My tips on meditation

Tamildownunder · Feb 18, 2007

Here are my tips to practice meditation to releive stresses. I got initiated into meditation by one of the followers of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Meditation has been recognised as a method of putting mind to sleep. We all are having 7-8 hours of physical sleep. But, during physical sleep the mind is still awake and since mind controls the body, the physical sleep does not give the freshness one would expect after waking up. In fact, you may agree with me if I say that oversleep makes one more tired. It has been scientifically shown that brain waves are more calm during meditation than physical sleep. It has been estimated that 15-20 minutes of proper meditation is equivalent to several hours of physical sleep. So, after meditation one becomes mentally fresh and physically also. In this world full of stresses, meditation will
help one to maintain the mental balance.

Having said all these, one would like to know how to practice meditation effectively. I can tell from my experience of meditating that it can be done any time of the day and in any surroundings even the most noisiest ones. The steps to be followed in meditation are:

1. The best time for meditation is the early morning. But, one can do it even while commuting to office by train or bus. (only one should ensure that he or she does not fall asleep during meditation and miss the stop to alight!).

2. To start with one should close their eyes and try to remove all thoughts that come flooding by for about 30 seconds

3. After about 30 seconds, one should start thinking of a suitable word which should be unique and not associated with worldly things. (In India, this would be done during initiation into meditation by a Guru who will tell the word into the ear and you should not divulge it to anyone. Mainly, this is done to make it unique, so that during meditation with this word other thoughts do not interfere).

Perhaps, you may pick a word from any religious hymns known to you.

4. It is important to realise that you should only concentrate mentally to focus on the word and one need not have to chant it.

5. Once you are into proper meditation, your breathing will become shallow and you will take deep breadth periodically.

6. At the end of 15-20 minutes (one need not have to look into a watch, but will have an estimate with practice) you stop thinking about the word and keep eyes closed for 30 seconds and then open the eyes slowly.

In my experience with meditation, I get a very pleasant feeling at the end and certainly I feel refreshed.

sanravi_1970 · Feb 18, 2007

thanks for the tips

tejudatla · Feb 18, 2007

Some times I felt like too tired and getting impatience. I wonder if this medication could help me to feel more relaxed and get good thoughts....

Thanq for your tips....
Tej:wave

sonia · Feb 19, 2007

Hi All,

very gud thread.....actually a topic of my choice...I also practice meditation...It gives me a very pleasant feeling whenever I m tensed.......very refreshing........one has to practice this for sure.

Dear Teja definitely u will feel very gud after practicing it whenever u r tensed.so give this a try.

Lavanya · Feb 19, 2007

Hi Tamil... its good to know another student trained by a guru following Transdental Meditation of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. I was formally intially by one such guru too. I would like to add some more points in this subject...

1. Try to meditate before food or atleast 2-3 hrs after the last meal... this is because all the energy & blood flow is redirected to your brain & digestive system doesn't perform well if it has a full meal. Also try to avoid stimulants like coffee/tea just before doing meditation. As you can understand meditation is trying to calm you & stimulants are going to do the reverse.

2. Also when first starting to practice meditation, its best to keep an area where you can sit (either on the floor or on the chair) comfortably with good back support & not totally lie down or sleep. This area where you would do meditation will set an atmosphere in your house which will keep you calm & relaxed even when you are not meditating.

3. If you are used to any kind of exercise its best if you finish your meditation, give your mind & body another 15-20 mins then start your exercise. Never meditate immediately after finishing your exercise as this suddenly slows your body/metabolism & blood flow to periphery.

4. Meditation should be done without anticipating immediate results & one should understand that it will cummulatively improve your well-being.

5. Some people will try to hold on to the "mantra" very hard... its very natural to keep repeating mantra & slowly drift into other thoughts of the day/life... when you do so slowly get your mind to repeat the mantra, don't panic. Also don't try hard to repeat that only makes you more tense. Let your muscles relax & breathe slow & deep with time it will come to you naturally.

6. When starting to train yourself on meditating use surroundings without any bright lights or loud noise, as you master the skill you can do it anywhere.

7. If you can find an institute close by its worth to visit that place & meditate in a larger group... whatever is said & done there's always more power in numbers. You will feel that you can meditate more deeply & easily when you are amidst larger groups of meditating people.

This is Maharishi's website... there are some institute's in US and Europe too. If you can find a guru then learn the mantra from them, otherwise you can still do it on your own.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi - Transcendental Meditation

L.

vidyasarada · Feb 19, 2007

Dear Lavanya
Point no.4 is very pertinent. Many youngsters,people in a hurry, get into such courses expecting immediate and specific results and when they do not get them, they quickly discard the practise . It is better to realise that making meditation a habit will yield slow , but steady and longlasting wellbeing.
Thank you and Tamildownunder for sharing these points.
VS

BhargaviChakravarthy · Feb 19, 2007

Hi all,
The tips are really good.Even i used to plan and plan for a long time .But when it comes to implementation we may fail to do so.I think we need a break ,relaxation from our routine worries.For that any activity which really realaxes our mind can be practised.It may be reading a good book(ex spiritual books).But still none can equal the effects of meditation and yoga.Practising mantras,chanting in the morning and evening while praying can also help us to some extent.For that one must have a strong belief in god.(Chennai-ites if you happen to hear FM channel Radio mirchi,you can sometimes hear the recorded speech by Music director Ilayaraja.His speech is so powerful.It is around two lines about the irony of life and faith in god.But we feel a bit of relief and peaceful for a certain period of time after praying .But we should adopt the practise of doing such things which relaxes our mind.I have a doubt.Some people strongly believe that meditation helps to control our body ailments.I some times think will those steps really cure my pain.The main reason for success in our life is confidence,self esteem.But both declines at some point or the other which we should not allow.So a balanced mind is needed to achieve anyhing in life.Friends mail your ideas and discussions.

Lavanya · Feb 19, 2007

Hi Bhargavi,
I will try to explain from what little info I have... As I've already mentionned, meditation should not be used to achieve immediate results. There's a local saying in Tamil "Arasa marathai suthivanthu adi vaithai thottu paarthal"
Anyway the bottom line is meditation helps you give a different perspective on life, it helps clarify your thought process. It helps you maintain a good & happy mind & body. When your mind and body is happy then it naturally boosts up your immune system, lowers your blood pressure, reduces stress related disorders & pains.

I can tell you from personal experience that I have certain muscle pains when I'm stressed, because of constantly holding all the pressure in. But after I've learnt how to practice TM, it helps me tide over day today life without too much of worrying. In fact it clears your mind to think better, which in turn helps you prioritize your goals, manage your time & energy efficiently. Its a cyclic process. If you do one thing right everything else falls into place. It also improves memory power a great deal.

The points you've mentionned - balanced mind, self confidence & esteem are all part of a healthy mind & body network. They are many ailments which have only palliative therapy while others can be treated a bit more... eitherway this TM when done regularly in sickness or health help your body heal itself, this hastens the road to recovery along with the drugs they take. Auto-immune disorders are on rise for a while now & TM helps to take your life back into control.

Besides this I would like to add a point here in TM we use a mantra (a word which cannot be associated with any meaning). This is NOT religious word. So TM itself can be practised by anyone male/female/any religion/belief.

Some other points to note are :
1. Try to avoid doing TM next to your pet or any other animal... as their minds work on a different intellect scale it can make the pets drowsy or anxious. Also this avoids them from disturbing your peace time.

2. Women can do TM any day even during menstrual cycle & pregnancy. Actually it helps calm the baby when done during pregnancy. But do not do it in the same room as kids less than couple years old just because they still have no control of emotions & could disturb you.

-L.

BhargaviChakravarthy · Feb 20, 2007

Dear lavanya,
thank you so much for your advice and prompt response.As you said

""can tell you from personal experience that I have certain muscle pains when I'm stressed, because of constantly holding all the pressure in. But after I've learnt how to practice TM, it helps me tide over day today life without too much of worrying. ""

Even i suffer from specific type of pinching back pain,I thought why not we undergo a course of meditation.There are some form of therapies which have natural healing powers.As you said nothing can give us immediate results with out undergoing the same for a period of time.As was discussed abt water therapy we can practise for a course of time.In the current trend most of us(I am not sure) don't immediately visit a doctor.What i am feeling is the diagnosis of a particular pain(or ailment) is not guaranteed(friends,i am not against anything,it's just my opinion).We are just prolonged by taking all the tests.Of course tests and scans only locate what is actually happening,still certain types of pains or inconveniences are not correctly identified.It's out of my own experience.As the saying goes "A sound Mind in a sound body",we should strike a balance between physical and mental health.As you rightly said,meditation shapes our mind and try avoiding unwanted anxieties,excitements .We can spot it out easily whether we need to visit a doctor for so and so reason .On the other hand we can try some of the natural remedies by trial and error method.(Not to be confused for self medication.It is a wrong procedure.)

Preethi Patnaik · Apr 20, 2008

Dear Lavanya nad Tamil,

Thank you for posting such detailed info. Though posted over a year ago its the answers i was looking to having just been thinking of starting meditation. This is amazing.
thanks
preethi