Weird Cramp-like Pain in Leg After Meditating?

I doubt if anyone's following my threads real closely (to all my fans out there, thanks?), but sometimes when I post threads about meditation, I tend to veer away from techniques that have to do with traditional meditation. One major reason is from a practical-philosophical standpoint. I simply believe that when you're doing real life things, you're not really meditating. So therefore, my techniques help you achieve that meditative state when you're not meditating.

But then there's another really minor reason. The other reason is that a few months back, someone got me into the idea of meditating for long stretches of time. The reason they were able to turn me on to this is because this person achieved really dramatic results. So I started doing this for about more than two weeks. The longest I could meditate for was three hours. But one of the side-effects is that I got this cramp-like pain in my right leg, that even felt like a blood clot. I stopped meditating for a while and tried other techniques, but has anyone ever heard of, or is familiar with anything like that?

reply to post by brazenalderpadrescorpio


Could it have to do with maybe having your circulation cut off?

I don't meditate at all, but just speaking out of experience of how getting old makes picking yourself up off the floor quite painful at times.

Without going into the rest of the stuff;

I noticed I would have some various issues with my legs. Nothing like a blood clot (which can be extraordinarily painful) though.

If I keep consistent awareness of my legs (along with "everything" else, obviously), none of this happens.

Awareness isnt necessarily "control" though, that is a differentiation that many do not make. To me, meditation is essentially just "being." In that, it is not something I stop or start.

Sometimes I exercise those "muscles" a bit though, by sitting.

reply to post by seeker1963


I do have circulation problems in my family. My mom has a serious issue with circulation in her leg.

reply to post by Serdgiam


Does the awareness of your physical conflict with looking inward? That would be the only issue I would have.

brazenalderpadrescorpio
reply to post by Serdgiam

 

Does the awareness of your physical conflict with looking inward? That would be the only issue I would have.

It did initially, yes. Though, every-thing did initially.

Now, its just a simultaneous experience akin to my lungs breathing and heart beating at the same time.

I found that travelling too far "inward" simply led deeper into the maze of the mind anyway.

reply to post by Serdgiam


Thanks. I'll try that. I think the trigger for me was trying to do too much too fast, though.

brazenalderpadrescorpio
reply to post by Serdgiam

 

Thanks. I'll try that. I think the trigger for me was trying to do too much too fast, though.

In my view, our "Being" is such a very interesting thing. Anything I can ever speak is forever limited by my perspective.

I always found it useful to remind myself that I am not trying to experience anything that wasnt already there. Everything I wanted to experience was there all along, all the time. Because, its just a part of who we are. Our mind, or the way we perceive the world, is just another part. But, for whatever reason, it can become like a prison. We can start to think it is entirety of the universe when it is just a very small part. Even beyond that, it is only a small part of our being.

Other parts are able to operate "on their own," in that we do not need to continuously think about breathing to continue to breath. There is more to who we are, even in a strictly physical sense. Our legs are a part of that, as well as many other things (heart, digestive systems, immune systems, cellular systems, etc). At first, I just noticed that being "aware" of my legs was enough to not have them get sore, or fall asleep, etc. I explored it a bit further, and I think that when we get wrapped up in our thoughts, it "pulls" energy away from other parts.

Thoughts seem to be a different process than breathing. Its a process that seems to be optional, but it has a velocity like water and it can turn into a whirlpool that sucks you in. When that "water" is still, we can start to take in our surroundings (the other parts of who we are). Ripples and currents (thoughts) are only an issue when they get out of control.

But, thats all there right now. We only need to become aware of it, and when we become aware of it we also have a choice of control. The body and brain do a pretty good job of it on its own, so simple awareness seems to make everything work a little more efficiently. Like its happy its getting attention for the job its doing.

And, like the legs, no one will fall "asleep" on the job!

Jeezus, three hours without moving is dangerous!

Yes, it's likely to be a blood supply foul up in some part of your leg. It might be being caused by a vein that already is somewhat compromised by atherosclerosis (crap deposited inside the vein, generally from a high fat/meat diet your whole life but possible in lifelong vegans, too). If you MUST do this for so long, you can try taking a baby aspirin every day which can help combat clot formation by thinning your blood a bit, but my advice would be not to do it, especially if you have blood clot problems in your family.

And blood clots aren't only painful, they can kill you. If they break loose and continue through the circulatory system, they can enter either your lungs (bad) or your heart (worse) or your brain (worst of all) and kill you.

If you ever feel like you're coming down with a full blown clot, unless there are medical contraindications, take a full size aspirin immediately and get moving around to hopefully dissolve the thing before it causes a problem. If the pain continues, it's a medical emergency.

Yikes!

reply to post by signalfire


I'm not going to do it for that long any more. I'm not sure how this person that I know was able to do it. Let's put it this way, if you're meditating for that long, it gets extremely distracting because of the pain shooting down your back and elsewhere. Eventually, your mind gets into this super-exotic trance state (not all the time, though), but the pain from being so still for so long is extremely counter-productive. I was more than anything wondering if anybody, possibly in the medical profession, or even somebody who's meditated for this long was familiar with anything like this.

But the bottom-line is that I wouldn't recommend doing this. It's really hard to focus even, when you're meditating for this long.

Serdgiam, I haven't forgotten about your post. I'm gonna give it a long read as it looks extremely insightful.

reply to post by Serdgiam


Wow, thanks for that. I'll keep that in mind.

reply to post by brazenalderpadrescorpio


Remember too that a long meditation session is much like a marathon, and just like a marathon, you need to be "in shape" to be able to do it!

Each time you sit (probably what you are calling meditation), think of it like a workout session. If you arent ready for something like a marathon, it can get pretty darn tough.

The advantage with things like "Being" though, is that it is something that you always are. So, it is something that you can do at every moment of every day.

It also intrigued me how people expected to control more "advanced" parts of their being (or at least its perceived that way), before they have mastered the simplicity of the physical body (which is a part of All That Is not to be discarded).

Have fun.

reply to post by Serdgiam


Wow, thanks. If you don't mind me asking, how long do you meditate for?

brazenalderpadrescorpio
reply to post by Serdgiam

 

Wow, thanks. If you don't mind me asking, how long do you meditate for?

I never stop. But, like I said, I view meditation to simply be awareness of being, which is continuous for as long as we are alive (at the very least ).

As for "sitting," I do it every night before bed. Sometimes for twenty minutes, sometimes for a couple hours. Just kind of depends on when I want to make the transition from sitting to sleeping.

reply to post by brazenalderpadrescorpio


It could be as simple as a dehydration cramp. Are you drinking lots of water before you start your three hour meditation? Dehydration cramps occur when the body removes water from the muscles because it needs it somewhere more important (heart, brain, etc.).

reply to post by Aleister


When I was doing it, because I'm not doing it anymore, I felt hydrated. I tend to be the type that, if anything, drinks too much liquids. I'm not ruling it out, but I don't think it was that.

reply to post by Serdgiam


Serdgiam, when you meditate, do you feel like you are connecting in some sort of way with body intelligence (if that makes any sense)?

reply to post by brazenalderpadrescorpio


Its hard to know where you are coming from on that, but Ill try to answer. I believe its very important to understand, however, that our individual experiences can vastly differ. In this, we have found grounds for argument and war. However, it is a choice, and can be used equally in a spirit of exploration.

That said, I do feel a connection of "body intelligence" on several different levels. The first being my own body, and its various facets. The second being my surrounding environment. The third being an almost overwhelming feeling of the unity of these dancing intelligences, and the final being the blank canvas of nothing upon which they are all painted.

If that isnt quite what you were getting at, feel free to elaborate on your question. And remember... the answer to any question you may have already resides within you.. Its like a rock that falls into your shoe while hiking. Sitting there, waiting to catch you unaware.. when all of a sudden.. *TING* ..you discover a newly found piece of knowledge of something that had been there for quite some time.

reply to post by Serdgiam


No, you answered my question perfectly. You hit it right on the mark. I thank you for your contribution to this thread.

reply to post by brazenalderpadrescorpio


You are very welcome, thanks for being capable of a discussion. Its becoming a lost art, I think.

After a bit, let us know how you are doing, and how your thoughts on things might have changed or what you have learned. I think we can all learn from each other in these respects, and would love to explore it!