Zazen with a Cold

Unknown

Do you all practice sitting meditation even when you have a cold? I've got a fairly nasty one right now, but I really need to meditate, and I'm not sure how to go about it. I can't breathe through my nose at all, can't take a full, deep breath without being seized by a fit of coughing, and am frequently interrupted by sneezes. Any advice?

Thanks in advance,
Rambling

federica

Try focussing on a different type of meditation...Thich Nhat Hanh has many suggestions, like washing up, mindful of every single instant and action you perform, without adding commentary.... or just whilst walking..... or simply sitting in a park, observing everything, but again, without commentary.....

Or be mindful in engineering a healing process in your body, thanking the cold for enabling you to focus inwardly.......?

Brigid

Yes, any mindfulness practice will always be good. And I sit when I have a cold anyway. It doesn't matter if I keep sneezing or can't breathe properly, I just do it anyway. I want to meditate under any and all circumstances to train myself to be able to sit no matter what's going on around me and no matter how my body feels. I find that it's very good training. Since there is no "good" or "bad" session in meditation, I figure I might as well sit anyway. One of the things you're doing in meditation is watching, so watch yourself with a cold. Breathe through your mouth, when you sneeze or cough bring yourself gently back just like you do when your mind wanders away and starts worrying about all those papers that are due or how little money is left for the month, and so on. A physical sneeze is really no different than a mental one, is it? Except you don't have to wipe a mental one up off the floor...

P.S. This is pure opinion because I'm new to meditation as well and in no way have any authority to teach or tell others what to do...:)

Simonthepilgrim

Meditating with a cold (or indigestion or diarrhoea) is something to be undertaken with some care. It will be more obviously difficult than sitting when sitting is easy. It can also be something of a distraction to fellow-meditators if we are in a group (I remember the pain of singing the Office when some of us had colds and coughs!) There is, however, no note that we can bring from Mum to excuse us from it!

It reminds us, sneeze after sneeze, of the First Noble Truth and that the Fouth Truth does not promise us that the Path will always be smooth and easy.

Certainly, good posture, with back straight and upright, will open the lungs but snot will arise.

Unknown

Thanks very much, everyone! Your input is greatly appreciated, and will be applied accordingly.

By the way, Brigid, I really like the concept of a mental sneeze -- that is to say, not the actual distraction but rather the perspective.

Brigid

Oh, good, Rambling! I'm glad you liked it. Thank you.

Simon,

Certainly, good posture, with back straight and upright, will open the lungs but snot will arise.

LMAO!!

federica

"Om-tishooo!! Dow*......"




(*Actually 'Now', but with a blocked dose.....)

Unknown

Thag you very buch.

federica

Don' benshon id.....

Adiana

ramblingonmyway wrote:

Do you all practice sitting meditation even when you have a cold? I've got a fairly nasty one right now, but I really need to meditate, and I'm not sure how to go about it. I can't breathe through my nose at all, can't take a full, deep breath without being seized by a fit of coughing, and am frequently interrupted by sneezes. Any advice?

Thanks in advance,
Rambling

Hi Rambling!

Well, I try to meditate and chant but I do this at home. I won't go to the community center if I have a cold. I figure I'll stay at home and not spread my germs! LOL! I know that my fellow Buddhists appreciate it for sure! HEHEHE! I can relate, though. It's hard to chant and practice sitting meditation with a cold. Especially if you are sneezing and carrying on.

I hope you feel better soon.

Adiana:wavey: :hair: :usflag:

Unknown

Thanks, Adiana!

Actually, I'm feeling a lot better already, and I can finally breathe through my nose! That's one thing at least that I like about colds -- it's the smallest improvements that make me happy, and by the time I've recovered, I feel so much more grateful for my good health. Colds tend to remind me to count my blessings. It's like what I read in one of Thich Nhat Hanh's books about turning a neutral feeling into a positive feeling: if you have a toothache, then you have a negative feeling; but if you don't have a toothache, as you usually don't, you don't think much of it; if you realize that you don't have a toothache and are aware of the absence of pain, then what joy!

Palzang

Just a helpful suggestion from Holly Homemaker - if you don't want colds to ruin your meditation, you should consider taking colostrum. I've been taking it for 6 years, and I haven't had a single cold in that entire time, whereas previously I used to get at least a couple every winter.

Palzang

Magwang

::

Here's a koan for a cold:

Joshu asked "Does a dog have buddha-nature?"

Reply: Nu!




::

Brigid

ramblingonmyway wrote:

Thanks, Adiana!

Actually, I'm feeling a lot better already, and I can finally breathe through my nose! That's one thing at least that I like about colds -- it's the smallest improvements that make me happy, and by the time I've recovered, I feel so much more grateful for my good health. Colds tend to remind me to count my blessings. It's like what I read in one of Thich Nhat Hanh's books about turning a neutral feeling into a positive feeling: if you have a toothache, then you have a negative feeling; but if you don't have a toothache, as you usually don't, you don't think much of it; if you realize that you don't have a toothache and are aware of the absence of pain, then what joy!

You've tapped into a very important insight here, a lesson I had to learn the hard way. I got injured at work a few years ago and it resulted in a permanent disability with chronic pain, including nerve pain. I'm not in wheelchair, though, and I'm grateful that I can still do most of the basic things. I can't work or drive a car anymore etc., but the pain that I have has been the most insistent and consistent teacher I've ever had. It's also been the biggest challenge I've ever faced for many reasons but one of the key things about it is that I seek comfort a lot of the time. Learning to just "be" with the pain, instead of searching for ways to avoid it or get relief from it, is the greatest lesson and biggest challenge.

There are times when my pain level drops dramatically and the feeling of relief is euphoric. It's as addicting as any drug. I used to half jokingly say that these brief moments of relief made the pain worth it, but I'm starting to realize how dangerous they can actually be. On the one hand the relief is much needed to keep me hopeful and to prevent me from falling into despair. But that feeling of relief also becomes a craving and I have to be very aware of that fact.

We're all seeking relief from pain and we do all sorts of things to avoid and mask that pain. I never realized how true this was until I got injured and had to face it all day, everyday. Pema Chodron talks about this a lot and she has taught me so much about just being with the way things are instead of the way I wish they would be or the way I think they ought to be.

So when you have a cold or a toothache, instead of just being grateful for the relief from the discomfort, it's possible also to be grateful for the discomfort and the opportunity it brings you to practice "just being" with things as they are. Being grateful for the absence of pain is the first step. Being grateful for the pain is the second.

Unknown

My thanks for the new round of posts. And Brigid, that is a very good point you make, and I shall take time to consider it more deeply as soon as I may. But even if you can bring yourself to be grateful for the pain, I'll be sure to send some energy your way all the same -- that is, if you don't mind.

Brigid

Oh, Rambling, I'd be delighted, grateful and honoured! How gracious of you!
I still struggle all the time with the gratitude for the pain and the sitting quietly with it. I try to sit and not give the pain any kind of quality, you know, "Oooh! This is bad pain." Or "This is pinching"...etc. But it's so hard. I'm so conditioned to see it in a negative way that reconditioning my mind is such a challenge, but I'm convinced that it's worth it. In a physiological sense, what I'm trying to do is change the course of my brain's neural networks. Instead of having the sensation of back pain immediately go to a negative thought process, I want to reroute it to a neutral emotional response. Know what I mean?

Anyway, thank you so much. Just knowing that there are people out there who care for others like you do helps. It makes me feel safer and more hopeful.

Adiana

Rambling and Brigid,

I am gonna be sending some healing energy as well as lighting a candle for both of you if you don't mind!

Adiana:usflag: :canflag:

Unknown

I'm very touched, Adiana...And beyond that, I don't really know what to say!

Brigid

Thank you, Adiana!