Spiritual experience/physical hardships

[chit-ananda51]

Hello ppl! I have been reading Yogani's article for a while and this has really stream lined the spiritual part of my life - a good dose of moderation!

I will get straight to the point saving my stories for later. Started working after my graduation in Dec'09. Slowly as I was drawn into the corporate phase, I resisted badly when something/circumstance/work situation tried to occupy my personal space; pursuing my spiritual pursuits

When I started to practice meditation, I incorporated certain asanas named 'Tibetan rites of rejuvenation.' As I was already working overtime all the day, guess my physical body couldnt take these extra workout -- which resulted in irregular palpitation of heart. I checked with a Doctor and even tried Flower essences, but nothing worked as it began to frequent more and more - some times it becomes pretty unmanagable when I pathetically watch negative energies(generated by intense emotions of anger, unacceptance) pounding my inner organs in the region of heart and stomach. I dint know what to do or not do?!?!? This continues even now..

Though there are good times when I enjoy deep inner silence periodically and streaks of ecstatic conductivity along the spine.. the down sides are bothering me so much. One way it helps me remember God , another way I am wondering how far it can help me in realizing God in this very body - as its preservation is important as well.

Can someone help me fine tune my duration of incarnation(life quality)? I have been facing this situation for more than a year and mulled over posting/seeking some counselling from people...but usually postponed.. But this time, I felt like writing in this community of people !

Please share your views and thoughts!

Thanks
Chit-Anandan

[chit-ananda51]

Hi all.. After posting the article.. I came across EFT link where many people have given their good opinions on it. I am wondering if it can help my case?

[chit-ananda51]

There has been some forty people at this time who have read this post.. Amazingly while trying to check back if anyone has commented(several times), I located articles in the past where issues similar to my 'heart palpitation' were noticed..

Funnily my first forum post has become a piece of blog article !

Love to all
ChitAnandan

[Etherfish]

Well, don't take it personally! Sometimes someone else is looking for the same answer and will check back more than once, and people like me have nothing to offer but are just looking. I would leave it a few days and if you still get no answer, try wording differently and post in a different place. Best of luck.

[Shanti]

Hi Chit-Anandan,

Welcome to the AYP forums.

I am not very clear on what your current practice routine is, are you still practicing the 5 rites? Is that all you practice?

If you got the irregular heart beats and palpitation checked by  doctors and they have not found anything wrong with the heart, the symptoms may be caused by a block in the heart area.

The best thing for you to do is get into a structured practice that involves mediation and spinal breathing. If you have not checked out the lessons in AYP, you can read them here:  http://www.aypsite.com/plus/10.html

If you already are in a structured practice, let us know what your practice routine is.

Do you exercise? Heavy exercise/fast walking will also help with this.

Does this happen only when you are experiencing "emotions of anger, unacceptance" or does it happen all the time? If it happens all the time, try talking antacids like Pepcid/Zantac (I am sure something similar is available in India, so Google it). At times it is digestive problems that give us a feeling of heart palpitation too.

Hope some of this helps.

Wish you all the best.

[chit-ananda51]

Hi Etherfish : Thanks for the comment! I spend some time browsing around other forum posts and gleaned information with regard to the question.. I realized on the go that few other people have expressed such symptoms - reasons were multiple though..

[chit-ananda51]

Hi Shanti

I was involved in practicing a set of yogic teachings belonging to Tamil Siddha tradition. I did them step by step(incrementally) over a period of time starting Dec'09 to May'10. It contained Deep meditation of a 51 letter mantra, pranayama , observing the mind and Jyoti mudra. The techniques definitely increased the amount of inner silence,devotion and ecstatic conductivity along spine.. I should also mention that it dealt with chakras individually(karma cleansing) in the body. (14-front and back).

Right now, last two months , I have cut back on doing them.. mainly because of increase in workplace stress and pressure. It compounded my otherwise regular routine of spiritual sadhana. I was also desperate to realize SivaSakti in this body as I had a roller coaster awakening from a typical life into spiritual life from Feb'09 - slowly moving from a orthodox Christian belief into a more broad outlook on spirituality reigning this planet - it all happened so fast!

Now even if I cutback on sadhana completely, the workplace pressure just brings up heart palpitation and stress... I checked with physician and they found no problem with my heart! I should also mention that a min of spinal breathing pranayama/uplifting divine thoughts is enough to set the ecstatic conductivity along my spine - with slight energy impinging near the medulla oblongata.. I have read that everyone has a block at that place which opens up after some purification down the body.

I am bit sensitive to the energy movements inside my body. So YES , I experience raise in heart beat during times of negative emotional states(Anger,unacceptance)predominantly.. I feel that a ball of fiery energy hovering inside the organs of my chest and stomach However the anxiety comes up even after sleep/normal situation for no reason.

When I sit to meditate, I feel that simple breathing technique makes me aware of heart beat - though it is manageable - not troublesome - still I find it ODD. I am only 22 years old and all this crept in slowly last one year as I rolled out in work.

Reading AYP articles six months back was a break through in my life as it helped me understand what I was going through.. For last one week alone.. I indulged in a bit of heart breathing(bringing in Ishta), DM and 5-7 mins of Spinal breathing.

Please advise and share your thoughts! Any guidance is much appreciated!!

Love & Light
Chitananda

[chit-ananda51]

knock..knock..

[Shanti]

I have been really busy over the last few days Chitananda, but have not forgotten you.
Will reply to you today or definitely by tomorrow.

[Shanti]

quote:Originally posted by chit-ananda51
Right now, last two months , I have cut back on doing them..

So for the past 2 months you have stopped the Tamil Siddha tradition practice or cut back on practice time?

quote:Originally posted by chit-ananda51
For last one week alone.. I indulged in a bit of heart breathing(bringing in Ishta), DM and 5-7 mins of Spinal breathing.

and you are doing heart breathing and 5-7 min spinal breathing and DM (how many min?) ?
You are doing this once a day? twice a day?
You are sure you don't do any other practices?
How about exercise, do you do anything to ground?

Here is what I would suggest... but most people who are overloading and come from other traditions and/or from an established practice routine do not like my suggestion. I suggest it because it works.. it has worked for me and many others here at AYP. So it's your choice.

I would suggest, get into some serious exercising (join a gym, go swimming, jogging). This will help you with your stress at work and help you ground. When there is very high energy in the system, even the smallest stress gets amplified and is treated by the body/mind as a huge deal, even the slightest of emotions get amplified and blown out of proportion, minor irritations become full blown anger and frustration. So the best thing to do when we go through such energy highs is to ground the energy. Exercise, walk, eat heavier, do fun things with family and friends, stay away from things that involve too much thinking and/or ignite too much bhakti[].

Once you feel grounded, then start with 10 min meditation twice a day with the "i am" mantra. You will soon know if you feel the energy is getting out of control. If you feel uncomfortable... do only 5 min of DM twice a day. If that is too much, just do the meditation without mantra as described here: Lesson 367 – Suggestions for Over-Sensitive Meditators

Stay away from heart breathing for now, it will cause you more heart flutters. Directing more energy to an area that has a block can result in discomfort. Once you feel stable in your routine, you can add one or 2 rounds of heart breathing, then as that feels stable you can increase the time spend in this practice as per the lesson. But this practice should not be taken up for a while. You really need to ground first  and then get stable in your routine of deep meditation and spinal breathing before you experiment with other practices.

Hope some of this helps.
Wish you all the best.

[chit-ananda51]

Thank you Shanti! I had a hit that you would be busy on a weekend. I read through the link for Over-sensitive meditators and the pages behind it as well(under-sensitive meditators).

I will share my thoughts when I find more time this weekend. I take it to heart whatever you have said as regards grounding. To put it in a nut shell, my obsession with spiritual things kept me blind to the overload I was creating for the body. It would have been OK for a sannyasi/wanna-be renouncer to live like that transforming the deepest of melancholies into spiritual heights. But for someone who is just learning to live in the world but not 'of the world' , it would have been too much.

I generally practice early morning before leaving to office(around 5-6am) or (10-11am) depending on my work schedule. I realised I was not giving proper rest after meditations but just building up anxiety in the name of meditation. Believe I will draw soul forces resonating with my nature from here.. It started with Yogani.. now through forum .. will help to learn and apply to dive deeper into God through DM and SBP. More later when I get time...

Thanks so much!!
Chitanandan

[purity]

Hi Chitanandan,

    I just wanted to share that Tibetan Rites or rejuvenation exercises are extremely potent and combining them with any powerful meditation routine could lead to lot of overloading. And of course, no rest after meditation could have added too. I had a similar experience with Tibetan rites and prana, chakra and meditation in the past and I had to really self-pace myself for a month or so.

   You are already in the right direction.. Enjoy the journey slow and steady!!

Purity

[chit-ananda51]

Thanks Purity.. Yeah I agree with you. I was not aware how subtle energies inside the body which when unlocked slowly can prove to be fruitful and how the same can turn into bondage when not understanding the times we live in(basically the practical sense of unfolding the spiritual Self).

Borrowing the words of the fourteenth-century master Svatmarma "the kundalini shakti bestows liberation on yogins and bondage on the ignorant."

My bhakti as well as fear of being sucked into worldly life kept me indulging in meditation putting a strain on my physical body. After bumping into a block which I cannot evade anymore, I had to stop and look around.. Possibly things should recover by itself in due time..

AS Yogani says... as long as the desire to realize our highest ideal is there.. I believe I can push through this lifetime slowly and steadily as you say. Thanks again!!

[chit-ananda51]

Hi Shanti.. I came back to my native and checked with a doctor. He simply stated that the palpitation of heart was caused by "mind stress" and of course it is a bit stressed over my unsatisfaction with work/life style. He also mentioned that there are certain vasoactive amines which act on the blood vessels and nervous sytems which can trigger fatigue, irregular heart beat and few allied symptoms when we don't like the scenario we are placed into. (emotional block)
 
As for your advise, though I grew up in a coastal town.. I did not get a chance to learn swimming. So I might do that after finding a good location near my place.

I am not doing any practices/meditation right now. As for the DM which I followed , I did only for 5-10 mins.

I start to feel pressure(in the centre of the head) as soon as I start mentally chanting the mantra. So I am thinking about restricting to breath meditation(observing it) to begin with. Just getting a hang of what DM is all about after reading the articles/forum posts by Yogani.  

Thanks so much for taking time to write Shanti!!

[chit-ananda51]

I thought its time now to give a short update.. Things have gotten better by self-pacing with DM 10 mins , observing breath 5-10 mins + 5 mins rest (twice a day)