I Just Can't Meditate!

[spicy_pickles]

Ugh 

I try and sit upright, get comfortable, and begin focusing on my breath. Everything feels tight, uncomfortable, painful. Like something is resisting me to meditate. I get sore, my mind wanders and all I can feel is the tightness and uncomfortableness in my body. 

I've tried silent meditation. Difficult when you aren't the only one in a tiny space. I've tried music but I don't know if that's the "correct way". The most I've ever got was 2 minutes, and that was fighting through the uncomfortableness of it all

[Danielle]

Why are you meditating in the first place? I have an impression like you're doing it because you should, not because you want to.

You have to a build a case for meditation!

Expect that your mind and body will resist, do nothing, just observe it. Don't be too formal about it, don't make it a "thing".  I think maybe the do nothing would be good for you because it's comfortable and it doesn't feel like you're acutally meditating sometimes. Good luck 

Edited July 2, 2017 by Danielle

[Leo Gura]

@spicy_pickles It's not easy. You gotta really have vision, and carry it out.

I remember 5 years ago, when it was impossible for me to do 5 minutes. But I slowly kept at it.

Try some binuaral beats program like Holosync if you're really stuck. Then you can wean yourself off it once you get used to sitting still.

You need to also fix your media addictions. It does little good to meditate for 10 minutes and then spend 2 hours on Facebook and 4 hours play video games and 4 hours watching funny cat videos on YT.

[spicy_pickles]

Thank you so much @Leo Gura. I tried again today, and it was a bit easier to maintain the meditation. Granted I could only go for about 2 minutes, I felt more comfortable today than I did yesterday. 

The media addictions is something I need to work on for sure. 

[S33K3R]

Yes binural beats will help. Also might I suggest breaking down the difficult tasks and finding an individual solution to each of them? I am currently teaching my boyfriend to meditate. He has his same issue with comfort and focus. We decided to take one thing at a time. So he will not meditate every day. Instead he will be  increasing flexibility sitting in the meditation posture trying to breathe evenly and after the muscle memory is created he will move on to the mind and meditation. 

This is also how I started to meditate when I was 13.

I spent a month centering my balance. Just sitting and feeling the sensation of the different ways to lean. I found my most comfortable position. 

Meditation is not a thing to be rushed or become frustrated with. It will create anxieties that will further hinder progress. Instead break down the difficult tasks and learn one at a time. Soon enough one thing at a time will become automated and you can move onto a new goal. I use the 8 out of 10 rule. 8 success to 10 before moving on. If you move on and have difficulties with the thing you thought you mastered, go back to the previous practice to become a little more familiar.

Remember to also have fun, meditation is considered play in my book good luck!!!

[pluto]

This video explains it best IMO

Just breath and you are already meditation, or when you are simply listening, looking, acting or just being in the present moment even for 1 second is still meditation. Obviously there are levels to it but a little eventually goes a long way and one step at a time, there is no rush, everything else comes naturally

Edited July 5, 2017 by pluto

[Dodo]

1 hour ago, pluto said:

This video explains it best IMO

Just breath and you are already meditation, or when you are simply listening, looking, acting or just being in the present moment even for 1 second is still meditation. Obviously there are levels to it but a little eventually goes a long way and one step at a time, there is no rush, everything else comes naturally

You have no idea how many time I've watched and liked this video on Facebook as it pops on my feed. I have a bunch of spiritual pages liked, building a case for how social media can be helpful too

[Nahm]

@spicy_pickles On a positive note....the trouble with getting meditation started and habitual is indicative of the amount of growth you will gain from it. You lucky bastard. Feelin a little jelly. 

[Dodo]

On 03/07/2017 at 0:34 AM, spicy_pickles said:

Ugh 

I try and sit upright, get comfortable, and begin focusing on my breath. Everything feels tight, uncomfortable, painful. Like something is resisting me to meditate. I get sore, my mind wanders and all I can feel is the tightness and uncomfortableness in my body. 

I've tried silent meditation. Difficult when you aren't the only one in a tiny space. I've tried music but I don't know if that's the "correct way". The most I've ever got was 2 minutes, and that was fighting through the uncomfortableness of it all

Next time you sit, do it in a chair (if you're not doing it already) so there are no "uncomfortableness" excuses.

Next is try to imagine someone else is meditating,  not you, you just observe as if everything is happening to someone else.

When you get the feeling you cant do it anymore, try the following (courtesy of @Martin123 ):

Take a deep breath into your belly, holding the feeling /emotion/sensation,  6 seconds, hold the breath for 6 more seconds and exhale for 6 seconds visualising how the feeling is being let go.

(Martin, not sure if its exactly what you had written but thats how im doing it :-D Feel free to correct me) 

 

Edited July 5, 2017 by Dodo

[DoubleYou]

It seems like your idea of what a proper meditation should be like is hindering you in doing a 'proper' meditation.
I would advice starting with the 'do nothing' meditation. Start for 20 minutes and let all those painful, uncomfortable sensations be exactly like they are.  Even the thoughts that say you don't know how to meditate. Become aware of them and let them be exactly as they are. The only thing you have to 'do' is stay alert. And when you catch yourself dozing off into thoughts, just become alert again. There is no failing here. Whenever you feel like you're failing the meditation, just become aware of that and continue. This process of noticing whenever you go unconscious again IS the meditation process. It's something you have to train. 

Hope that helps.  

[Adam M]

@spicy_pickles perfect! start with 1 minute sitting every day

[RossE]

@DoubleYou That's not quite Do Nothing meditation. There's nothing in the Do Nothing technique that says you need to be aware or conscious of anything. You don't even need to be aware that you're meditating. 

The technique is about surrendering entirely. This includes surrending the need to be a good meditator. Sometimes during Do Nothing I forget that I'm even alive, let alone remaining aware of resistance or body sensations etc.

@spicy_pickles I do recommend the Do Nothing technique for your purposes. Use Shinzen Young's or Leo's YouTube video for instructions.