Sleeping During Meditation
Meditationtime Forum Post
Date: Posted 3 years before May 29, 2016
MiBeloved 3 years ago
To avoid sleeping during a meditation session, one should not do meditation in the same location as the sleeping bed. The mind has a way about it where it responds in particular stereotyped ways according to the location and the activity which is usually done in that location. Thus if you meditate where you sleep, then it is likely that the mind will quickly slip into slumber as soon as you try to meditate.
Many successful yogis broke this rule and were successful at not having the mind respond with sleep during meditation but that was due to the austere conditions mostly. Yogis, from what we hear in ancient literature, used an animal skin or a straw mat, just one layer of fabric in the sleeping area and sat up to meditate in the same area. This was not comfortable like a modern mattress or sofa. This was a hard surface and so the mind did not assume a lazy mood during the meditation.
A description of ancient yoga practice was given to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. This is how it was:
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योगी युञ्जीत सततम्
आत्मानं रहसि स्थितः ।
एकाकी यतचित्तात्मा
निराशीरपरिग्रहः ॥६.१०॥
yogī yuñjīta satatam
ātmānaṁ rahasi sthitaḥ
ekākī yatacittātmā
nirāśīraparigrahaḥ (6.10)
yogī — yogi; yuñjīta — should concentrate; satatam — constantly; ātmānam — on the self; rahasi — in isolation; sthitaḥ — situated; ekākī — alone; yatacittātmā = yata - controlling + citta - thinking + ātmā — self; nirāśīr — without desire; aparigrahaḥ — without possessions
In isolation, the yogi should constantly concentrate on the self. Being alone, he should be of controlled thinking and subdued self without desire and without possessions. (6.10)
शुचौ देशे प्रतिष्ठाप्य
स्थिरमासनमात्मनः ।
नात्युच्छ्रितं नातिनीचं
चैलाजिनकुशोत्तरम् ॥६.११॥
śucau deśe pratiṣṭhāpya
sthiramāsanamātmanaḥ
nātyucchritaṁ nātinīcaṁ
cailājinakuśottaram (6.11)
śucau — in clean; deśe — in place; pratiṣṭhāpya — fixing; sthiram — firm; āsanam — seat; ātmanaḥ — of his self; nātyucchritaṁ = na — not + atyucchritaṁ — too high; nātinīcam = na — not + atinīcam — too low; cailājinakuśottaram = caila - cloth + ajina — antelope skin + kuśa — kusha grass + uttaram — underneath
In a clean place, fixing for himself a firm seat which is not too high, not too low, with a covering layer of cloth, antelope skin and kusha grass underneath, (6.11)
तत्रैकाग्रं मनः कृत्वा
यतचित्तेन्द्रियक्रियः ।
उपविश्यासने युञ्ज्याद्
योगमात्मविशुद्धये ॥६.१२॥
tatraikāgraṁ manaḥ kṛtvā
yatacittendriyakriyaḥ
upaviśyāsane yuñjyād
yogamātmaviśuddhaye (6.12)
tatraikāgraṁ = tatra — there + ekāgram — single-focused; manaḥ — mind; kṛtvā — having made; yatacittendriyakriyaḥ = yata - controlled + citta — thought + indriyakriyaḥ — sense energy; upaviśyāsane = upaviśya — seating himself + āsane — in a posture; yuñjād = yuñjāt — should practice; yogamātmaviśuddhaye = yogam — to yoga discipline + ātma — self + viśuddhaye — to purification
...being there, seated in a posture, having the mind focused, the person who controls his thinking and sensual energy, should practise the yoga discipline for self-purification. (6.12)
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But even when meditating on a hard surface even in a difficult posture likes the full lotus (padmasana) there is the likelihood that one might fall asleep. My own experience is that for astral projection, one should be on a firm surface. If one is not on a firm surface and if one’s mind associates a soft surface with sleep, then it is likely that one will not astral project consciously but will instead do so in the usual way, unconsciously.
For meditation, a difficult posture might be counterproductive if that posture causes pain and stain, and if the mind cannot ignore the irritation. There is no point pretending that I am a great yogi while in fact the pain of a posture draws my attention during meditation. It is best then that I sit on a soft surface where my mind will not be drawn to aches and pains of yoga postures.
Those who can sit at ease in difficult postures, because their bodies are supple, joints are lose, and they are accustomed to it, sitting in meditation in difficult posture pose no hindrance.
I usually sit in a very tight lotus posture. I began doing lotus in 1970. The first time I did full lotus, I was in pain all the way from start to finish. The body I have in this life came from a genetic line which had tight joints and so it was sheer punishment to be in lotus.
From repeatedly doing it over the years, day after day, I can sit in lotus and not have my mind bother me about it during meditation. I do not have to tell the mind to shut up about it because my limbs are suppler and my mind is accustomed to it.
And still, I usually sit in it for about 30 to 45 minutes for the most, because after that stretch cramps arise and the lack of circulation in the cells which are deprived of fresh blood, begin pestering the brain which in turn aggravate the mind.
The only way I can remain in full lotus for longer than 45 minutes while on a firm surface is if I have fallen asleep or if I have entered a state that transcends the body and does not respond to anything the material body is doing.
Usually as soon as the cramps and lack of circulation alarm occurs, I take my feet out of the lotus, put them straight out to get the circulation going and continue meditating in that way if I feel that the meditation should be extended.
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Is it possible to sleep when one is in meditation and the body is in a difficult posture like the full lotus?
It sure is because I have found myself doing exactly that on occasion. For me it does not happen regularly. I would say within 90 days, this will happen once. For years this did not happen in a difficult posture because the mind just would not relax sufficiently for it to occur.
The sequence for sleeping during meditation is this:
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1. Make an attempt to meditate in a sitting posture.
2. Either successfully meditate or struggle mentally to meditate because the mind is under the influence of powerful social contacts which are hostile to meditation.
3. Fall asleep.
4. Awaken, and realize that sleep occurred.
5. Try to gage when the sleep occurred and what was the state of mind just before the onset of sleep.
