To say that stress has assumed epidemic proportions in the world today may not be an exagerration by any means. Stress is leading to ailments ranging from blood pressure, heart attack, asthma, migraine, tumour to cancer. The rising incidence of these ailments has made people turn to meditation. Lactate, the stress hormone, gets eliminated three times faster during meditation than during normal sleep.
As meditation involves the body, mind and psyche, utmost caution should be taken while practising it. Doing it the wrong way may lead to unpleasant consequences, which are often irreversible. A research done in Germany?s Institute for Youth and Society on Transcedental Meditation Technique showed that 63% people reported serious physical complaints and 70% recorded worsening ability to concentrate. Yet another 76% experienced psychological disorders with a staggering 26% reporting nervous breakdown. Feelings of fear, anger, panic, boredom, disorientation, demotivation and stress were among the other complaints. A startling drop in the honesty level of long-term meditators was also noticed.Therefore, the bottomline is that the rules of meditation must never be disregarded.
From thousands of forms of meditation available, one needs to choose the correct form. It is a safe proposition to choose a traditional method devised by the ancient masters. The ancient masters were highly evolved and instinctively knew the working of the body as well as the universe. A contemporary form can be learnt only if they are formulated by genuinely enlightened souls who have proved to the world through their own body and mind that what they have done is right… and what they have created is safe.
It is also essential to choose a form according to one?s inner nature. For example, the rajasic or restless kind must choose a form that allows the mind to roam freely. If such a person practises the classic satwic meditation by concentrating on one object, he or she will naturally feel more restless because the mind wants to move away. This tussle between the meditator?s will and mind is bound to create more stress in the system, defeating the very purpose of meditation.
Not just the unsuitability of the form of meditation, but over practicing a suitable one can also create problems. During meditation, the tissue activities in the body slows down.This is extremely beneficial for a short duration because the glands and organs get rest and rejuvenated. However, when it happens over a long period it affects the digestive system adversely. As the digestive juices are being secreted slowly, there can be constipation and indigestion. In yogic language, because of the slow tissue activities the inner temperature drops and the jatharagni (digestive fire) becomes lower. Without this fire, neither does the food gets digested properly, nor do the body toxins burn completely. The toxins get piled up and slowly begin poisoning the cells.
Over meditation is harmful for the heart in a way. The brain needs extra blood for this activity and the heart has to work overtime to supply it, which should be avoided.
The writer is an integrated Yoga Therapist