Painful Meditation! - First Thread

Hello
This is my first thread. Only took an hour to find make thread button! Anyways I have a question for someone. Quick background on me. I was in the military, I had my spine injured. Pretty simple I suppose. So now when i meditate I feel pain in my lower back and after 20 minutes i start to feel it in my neck. I am a personal trainer now so I do regular stretches and stay "in shape". So my question is..... Does anyone know of a special seat, position, or something I have not considered that could help me?

Please do not come on here and start a debate on if meditation is beneficial, against god, or any of that. :3

Originally posted by CharonIncarnate
Hello
This is my first thread. Only took an hour to find make thread button! Anyways I have a question for someone. Quick background on me. I was in the military, I had my spine injured. Pretty simple I suppose. So now when i meditate I feel pain in my lower back and after 20 minutes i start to feel it in my neck. I am a personal trainer now so I do regular stretches and stay "in shape". So my question is..... Does anyone know of a special seat, position, or something I have not considered that could help me?

Please do not come on here and start a debate on if meditation is beneficial, against god, or any of that. :3

Hm. What is your posture like and do you feel like you are forcing your spine to be erect? I used to use a Zafu pillow fileld with buckwheat for this. Now, I just use a layered blanket or pillow. Place it under your but bot not your legs as you sit in lotus position and it will create a leverage and angle in your body that will make it much more natural for your spine to lie erect.

reply to post by ErroneousDylan


I actually started that position a few days ago. It helped but i just cant get into a trance when i feel a constant pain. It does kinda feel like i am forcing it up. I just put one pillow under mymbackside. It is about 2 or 3 inches off the ground.

Originally posted by CharonIncarnate
reply to post by ErroneousDylan

 

I actually started that position a few days ago. It helped but i just cant get into a trance when i feel a constant pain. It does kinda feel like i am forcing it up. I just put one pillow under mymbackside. It is about 2 or 3 inches off the ground.

Hm, well that should be enough in terms of height. Of course, you do not want to really force much when meditating, especially your mind haha! Have you had anyone else look at your physical pain, such as a doctor? I would recommend some form of stretching but I would also recommend you know your limits or have an expert tell you what they believe is safe for you.

It could also just be that your back muscles are not used to it. I do not know what kind of shape you are in but even when consider fit it can hurt after sometime. I used to try and force my spine to be erect as well and sit very "prude" but after doing that I felt my back get exhausted and I would quickly go back to being hunched over. However, I have had pretty poor posture my entire life and my body is more formed to being hunched over, so I would assume it only be natural that I feel some pain when going against myself. I'm sure with time your pain will go away!

hey, i have similar problems with my back and the usual stretches and exercise will help, do some youtube searches to find the right one for your lower back. also for meditation, do them in water like a very hot bath. visualizing will also help - violet flame. also you can ask for assistance from your angels. there are many benefits to this, do some research on oils that can also help.

reply to post by CharonIncarnate


I would suggest meditating against the wall or a cushioned chair with a back that will support you. I do this with the Kundalini meditation by Kelly Howell and the guided meditation that I do actually requires a lot more movement than I thought and I found that doing the meditation while sitting in a chair, leaning against the back support is really helpful.

I used to get the same problems and I solved that by meditating lying down. It is actually pretty easy to fall asleep that way, but at the same time, if you were to lie down on an uncomfortable surface (say, carpet floor), it could be helpful for your back when you don't have to force yourself to stay rigid. Not to mention, a bit into meditation, you become relaxed anyways and your body slacks on its own.

Originally posted by CharonIncarnate
Hello
This is my first thread. Only took an hour to find make thread button! Anyways I have a question for someone. Quick background on me. I was in the military, I had my spine injured. Pretty simple I suppose. So now when i meditate I feel pain in my lower back and after 20 minutes i start to feel it in my neck. I am a personal trainer now so I do regular stretches and stay "in shape". So my question is..... Does anyone know of a special seat, position, or something I have not considered that could help me?

Please do not come on here and start a debate on if meditation is beneficial, against god, or any of that. :3

There is no correct or necessary position for Real Meditation.
Real meditation is the Radical Understanding of Consciousness
and goes on 24/7. Any comfortable position is ok.
Real Meditation

reply to post by ace1059


Haha i think my angels guides gurus are annoyed by me constantly asking for the help. Jk :3 but i will have to give the violet flame a try.have not tried it yet.

reply to post by curious4311


I didnt know you could use a chairs back. I have done it in the seated position. It helped a bit. Maybe with the back will be different. I also didnt know u could meditate on your back! Def wanna try that. Even though i like the hard floor like i like a firm mattress! Thanks for the advice

reply to post by RRokkyy


I will check into the link. Sound very interesting thanks!

reply to post by ErroneousDylan


I could be just forcing it too hard. It seems plausible. Thanks for the help!

For similar reasons I switched to Falun Gong which is free to learn on their site. It has a well-designed simple series of stretches - if you keep your tongue rolled back against your palate and your head pulled back straight, the way the way they recommend, the exercises can even make slight cracking sounds in your spine (safe in my opinion). The exercises culminate in sitting meditation, Buddhist style, content is free or nothing - introduced by a few hand postures.
I do not endorse politics or all the speeches of the founder though. It is sad that they are persecuted in China for merely being too popular.
The exercises are good stuff together with explanations.

I also recommend finding some good binaural tracks and listen to them in stereo - Dane Spotts is my favorite (Brain Massage for example). Or acquire the sets for Lifeflow Meditation, they can help you with pain control. And, turning off wifi and cell phones is also a must while you meditate.

I did Transcendental Meditation for close to thirty years, but in this decade it simply stopped working. (sidhi still works but I had to rewire it.) Maybe there is an astral change maybe all these magnetic waves change the environment too much. I find sleeping difficult too, although I have great dreams.
I also had to deal with the question of how to meditate with constant pain - neuralgia or polyp, as well as IBS.

You may simply want to find your peace and cosmic connection in different ways, as I have done. In TM we were allowed to hang our heads forward if it wanted to.

In fact I combine whatever I learned from various teachers these days. Trial and error.
Astral projection works for me sometimes but I have to be lying down on my back for an extended period of time.

And you may want to go to a local craniosacral therapist - or a certified osteopath for occasional help.

Good luck.

Kokatsi

reply to post by Kokatsi


Wow thanks for the tip! Ya ill look into their exercises! Sounds like u have empathy. Do you achieve a trance or anything of the likes? Ive yet to really experience much due to the fact i am never comfortable while meditating. I do have about 3 dreams a night i can recall. When i will it so to speak. I just long to have a really good meditative state.

Yes, it gets to be pretty trance-like if you practice in an unhurried manner. The Standing Stance requires a bit of effort but it is all the easier to do med afterwards...
I am far too active in my mind so sometimes I think of sidhi sutras or longer sanskrit mantras that help me in sitting... But sometimes I just watch my breathing and my body. The curled-up tongue does a remarkable thing after a number of minutes. It stimulates the pineal gland.

I see Buddhas and rainforest settings, cosmic energies and sometimes this thing rotating they call the Falun but not alwys in the same colors.
Sometimes a certain posture suddenly gives you a chace to relax more than before...

reply to post by Kokatsi


Haha sounds cool. I have a hard time remembering things but once i got them memorized i never forget. Have u ever seen a big golden eye? I saw one earlier when i was closing my eyes and focusing. Just wondering what it means,

reply to post by CharonIncarnate


Friend, I hear your pain. I too have a bad back, broken in three places, fused and fixated, I live in a world of pain every day of my life. I take it you are attempting to meditate in a sitting position? Try doing it in a comfortable chair with a soft pillow behind your back. Or, like myself, meditate while laying down in bed. I just do the 7 deep breaths, go to right brain, and I'm in. Even with a bad back, there are ways to do things.

Good luck op. I was going to suggest the back support thing but someone beat me to it! There is this flat floor type chair that folds that some of the women used. Its called a "BackJack" meditation chair...google it and good luck.


I envy you people. You know what happens when I tried to meditate? Fell asleep. Every time I would try and try.. and every time Id doze off. Im a terrible insomniac so now when I want to sleep I use the techniques they taught in a little meditation class I took... and no, Im not joking.

reply to post by autowrench


I really appreciate the advice. Its good to hear from people who can really empathize with me! Im going to try it laying down right now:3 i have a bianual app and everything. Will have to put to use all the awesome advice i have recieved in such a short time!

reply to post by Advantage


Thanks for the help! :3 its funny because i am also an insomniac. But i have one thing going for me. I am taking a break from the personal training thing. Too much sales. But now i have tons of free time to sleep, eat, meditate, and read >_< i will definately take a look at that item! Thanks again.