meditation can be a tricky affair at times because mind tries its best to distract you from meditation. the more you go deeper in meditation, the more you become free from conditioning of the mind. the hold of mind on you becomes less as your meditation deepens.
so mind tries everything to distract you. its not only the mind, at times even the body might not cooperate with you. all this is common in meditation. in fact whether you walk on spiritual path or in the materialistic world, distractions and obstructions are always there. you have to overcome them to achieve success. so don’t worry about them and instead focus your energy on going deeper in meditation.
5 meditation distractions and how to deal with them:
1. body pain
during meditation practice many times you experience body pain or you feel like itching or you feel that some insect is walking on your back. just witness all this. soon it will be over. however if the pain becomes too much to bear then just adjust your meditation posture consciously to make yourself comfortable and continue the meditation practice. you can check this post on how to deal with body pain during meditation to know in detail.
2. too much thoughts in the mind
for beginners it is very common. when they start meditation practice they feel that they are having too many thoughts in the mind. they think that thoughts have increased after they started practicing meditation. this create lot of worry and doubt in their mind. but the truth is that these thoughts were always there in the mind. it is just that now you are becoming aware or conscious of them. so just witness the thoughts. as your witnessing will deepen, there will be less and less thoughts in the mind. more conscious you become, lesser will be the thoughts.
3. boredom
you can feel bored during meditation session. it won’t be you who is getting bored but its your mind who gets bored. mind always likes new experiences. it gets bored easily. so remember this difference clearly and don’t identify with the idea that you are getting bored. witness this phase of boredom. let it be there. don’t fight with it. instead use it to develop your witnessing center. in life, nothing last for ever. so use every opportunity to deepen your witnessing.
4. restlessness
it could happen because of many reasons like your energy is changing or you are witnessing some unpleasant thoughts or your body-mind mechanism is losing control over you so it is creating this feeling.
so don’t worry about it. keep on witnessing your thoughts and soon this restlessness emotion will disappear. do the same when you experience other unpleasant emotions also. in meditation you have to be a witness of every emotion. don’t differentiate them as good or bad emotions.
5. sleepiness
i have felt sleepy so many times during meditation practice. it is quite common and more applicable to sitting meditation practices. one of the easiest solution to this is to practice vipassana walk or mindfulness in walking. whenever you feel sleepy then don’t stop the practice. instead get up and walk slowly but consciously. it is said that gautam buddha used to practice sitting vipassana meditation and then walking vipassana meditation alternatively. another tip is to take a bath before sitting for meditation practice. its also suggested to wear fresh clothes and don’t meditate with the clothes you have worn through out the day, as those clothes will be fulled of tired energy.
whatever is the situation. use it for deepening your meditation practice. don’t identify with any thought, emotion or feeling. stay aloof. be mindful of your body sensation, thoughts and all the noises happening around you. don’t block any experience. be open, accepting and watchful of everything.