Feeling Pressure in Meditation?
The Question : I’ve tried meditating several times before, but ended up getting turned off by it because it seemed like it would cause me more stress. It was as if I knew that this would be good for me, so I put the pressure to perform on myself and do it PERFECTLY that caused me anxiety. Today’s session I sat upright in a chair and any time something would arise, I would label it for what it was: thinking, planning, hearing, feeling, etc. It was still pretty difficult to return back to my breathing, but what it did do is allow me to feel the emotions I was feeling about the topic, and that is tremendous for me.
Another interesting thing to note is how heavy I felt. Like, I felt like I was under 100x gravity.
Thank you for listening
The Answer :
If you are focusing on perfection and feeling heavy at the end of it, then you are not doing any kind of meditation. Period. Plain and simple. What you are doing is a mind game where you want to be the best of all. That’s why such a stress on PERFECTION.
From what I understand of meditation, it is not an act of doing something in a perfect way. It is an act of being the witness of whatever IS.
Be grateful that you get a chance to meditate. That’s No. 1.
Don’t try to be perfect / poor in meditation. Just be a witness of what ever you feel. That’s No. 2
Meditation is an inner journey. You are not going to win it or lose it from anyone including yourself. So why the anxiety ? The time is eternal. So is life. So don’t compare your progress with anybody. That’s No. 3.