spiritual athletics

[JDH]

Recently, like a weight lifter, I can feel a growing resistance the longer I meditate.  The spiritual athlete metaphor is finally making sense.  Like clockwork, around 10 minutes into meditation I can feel a pressure growing, a resistance.  By about 16 minutes it becomes uncomfortable.  It doesn't feel good to go out to 20 minutes.  Too much ... something ... haha.  It reminds me of my weight lifting days when I was younger.  I could only work out a muscle group so much in a day, then I hit a wall.  Strength level and stamina would go way down.  Any further work would just be pointlessly beating myself up.

It seems like the practices have a delay on them.  In my earlier months meditating I could go as long as I want.  Overload was a nebulous concept that might happen to me after the fact, or might not happen at all.  Now it is a real concrete thing that I can feel in the moment meditating.  Makes me wonder what else Yogani has written will arrive on delay.

[Anthem]

Yes this has been my experience too. The practices have become increasingly powerful overtime and require less to get more. There is a rate of change which the body can handle and respecting that makes for a more enjoyable life.

Overload becomes less dramatic overtime especially in the energy department from my experience but at the same time less discomfort is required to alert for the need to self-pace. Self-pacing in general takes on a greater priority and is honoured for everyone's benefit not just my own.

[JDH]

Anthem, thanks for replying.  You have some experience in this kind of resistance, if I recall you're the one who has gradually decreased your practice time over the months and years down to just a few minutes.  Would you recommend me to choose a meditation time limit where I stop while it still feels good near the onset of the pressure?  Or to get farther into the pressure but not to the point of pain?

Back in my weightlifting days, it was no pain, no gain.  I'd push myself to the limit often.  I was younger then.  But there was a sweet spot of getting a little pain along with the workout, but not an injurious amount.  I imagine there's a sweet spot for meditation as well - but maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe it is best to stay away from the discomfort entirely in this endeavor.  What has been your experience?

[JosephUK]

i'm interested in this resistance concept too, i have definitely noticed it in my practice.

i think what is also important is gaining a feeling for the practice what it will do, so that you can intuitively balance yourself out.

on the spiritual athletics and resistance to spiritual practice note it would be great to know what yogani thought of this and whether we can use it as a safety net.

Joe

[JDH]

Hi Joe,

The longer I've practiced AYP, the more I've realized that self-pacing is the main control lever.  It's up to each individual to decide what the right level of practice is.  I think of the in-the-moment resistance that can be felt as an indicator more than a safety net.  Just like a tachometer on a car, you don't want it to be red-lining for very long.  Since writing this post 2 months ago, my practice times have gone down further.  I'd guess I'm at about 5 minutes SBP and 10 mins meditation.  If I go longer, and engage that resistance, I tend to become irritable, or disinterested in practices for a day or two, or practice only once a day instead of twice.  I really think there are seasons/phases/cycles to it.  There will be some periods when I can practice a lot, and other periods when I have to slow down.

[nirmal]

JDH,

I am so glad that you made this post! I just happened to read it, and it describes my practice at the moment right on! Now I know what I have been experiencing is felt by others, so I am not alone with this!

Thanks again,
nirmal[]

[JDH]

You're most welcome.  It was an echo of what is written all over the lessons.  We each eventually find our individual sweet spot for how much to practice, and how often to add new practices.  And it changes and goes through cycles over time.  Since writing this 6 months ago I was able to add siddhasana and samyama into my routine, little by little.

By the inch, life's a cinch.