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Does meditation give you more energy??
gracelee
Veteran
Does meditation improve your general energy levels?? and if so why?
Thanks in advance xxx
Thanks in advance xxx
0
Comments
I am less stressed and more chilled out and clear eyed. More relaxed.
But not really more energetic physically.
Sorry.
It depends on the degree of sloth and stupor and amount of time, type of meditation etc.
Tea and coffee just sap your energy - like pep pills. Occasional boost, fine, drug addicted caffeine fiend, not so energetic . . .
generally . . .
Meditation of an hour replaces aprox. two hours of sleep. So you can sleep less. Some energising meditations such as some chants change your breathing patterns, so more energy.
Meditation will often make you more positive and effective. Which seems like more energy. Most of the experienced meditators I have known seemed calm but also energised.
If you specifically want more energy, yoga, Qi ong or exercise is more energising.
Hope that is helpful, my apologies to the addicts out there, getting more Truthful as I approach imminent Buddhahood . . .
I've heard those who can meditate really deeply barely need any sleep at all. But then again, they don't exercise much, probably.
This is what meditation can do, but it shouldn't be the end goal I think.
(It really makes me think all these kids getting diagnosed with ADD etc are really just getting too much sugar combined with absurdly active TV shows-- who could pay attention to anything poisoning their bodies and minds with all that? Sugar is in too many foods!)
Anyway, I just wanted to give you a heads up @Lucy_Begood - the first month isn't bad, the second might be draining, but after that it smooths out. At least that was my experience. It certainly helps my already addled brain!
But lately I realized I was still consuming too much in the way of refined flour and sugar/fructose and I decided to be much more . . . mindful? . . . about what I eat and drink.
Some dark chocolate now and then, and a little raw honey in my tea, and I'm perfectly satisfied. After about the second week, I noticed my energy level really increase.
I am actually thinking of my sugar avoidance as an extension of my commitment to follow the fifth precept now, because for me, sugar and its effects on my system were sort of intoxicating.
However, the relationship may occur the other way around: energy is required for sustaining a regular meditation practice. This energy, viriya, is comparable to effort, diligence, enthusiasm. In the Abhidhamma, viriya is likened to the pillars that reinforce the structural foundation of a house. This type of energy has a supporting (upatthambana) upholding (paggahana), and sustaining (ussahana) quality. Energy thus serves as the foundation for a fruitful and consistent meditation practice.
But a few times, I've had some weird meditation experience where I felt like some blissful energy was growing inside my body and it culminated in my laughing like some crazy guy for a good minute or so. After the sitting, I felt very awake - ironically this was supposed to be a "relaxing" sit to help me sleep!
I ask because I suffer from chronically low energy probally to do with anxiety which is very energy draining. however I have had problems sustaning a regular practice which might be to do with not having the foundations of energy like enigma suggests. I almost always fall asleep in mediation. I stand up, try walking meditation etc but the lack of energy makes concentration very difficult and eventually I succumb to whats the F*&"!ing point mind.
I suppose I was hoping that further down the line, if was able establish a regular and effective practice, I might feel more energetic.
I have been three weeks without sugar in my diet and so far have noticed no difference in my energy levels.. but I'm still going to continue because I know it will help in the long run.
Thanks very much for your posts
Grace
From my own experience about cutting sugar out-- week five is when it got bad for me, and it last for a month. Hopefully your experience will be different from mine, but if not, just hang in there!
For a couple of years. I had chronic fatigue, brought on by candida. It was so bad, it took all my energy to get up and do the washing up. So if someone suggested exercise or anything other than diet, it would have been impossible.
I had to cut out all sugar, including fruit sugar, refined carbohydrates and take large doses of garlic and other measures. No tea or coffee. It was hard but I was heading towards chronic shutdown of my body.
However I got back to health.
As soon as I had enough energy, I was doing yoga and Qi Ong.
I have been there.
Do you think yoga would help your anxiety? Do you have money for massage? Relaxation through hypnosis maybe?
Good luck. Let us know how you get on. The sugar cut out, good plan.
Do you meditate with your eyes open or closed? If you haven't already, you might try to do it with your eyes open, it usually helps prevent one from falling asleep. If you are too visually distracted pull your gaze closer it so it's only 2-3 feet in front of you. It's difficult to adjust to if you always meditate eyes closed, but it might be worth the try.
As others have reported, I do not have an actual change in energy from meditation. On the "good" days I am more clear headed, more focused, more ready to take on the day, and more positive/optimistic. My body energy levels are most changed by fresh air, sunshine, physical exercise, and diet. The more plant food I eat to replace grains, the better my energy level is. It makes sense. Grains do not interact well with my body, and the fewer of them I eat, the better off I am.
Lastly, you might want to look into a vitamin B complex supplement and vitamin D. Your doctor can check the vitamin D for you and tell you if you are within range. Vitamin B is found naturally only in animal foods. So if you do not eat meat/seafood you may not be getting enough.
373. The monk who has retired to a solitary abode and calmed his mind, who comprehends the Dhamma with insight, in him there arises a delight that transcends all human delights.
374. Whenever he sees with insight the rise and fall of the aggregates, he is full of joy and happiness. To the discerning one this reflects the Deathless.
Dhammapada XXV, Bhikkhuvagga
But its not easy, and by the way most people develop their meditation it leads to a different kind of place (a place where u have pleasant feelings and some energy but mind its kind of drowsy and feels weird)
All effective meditation teachings involve both shamatha and vipassana, and it may be that we are simply arguing about terminology, i.e. when you discuss Goenka, Mahasi, MBSR and shikantaza, you are referring to early exercises involving breath concentration or body scanning with relaxation. If so, those are not vipassana, those are shamatha. The vipassana comes in Goenka and Mahasi when you look at experience in terms of the three characteristics. In Goenka, you don't get to that until halfway through the first course, IIRC. In Mahasi as described by Daniel Ingram, you can't really progress with the insight component until you've reached first Jhana. In shikantaza, you don't "just sit" until you have basic breath concentration down. I don't remember where insight comes up in MBSR though I remember there's a section on it in The Mindful Way Through Depression, but it's certainly not the first exercise it recommends, and I would say that overall MBSR heavily emphasizes shamatha. The insight practices in these teachings are also useful for shifting the perspective on anxiety and developing the capacity to release it, but they are not good beginning practices.
The preliminary exercises in these teachings are all potentially useful responses to anxiety, but in my opinion, they don't really get to the heart of the matter, which is aversion. That is why I think metta is a better beginning practice in this case: learning to foster good will (and eventually to foster it for the target of the anxiety) addresses the matter directly.
The bulk of my one-two hour daily meditation practice is a samatha-vipassana hybrid. I supplement this with about a half hour of metta bhavana. I would not argue any single method is superior to another. However, vipassana as I and my Sangha have practiced it has not been anything even vaguely resembling "harmful."
Overall, vipassana has given me more viriya than samatha. Metta can be a bit draining, especially for those who struggle with self-esteem, which is correlated with anxiety. Just my two cents, though. I would not advise against any form and instead encourage whoever is interested to put the teachings to the test for themselves through experimentation. This is what has worked for me.
My argument is that there are different meditation practices even within a tradition/teaching, and some are more appropriate for a given circumstance than others. I am arguing that the class of practices you recommended is less appropriate given Grace's interests. You seem to disagree with both of these propositions. I was elaborating on why I believe them.
*Who does research, not patient treatment. An argument from authority, and a deceptive one at that.
**Not true, to judge from Kabat-Zinn's writings.
***Not reliably established, to judge from the paltry data in The Mindful Way Through Depression, but that's to be expected, given the parlous state of (frequently irreproducible) psychology research. All any of us have really got is "It worked for me."
Morning meditation began around 4:30-5 and lasted until something like 8. Evening sittings began around 6 and lasted progressively later each night ... 9 o'clock on the first night, 9:30 on the second, 10 on the third, etc. until the last night ... which lasted all night.
Before the sesshin began, I was really worried that I wouldn't have the energy to do my day job. Getting up at 330, walking to the zendo in New York, sitting, doing house painting for eight hours, rushing home to shower, walking to the zendo by 6, getting
home a half hour after the evening sitting lasted and then getting up at 330 all over again. I thought I might drop dead in the middle of it all ... running on fumes, that kind of thing.
Instead, as the week progressed, I found I was tired from work, but strangely full of bushy-tailed pep. I thought at first I might be hallucinating, but since my thoughts were clear enough and people didn't look at me as if I were crazy, I just let things alone and enjoyed the ride.
By the morning of the last sesshin day, after sitting all night on the heels of a busy week, I was nice and awake as I walked home ... not hyper or holy or any of that stuff ... just pleasantly alive on a sunny day.
Did the meditation help? I honestly don't know, but I do know what happened.