Recently, in the past week I have suddenly found myself having back pain. I think it is due to my tendency to hunch over in my desk when doing homework. The back pain came kind of suddenly in the middle of last week in my upper back/shoulder blades and it still has not gone away. I was thinking of meditating tonight, for I have not in a long time. Anyway, I was wondering if I should refrain from meditating for awhile because of my back pain, since meditation can also cause such pain. Also, I was hoping that someone might have a technique or suggestion to relieve my back pain. Namaste, Diana
Try working with your posture a bit. Try sitting in a full or half lotus and when you do USE CUSHIONS. Once this I've found is good is to lie down on a well supported, flat surface (your bed should do) and let gravity take control of your spine, just let it drop. Also, be aware of your posture in daily life, like your breathing, do spot checks to see if it's alright and correct it. One thing that is likely to happen is it'll feel like you've been hit in the back with a sledgehammer. It'll take you completely by surprise and have little or no warning. This is actually something quite positive as it shifts your posture back to how it should be, even though it's painful at the time. On the actual meditation, maybe you should try meditation in a different way, so instead of doing sitting meditation, do walking meditation instead. Blessings Sebbi
Thanks for the advice Sebbi, my back has been progressively getting better. I have felt some aching every now and then, but it has greatly improved from last week. I don't know much about walking meditation, and I was wondering if anyone could explain it. I have never tried it before but I would love to start. Namaste, Diana
If meditation is causing you pain - and I assume you mean the posture you adopt - then you are doing something wrong. The most necessary basis for meditation is to be relaxed. If there is tension or pain in the body, this will act as a distraction. So will focusing too much on complicated or unfamiliar postures. Meditation is not a matter of physical gymnastics, but of concentration of consciousness. It is quite good to try meditating in a lying position if you find pain with sitting postures. Lie flat on a bed or the floor with the head supported on a pillow to keep the spine aligned straight.Lie with the feet apart, and arms relaxed at the sides. The aim should be to let the body become like a rag doll. A good way to achieve this is to focus on the different parts of the body. starting with the feet, and concentrate for a moment on relaxing them. Then move onto the lower legs and so on until the entire body is fully relaxed. This should also help with any back pain, and is good just as a way to relax properly.
Thanks so much for the suggestion! I tried to meditate that way, and it turned out to be extremely helpful to my back, and I still was able to effectively meditate. My back has been getting better, and I plan to start using sitting meditation again (sometimes when in a lying position I can get sleepy, especially since I have been very sleep-deprived lately). I was wondering if I should use any support for my back in the sitting meditation, because right now I just use the side of my bed...which doesn't seem very effective. In love, Diana
Just meditate laying down on a flat surface. Just watch your body. You'll eventually fall asleep. Just keep meditating and you may find that you'll be meditating while sleeping.
