Help Me Relax!

Tessbaby

I seem to be having trouble getting my heart rate down and succumbing to a soft meditation. Any suggestions? All advice is welcome!

how

Some details would help.

Cinorjer

Heart Sutra, Korean chanting. Play it in the background and focus on the beat. Does it for me every time.

lobster

Get a hypnosis relaxation from Youtube or on DVD.

bookworm

I smoke cigarettes but i'm trying to quit and i would get heart palpitations all day after just smoking a few cigarettes

Tessbaby

Lobster, what do you feel when you listen to that chanting? I feel a heat steadily rising within me.

Bunks

For me it is generally time dependent @Tessbaby. I find it takes a good 15 minutes into meditation to relax the body and mind.

Nirvana

Respectfully, Tessbaby, I cannot help but be a little flippant here. Please forgive my manners, but:

Not sure anyone who was in the proximity of someone as gorgeous as you would be quite exempt from a rapid heartbeat.

I have nothing instructive to say but did want to say "Hi" and "Metta" in the best way I could right now.

misecmisc1

when heart-beat is too fast, just stop (of course not in the middle in crossing a busy road ) - take deep breath in inhale, try to hold exhaling as long as you could, then exhale all the breath you can and try to hold inhaling as long as you can - do this cycle 2 to 3 times, till you feel its tiring and then after it do nothing and just relax - try this thing and see if it works for you.

metta to you and all sentient beings.

lobster

Tessbaby said:

I feel a heat steadily rising within me.

Boil a kettle, make chamomile tea.

footiam

Tessbaby said:

I seem to be having trouble getting my heart rate down and succumbing to a soft meditation. Any suggestions? All advice is welcome!

Get a massage.

Cinorjer

Tessbaby said:

Lobster, what do you feel when you listen to that chanting? I feel a heat steadily rising within me.

Of all my experiences in Korea, I miss listening to the chanting the most. I am terrible at languages and never learned enough Korean to understand the words and join in, so it remained one long mantra for me. I wore out my cassette tape before the internet listening to it to start meditation. It does cause an energizing yet calming sensation, doesn't it?

seeker242

Tessbaby said:

I seem to be having trouble getting my heart rate down and succumbing to a soft meditation. Any suggestions? All advice is welcome!

I find sitting meditation with proper "belly breathing" to be the most effective. As just the act of breathing that way has physiological effects which in turn condition the mind to become more calm. It works to reduce heart rate by maximizing the amount of oxygen getting into the bloodstream thereby decreasing heart rate.

Cinorjer said:

Heart Sutra, Korean chanting. Play it in the background and focus on the beat. Does it for me every time.

You found my youtube account! I have all the Kwan Um chants up there, even the kido chanting, and some dharma talks too. People comment on these videos all the time and they are always wonderful comments. Although, the heart sutra in English is the most popular. I guess because most people can actually understand the words.

Barra

Yoga helps too.

santhisouk

I think the heart rate goes down after a good meal, or some hot soup. Treat it with nourishment then apply meditation or other forms of relaxation to keep it calm.

Jeffrey

Look out the window and see the light out doors. Imagine yourself dissolving into the sights and the light.

grackle

This may help. For myself I do everything very slowly. With concentration. No rush no worries. Pay attention to detail. Hope this helps.

Jeffrey

OP: Easier said than done. But we can talk about the direction to go not that we would get it all completely right.

We still believe in our projections that say something is out there that can harm me in here. Our body starts to build up a response pattern. The prana in the body takes on a tightness and fear and anxiety that doesn't just go away. So you can't expect to drop it and feel fine. But you can disbelieve the fear and anxiety just as an arising. You don't need a false sense of security. But you don't have to believe the fears. It's all uncomfortable but we live with it. We have to work on ourselves to find our clarity, openness, and sensitivity to a point where we can just be with the uncertainty/anxiety. The only thing certain is uncertainty. It takes a lot of confidence to drop the who ego thing of shoring itself up.

Our best shot is pretty good and quite workable. You can go from there awaiting feedback. It doesn't have to be perfect so you never measure it you just go onward to the next feedback. ie 'from here I can see it was not the right move'. You can afford to do that. You can never do more than your best shot. So you don't have to analyze your imperfection rather just move on to your next best effort and so on.

EvenThird

What sometimes helps me to relax in general(if I'm anxious) is to make hot herbal tea and just sit in silence, ideally in a dimly lit, cozy place. I focus on drinking it mindfully. When I'm done I'm usually more calm and meditation is easier.