Ghost of meditation

To avoid spiralling into fullblown anxiety during the Coronavirus pandemic many of us have turned to meditation The practice has increased by nearly 3000 per cent this year around the world showed a recent report by the fitness company Fitbit that assessed usersrsquo activity through 2020 But not everyone is benefiting from itResearchers at the University College London UCL in the United Kingdom WittenHerdecke University in Germany and the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia discovered that more than 25 per cent of people who meditate on a regular basis have experienced an unpleasant psychological event as a result They obtained the results using a questionnaire shared with 1232 people who had been meditating for at least two monthsRajan Navani Vice Chairman and Managing Director Jetline Group of Companies launched the app ThinkRightMe to introduce people to the idea of mindfulnessYogini and author Ira Trivedi isnrsquot surprised She has come across cases of students complaining of unpleasant psychological experiences ldquoLack of concentration increased negativity and hyperactivity can be some of the common symptoms caused by taking up meditation without prior training or the right breathing practicerdquo she says Explaining why this happens Trivedi says ldquoWe donrsquot realise it but meditation allows us to become aware of the thoughts and feelings of our subconscious People who have experienced trauma in their lives can carry this with them even when they are awake it could be affecting their life on a daily basis without them knowingrdquo Meditation is a mental exercise that involves the practitioner attempting to focus on a specific thing or what is called the object of meditation In practice this means being mindful of onersquos respiration or the repetition of a particular word or sound Trivedi typically begins her sessions with a few moments of quietly centering oneself ldquoI often see beginners hopping onto their yoga mats with lots of lsquostuffrsquo going on in their heads If you are a beginner I suggest doing two or three breathing exercises at the start of your meditation session to set the tone for success Then I use the Pranayama practice to get them focused followed by an intense asana practice to prepare for meditation and to replenish their energy To finish we lie down and relax in savasana This keeps students energisedrdquoSanjay Sehgal is the director at Heartfulness Institute a volunteerbased nonprofit organisation focused on meditation relaxation yoga and spirituality He says the first question meditation aspirants must ask themselves is what is the purpose behind it ldquoItrsquos like a dietician telling you to eat more carbs if yoursquore a runner or suggesting an increase in your intake of leafy veggies if you lead a sedentary lifestyle Similarly there are different types of meditation too and therefore you need to know why yoursquore doing itrdquo Ninety per cent of the people he meets are craving peace of mind At the institute participants are taught ldquocleaningrdquo of the mind an activity to remove the accumulated unpleasant impressions of the day ldquoAll of us have hot buttons where certain situations and even people trigger a negative emotional reaction These form an imprint on the mind In this process we help clean the emotional memory of these so that the situation doesnrsquot elicit the same unpleasant reaction the next time aroundrdquo The short mindfulness sessions focus on different aspects such as motivation confidence peace of mind and stressAccording to Sehgal deeper meditation is aimed at altering your states of consciousness and deeper understanding of yourselfmdashsomething thatrsquos not taught to beginners In December 2018 Rajan Navani Vice Chairman and Managing Director Jetline Group of Companies launched the app ThinkRightMe to introduce people to the idea of mindfulness ldquoWe look at meditation a little differently You become meditative only when you become mindful It means having greater control over your mind and being able to strengthen it The moment yoursquore able to be aware of your thoughts your speech and action will change and thatrsquos how you transform yourselfrdquoConsidering itrsquos the human mind that wersquore discussing itrsquos not easy to compartmentalise the stages of meditation says Trivedi ldquoThe first purpose of meditation is to breathe correctly Then sustained concentration is necessary to go further Yoursquoll be able to understand yourself in a way that was impossible before you started practising meditation In each individual the experience is differentrdquo Trivedi cautions against jumping headlong into meditation ldquoMeditation is not something you force yourself into You ease into itrdquoHow to meditateFirst find somewhere to meditate says Trivedi ldquoThe place needs to be clean and tidy with nothing hidden that might distract the mind on its inward journeyrdquoPractice Pranayama Pranayama is the yogic technique of breath control It prepares the mind for meditation The goal should be to count onersquos breath note the distractions and leave the distraction alone by bringing onersquos attention back to breath As you focus on your breath you will notice that other sensations exist but they appear in the background and are impermanentUse sound as a tool to go within The next step is to focus on one object It can be a mantra a sound or any meditative music etc With these tools you will arrive at a place wherein the senses are drawn inwards