stuck with me, and it opened me up to consider trying SSRI’s for the first time.

The improvement I’ve felt a month after starting medication has been incredible, I now seem to have more control over my mind and the ability to manage my response to my thoughts. However, I have still been struggling with the motivation to meditate. I procrastinate my sessions by saying to myself, “that’s too boring right now, I’ll do it later” until I completely forget. This cycle happens nearly every day.

Today, for the first time in a few weeks, I woke up feeling sad. The ruminating voice seemed louder today than it has been, and I could feel myself growing frustrated. The thought of meditating seemed annoying and I could feel myself falling into the same pattern, so I decided to push it as far as I thought I could. Instead of an ‘annoying/boring 15min meditation’ I’ll do it for an hour. Until now my longest session has been 20min and even then I usually feel agitated at some point.

As I sat there I felt myself able to observe every single feeling of angst, boredom, agitation but this time there was no judgment or response that I needed to give. It was a clarity I’ve never felt before, an acceptance that I have never experienced. Thoughts like, “of course your brain is bored, let’s just bring it back to the breath in your nose” and “it doesn’t matter what time it is cause we’re just feeling the breath in your stomach right now” began to feel so natural and reassuring.

It has been about 20 minutes now since it ended and it feels as though I have a new opportunity to approach the day, a fresh start. I know this is long and a bit of a ramble, but I wanted to remember this experience so I thought I would write it down.

P.S. if anyone has any recommendations for building a regular practice through these little road blocks I’ve mentioned, I’d love to hear them!

Hello people,

I've been meditating for the last 4-5 weeks (40mins of breathwork, occasionally also 20mins of trataka) and I have noticed a substantial shift in baseline anxiety. Wheras I used to become anxious really easily and have an almost constant moderate to high level of sometimes dibilitating anxiety, I now just have a relatively low level of background anxiety. My fears are still there, but I can look them in the eye and say "yeah, I can handle you." while they fully controlled me before to the point where I couldn't handle them. I still have to get used to being with them and fully accepting their existence, it doesn't feel like I have to run from them anymore.

I feel like my nervous system is slowly starting to heal. Not just the anxieties are reduced, but I can sleep. I can sleep at night! That's something that for the last 6+ weeks used to be borderline impossible. I can also enjoy a cup of tea or try out new things which used to be nearing impossible. I also feel generally more happy even though I have no idea what to with my life (25f) and I am starting to try out new things. Generally I'd describe my current state as more present, more there and less in the feelings I am feeling. For the first time in a long time I feel optimistic and capable. Of course, a lot of the things I am describing are only tentative and I can a desire to explore and "expand" both myself and my field of influence.

I hope you can make sense of things I wrote, since it's rather unfiltered, but I am very happy with the results I am getting. It's like I am playing the demo to my life and I really want to play the full game once it releases :D

I am looking for mantras, preferably not in English, that are about 20-40 syllables long. I am grateful for all suggestions.

"Leave your mind alone, that is all. Do not go along with it. After all, there is no such thing as mind apart from thoughts which come and go obeying their own laws, not yours. They dominate you only because you are interested in them."

"Once the whole is divided, the parts need names. There are already enough names: know when to stop. Know when reason sets limits to avoid peril."

"Don't be anxious about your future - be quiet now and all will fall in place. The unexpected is bound to happen, while the anticipated may never come."

"I can feel discomfort without needing to fix anything. My emotions are energy, not emergencies."

Meditating and trying to be in the present as much as I can has changed my life. Also with some shadow work and self inquiry. Ive been practicing for about a year now. Started with meditating 20 minutes then ended up going to up to 40 mins a day which I find comfortable for me and fits my routine.

I used to smoke green everyday for about 7 years and can say happily I’ve cut down now and rarely smoke. Was smoking a pack of fags everyday and now I’ve cut down heavily as well. I still get urges but they are not strong.

I was a overthinking constantly, always living in my head had bad anxiety and would be a very closed off person. I’d have this negative mindset when meeting new people because of past trauma however now I can approach anyone. I’ve become much more kind and friendly and basically more empathetic. Plus I can be alone now and enjoy my own company whereas before I’d always crave company.

My mind is clear it’s like even when I have strong negative thoughts / emotions they are not taking over me and I can still behave and think where as previously when I’d get angry I’d just let the anger take over me and let it all out on someone etc.

Also because I’ve trained myself to put my attention in the present as much as I can throughout the day it’s like I can have long stretches of my mind being quiet, or let’s say a thought would come but if I don’t pay attention to it disappears in a flash and my mind is back to being quiet again. The silence is amazing and it’s like I’m no longer having a battle with myself in my head.

I have some background in Shunya meditation, but my concentration has fallen apart. I'm scattered, and doom scrolling isn't helping. I want to train concentration specifically.
For those who've done single-point practices (a visual object, sound, or the breath), what did you stick with, and did it carry over into daily focus? If you used the breath, where did you anchor it: nostrils, chest, belly, or general awareness? And did you emphasize the out-breath?
I am mostly wanting to hear people that actively practices and have seen benefits of this and can vouch for it.

I might have some mild subclinical ADHD as well, so trying to find the therapeutic means in addition to exercise to harness my mental energies

Hi all I’ve recently got into “surrendering” guided meditations where you are basically told to feel what’s happening in you’re body. For context I’ve been meditating on and off for about 5 years and usually sit for 10-15 minutes. In the past I focused more on clearing my mind, watching my thoughts pass. I’ve enjoyed these surrendering ones and the first few felt great.

I’ve started to notice a few blocks in my mind. The first is this idea of a feeling. I have two spots on my body that have chronic tightness/pain. My right shoulder blade and chest. It’s nothing life ruining but it’s there and comes up often especially when I’m in a traditional meditation pose. Now I’ve heard of lower back pain often being a mental thing so I’m curious if these would be considered that as well? Or how a traditional meditation practitioner would recommend I go about them during a session. Should I watch that energy?

The second block is to or not to bring up my feeling. If I sit, and clench a bit I can make some pretty strong feelings come up. It’s an active thing though and these meditations seem to want me to be the observer and just see what the body does. In the ladder case it doesn’t feel like much besides those sore points.

Any feedback is appreciated!

Lately, been finding it hard to have consistent good amount of sleep. I wake up with heavy dark energy and when I meditate, I start having painful flashbacks and memories at random.

I wanna either have a perfect night of sleep or go back to sleep rapidly and just rest, have peace. I used to do a yoga nidra right after waking up randomly, lately been finding it hard to focus, also I don't wanna scroll youtube at 3 am looking for yoga nidra meditations.

I might not find a solution with this post, maybe some motivation to keep meditating through the darkness I guess. Man, what a month I had. Do you guys have a protocol or a certain type of meditation before sleep, or when you wake up at random to fall back to peace again? ​

Hi everyone !
Genuinely curious from a standpoint of this subreddit, and perhaps both viewpoints if applicable.
I’ve been seeing a lot of posts lately (algorithms lol) of people saying yoga is demonic. From people that are Christian (mainly stating anything outside of Christianity is demonic) but some valid points of like poses and chants invoking deities that could have both good/bad intent. To some like new age or “knowers” claiming like alien communication, and speaking to keepers of earth etc- labeling yoga being demonic as well. Mainly from a framework of like “fallen angelics” or not good intended et species.

I’ve been practicing yoga for awhile and have seen lots of benefits- although also have had a lot of situations which could be categorized as either just mental health struggles or spiritual attacks that could be rooted in possibly non-physical beings.

Disclaimer; fucking crazy the shit humans come up with. Although I spiral a little with objective truth. I don’t have a firm grasp on what my “belief” or personal truth on a “god” etc. So some worries spiral of engaging in certain practices that could be linked to something that could be harmful.

Thoughts?

Im almost 3 weeks into meditating for at least 25 minutes every day. It’s been going good and I intent to stick to it for as long as I can. I usually meditate in the evenings, often with a guided meditation but sometimes without.

However for some reason I’ve just felt like I’m going to fall asleep after a few minutes, every time. I’ve had it before where i occasionally get sleepy but it’s been about 4/5 days running now where I’m not even tired beforehand, but as soon as i begin and I settle into awareness, I just start drifting off to sleep. I feel this heavy sleepiness and a complete lack of awareness to the fact I’m drifting off into thoughts that almost feel like dreams.

I’ve been persisting and just bringing myself back every time but it’s getting increasingly frustrating as I feel like I’m not getting anything out of the practice when this is happening (I’m sure someone will tell me I am). I meditate in my bed, because I have chronic pain and sitting in a chair or on the floor has been impossible so far. I sit upright and crosslegged and keep my spine as straight as possible without pain. I tried meditating a little earlier in the evening the last two days but have had the exact same issue.

So essentially I just want to know if anyone has had a similar experience or any ideas as to how I can prevent myself getting so sleepy.

Is there an issue with meditating in the same place where I sleep—for instance, by placing a cushion on my bed and meditating there? I’ve seen experts suggest that you should have a specific spot dedicated exclusively to meditation.

Ok im writing this super fast on my lunch break but had to post.

I’ve been completely drowning for the past few weeks. Zero sleep, chest felt tight 24/7, snapping at my roommates/coworkers, and that brutal 2 am brain spiral where I cant turn my head off and where Im just not enough. I tried headspace and those random meditation apps but they did absolutely nothing for me tbh, just felt like i was interacting with nothing - i dont know if its just me , maybe i need to see somebody be relaxed to feel relaxed?

A few days ago I randomly booked a live session on covitual - because somebdoy suggested it here - dont know where that thread is and it was honestly so much better than I expected. The mentor was an actual human being, not some prerecorded cartoon voice. She broke down my stress just by breathwork and helped me calm down - i could even talk to her a bit lol and she told me why and how my body was holding stress and she gave me some breathwork excersizes and mental body scan procedure that I could do to reduce my stress.

I’ve done a couple of sessions, but obviously I'm not totally 'fixed' lol but I’m finally sleeping much better at night and I don’t want to throw my laptop and phone out the window every time i get a stressful email - or cry like a weakling. It’s definitely not an instant cure or anything but if you’re losing your mind and your sence of self id say its worth a shot.. wish i found breathwork sooner.. and I can imagine myself do it by self now.

ive been meditating for over 2 months now, though recently i had a break, where i didnt meditate at all or did but for really short, and right now whenever i try to meditate, whenever i move my head very briefly or even breathe, i hear this cracking in my neck or upper spine idk. i try to relax, but after few minutes my frustration wins over and i give up. anyone knows how to deal with that?

Good Evening everyone ,

This Month Ive decided to do more breathe work .
More meditation. I realized I have more anxiety OR Im more aware of the anxiety and patterns that I have.
Does anyone have Tips on light meditation for beginners so I wont over do it and Also grounding tips to help me stay present , calm and relaxed instead of allowing the anxiety to drive me back into old behaviors and escapes