homehealthcare NewsMeditation not working for you? Here's how you can fix it

Meditation not working for you? Here's how you can fix it

If you haven’t been able to take your meditation, from your mat to your daily life, you are not alone, and it is really not your fault.

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By CNBCTV18.com Contributor Aug 3, 2021 6:27:05 PM IST (Updated)

Meditation not working for you? Here's how you can fix it
The pandemic changed the pace of the world. Loneliness and uncertainty have increased anxiety and dumped humanity in its worse ever mental state. To make some sense of the ambiguity, there has been a surge in meditation and mindfulness classes.

But many people claim that it doesn’t work for them. On the contrary, it leaves them mentally exhausted. And they are not wrong.
If you haven’t been able to take your meditation, from your mat to your daily life, you are not alone, and it is really not your fault.
Research conducted by scientists from University College London (UCL), found that over 25 percent of people who meditate have had an ‘unpleasant psychological experience’, including feelings of fear and distorted emotions.
Most newbies, who start a meditation routine, without any prior experience, don’t realize, that these are powerful practices and require a fair bit of preparation. Meditation comes much later in the value chain of ‘mind exercises’.
Just like climbing Mount Everest is not a walk in the park, similarly, no monastic order, throws an unprepared monk, into the deep end of silence, to deal with demons of thoughts, without grounding preparatory practices. In all meditation traditions regulating food, breath and bodily healthy are necessary conditions for successful ‘mind practices’.
Conscious breathing or Pranayama is a powerful tool used as a foundational practice for the cultivation of attention.
Here are 4 ways how your breath can fix your mind and body before you take a deep dive into yourself:
1. Overcome health conditions
Meditation practices are hard on the mind, as well as the body, and do not work, without basic physical strength in place. You cannot access the deepest recesses of the mind, manifest desires, and access universal consciousness, with a blocked nose, an aching head, and a rumbling stomach full of gas. It was never supposed to be this way. I get countless people in my classes with painful knees and backs, made worse by sitting in long meditation classes.
Make a proper plan for food, exercise, and breathing to overcome health conditions. You can maintain a healthy BMI, keep blood pressure and cholesterol in check with pranayama.
In my growing up years, we had an older uncle who managed tinnitus (ringing of ears) with bumble-bee breathing. Many years later, I found a research paper from the Cambridge University Press, how breathwork can reduce the severity of tinnitus, especially in the early stages.
My own teacher had a history of type 2 diabetes, which he kept at bay with regular breathwork.
Breathing exercises, align your circadian rhythm, help you sleep better, boost lung capacity, improve your exercise efficiency and manage allergies.
Overall the body gains strength and becomes a more fuel-efficient machine. Physical fitness gives you an energy kick. You don’t hurt yourself while sitting in meditation and the body is more balanced for contemplation.
2. Access deeper consciousness
Breath control was designed as a quick and easy bio-hack for busy householders and new monks to find calm, without the need to meditate for endless hours. All meditators know the connection between breath and consciousness. The lighter the breath, the deeper the consciousness, and vice versa. You can train the breath to work for you, rather than let it run amuck with a ‘mind’ of its own.
Breath is regarded as sacred by all ancient traditions of the world. The Bible says life started when God breathed into man’s nostrils. According to Ayurveda nostrils are the gateway to health and consciousness.
When teachers and gurus talk of neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to re-wire, the ability to manifest, they assume and imply the condition of – a calm mind.
Recent research done by the Department of psychology at the University of San Francisco, regards the Olfactory system as the gateway to neural correlates of consciousness, validating this ancient premise.
Conscious breathing opens the conduits of air, clears the airways making airflow easily, and senses sharper.
3. Cultivate focus and attention
Focusing one’s attention on the breath helps accessing deeper levels of awareness, and one can begin to clear the cobwebs of the mind.
Breathwork can be a highly effective intervention for both adults and children to cultivate awareness, focus, creativity, and concentration.
One in ten American kids is diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADHD) which is a $16.4 billion market. Breathing can be of immense help here.
Research at the Department of Sport Science in Munich found that conscious breathing, done just twice a week, reduced hyperactivity in 5-year-olds. Breathwork complemented social, emotional, and learning activities, for kindergarten kids.
4. Better emotion regulation
The ability to manage emotions and moods is a necessary condition for intense meditation. If you are unable to process emotions, in a mediation session, it can cause more harm than good.
Emotion regulation is defined as the ability to regulate one’s own emotions and the skill to handle the moods and temperament of those around us. It is an essential skill in society, that helps us handle our environment. When people are depressed or anxious this ability reduces significantly.
Conscious breathing is a very promising intervention for emotional regulation. Neuroscience shows breathing helps to manage moods. Breathing rhythms impact emotions and promote mental well-being.
Moods and breathing patterns have a high degree of synchronization. When we work on our breath, it changes deep-seated patterns and layers of personality in a subtle way. Conscious breathing moves the deepest beliefs we may have about ourselves, and calm us down.
Conclusion
Don’t jump on the meditation bandwagon, just because it is the latest fad. Follow the entire practice, the way it was designed.
Conscious breathing is the bridge between the layers of the mind and body.
Make your breath work for you, to deliver you to good meditation practice. Train your breath like a muscle in the gym, for dealing with life’s situations, better decision-making, and greater emotion regulation.
Conscious breathing is the primary bio-hacking tool for humans. Don’t skip this one.
The author, Anu Lall, is the Founder and CEO of YogaSmith, Singapore. She is the author of the book Breath Workout, available on Amazon stores worldwide. The views expressed are personal

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