Question on Experiences During Meditation Practice
Meditationtime Forum Post
Date: Posted 3 years before Aug 17, 2016
Prasanna 3 years ago
Michael ji,
I've been practicing Breath-awareness meditation for some time now. Recently, I've started doing a round of Sudarshan Kriya (A Pranayama technique as taught by one of ArtOfLiving Teachers) before I sit for Meditation, after I heard, read a lot about importance of Pranayama (on this site, in your books and a few other places too) wrt achieving Meditative state and cleansing the Subtle body.
For long, I've been observing below experiences (even before taking up Sudarshan Kriya) during my Meditation sessions. I understand that, (again, read in many books or so) one should not get attached to one's 'experiences during Meditation', instead be a silent observer, hence, I'm not placing too much of significance on them. But, since they have been persistent, I would like to request you to help me understand what exactly they mean, if you don't mind please.
1. Getting a feeling of 'expansion' ... as if something is starting to expand from the bottom, then spreading out to the top, till chest level or face-level so. (about this, whether it is only till chest level or higher, I can't exactly recall. But at least till chest-level)
2. Feeling of sinking ... as if I'm going down and down ... this would continue for a few seconds or might last for a few mins, intermittently.
3. Feeling as if I'm a wave.... getting wave-like movements... or sitting on a wave.
Thanks in advance for your time and attention on this Acharyaji. Please, Let me know, if you need more details on my Meditation Practice to understand what exactly I'm doing. Thanks again.
- Prasanna,
- Bengalooru, Bharat (India).
Alfredo 3 years ago
Prasanna Ji!
I am glad to know about your experiences. Please keep on sharing.
Jay Bharat Ma!
MiBeloved 3 years ago
Prasanna,
Some of our members are Art of Living members as well and do practice those systems. I am hopeful that someone will comment on your practice. I do not do the Art of Living process even though I do a more intensive and focused practice using the same bhastrika/kapalabhati breath infusion process.
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3JG8x2sH4s
Video Title: CLIP0001 (Posted by Alfredo Delregato)
In your description you said something to the effect that you can’t recall. So that is a no no. The student has to pay attention so that he does recall what is happening. It has to be his priority.
If I am chasing a woman whom I really like, there is no question of not being able to recall. I will recall every last detail about her form, condition, words, mannerisms and so on and I will go this over in my mind again and again. This is natural. This is a nature-given tendency.
If however I am looking at a woman whom I dislike for whatever reason, then I will naturally push the memories of her out of my mind, and for that matter my senses will be disinclined from accepting impressions from her existence.
If I apply myself to meditation and then I find that I cannot recall what is happening it is a sure sign that my senses are predisposed to rejecting the experiences and do not think that they are worth the while.
This does not mean that mentally or rationally I do not want the experience but it means that my emotional content is disinclined, and that content rules what I do in the final analysis.
I would then have to find a way to influence my emotions into being more receptive to meditation.
A teacher, no matter who that person is, may be restricted in helping the student if the student’s emotions are disinclined and are inattentive to the meditation. The student has the task to reform the psyche from that and to make the psyche attentive.
Now to comment on your experience. I begin by addressing the first paragraph, which is:
================
1. Getting a feeling of 'expansion' ... as if something is starting to expand from the bottom, then spreading out to the top, till chest level or face-level so. (about this, whether it is only till chest level or higher, I can't exactly recall. But at least till chest-level)
================
If you are doing breath infusion by using either bhastrika or kapalabhati, then at some point during the breathing there will be a buildup of breath energy, provided you do it for a sufficiently long time and your lungs are absorbing all or even some of the air. Usually when this happens, the energy goes downwards and not upwards, meaning that it will head down to the navel and then go lower than the navel. If you do not direct this downward infusion of energy, it will then go in one place or the other, according to what is naturally open in the body down below.
In your case as you described the energy is flooding downwards, and then at a certain point when it is saturated in going where it can access in a downward direction, it is coming back upward. We may use the case of a jug where if you hold it under an open tap, all the water will go downwards at first and then it will begin to climb upwards until the jug is filled, and then the water will overflow.
================
In the second paragraph you described this,
2. Feeling of sinking ... as if I'm going down and down ... this would continue for a few seconds or might last for a few mins, intermittently.
================
The problem with this is that you did not tell us first what is meant by the term you. You assumed that we know what you are talking about and that whatever is you is commonly experienced by others in the same way.
So for startups I have to tell you that you need to define you and you need to stop taking it for granted that we understand what you mean by you. Always think that we do not understand what you mean by you in such meditations and tell us what, you, is. This will clarify what is happening in details and then we can give you more precise advisories.
So the question is what is this you and where is this you located while this is happening, because in the case of the infused breath energy you were sure to tell us of its location and the movements of its flooding flowing actions. So similarly we need to know where this you is located and what this you is.
In the statement about going down and down, my question is:
Were you going down and down into the infused breath energy?
================
In your third part you wrote:
3. Feeling as if I'm a wave.... getting wave-like movements... or sitting on a wave.
The question here is if the wave-like movements were coming from the infused energy which was rising or from the you. Please clarify and then we may assist you further.
Prasanna 3 years ago
Thanks Michael ji for your response. I'll be more attentive starting today and come back with more clarity on my questions. Btw, all these experiences, I've been noticing even before I took up Sudarshan Kriya, when I used to do only breath-awareness Meditation. But I think, your answer still holds good for the 1st question. For the other two queries, I'll come back with more details. Thanks.
Thank you Alfredo ji for your kind words !!
