How Many Practice Meditation and Yoga?

[Sunflower_Moon]

What is your MBTI type?
How many people practice yoga and/or some form of meditation regularly?


I'm an INFJ and I've recently started doing yoga and practicing meditation to help with anxiety issues and depression related to a health issue. I feel that the meditation (I do it every day to every other day) is really helping with that, and I'm still an extreme newbie with yoga (I do it every other day), so I'm still at that level of embarrassment from feeling every part of my body is slowing being ripped off, and I feel like a stiff board. I started wondering about personality types and if there were any types that tended to gravitate toward yoga, but meditation especially since it may involve more with spirituality (not necessarily related to organized religion, which made me even more curious).

 

[EJCC]

For a variety of reasons, I'm averse to the idea of meditating for its own sake, or meditating because it's good for me. However, I've tried short-form meditation -- before and after things, like yoga class, or religious services -- and have found it useful. I think I've enjoyed meditation the most when I've been able to intuitively link it to things that I already have a positive connection with, and when I've meditated in groups of friends or like-minded people. I'm thinking specifically of guided meditations at work, and a meditation-heavy afternoon service I recently went to at my local Episcopal church.

The times that I've tried to meditate on my own, without other people present, I either 1) was overwhelmed by my own thoughts and was unable to concentrate, or 2) actually succeeded for a bit, but then had some kind of waking dream -- a vision? -- that confused and upset me and made me not want to try again.

As for yoga: I didn't think I'd like yoga as much as I would, but when I tuned out the pseudospirituality*, I found it to be a really intense and mentally stimulating form of exercise. And I like the way that yoga classes are taught, with minimal competitiveness, emphasizing an internal (self-improvement) focus and not an external (judging others against yourself) focus.

I'm an ESTJ.

*It would be one thing if it was real Hinduism, but my roommate is Hindu and she tells me that 99% of yoga classes are a bastardization of the real thing.

 

[Sunflower_Moon]

Wow! Your experiences with meditation sound really interesting! I didn't know those types of experiences were possible, though I have heard it's possible to connect with your higher self, etc. I kind of figured that the yoga we have in the USA isn't the original because there's just too many different variations of it that makes it seem like they modified it to attract particular types of people. It seems like a great exercise overall though because it works the mind as well. I'm still new at it, so I haven't been able to get the results and enjoyment out of it just yet as it seems you have. How long did it take you before you were able to gain more flexibility and strength?

 

[EJCC]

Wow! Your experiences with meditation sound really interesting! I didn't know those types of experiences were possible, though I have heard it's possible to connect with your higher self, etc.

It's a bizarre experience. Kind of like how I'd imagine lucid dreaming would feel. I suspect it's more like connecting to the lower self. The unconscious. In my case, it involves surrendering control, to an extent -- which is the "hate" part of my love/hate relationship with the idea of meditation.

I kind of figured that the yoga we have in the USA isn't the original because there's just too many different variations of it that makes it seem like they modified it to attract particular types of people. It seems like a great exercise overall though because it works the mind as well. I'm still new at it, so I haven't been able to get the results and enjoyment out of it just yet as it seems you have. How long did it take you before you were able to gain more flexibility and strength?

I'm still new at it too -- have only been at it for a month. But I feel a bit stronger, and can do one or two more poses that I couldn't initially do.

 

[Raffaella]

I feel that the meditation (I do it every day to every other day) is really helping with that, and I'm still an extreme newbie with yoga (I do it every other day), so I'm still at that level of embarrassment from feeling every part of my body is slowing being ripped off, and I feel like a stiff board.

I used to practise yoga every morning for twenty minutes alone because it was a contrast to my favourite exercise (jogging). It did wonders to my posture and flexibility and improved my awareness of the physical surrounding. I would follow a yoga instructor on a video and repeat the poses in my room, it never occurred to me to attend a class because I felt like I was seeing results instantly. Now that I think about it, I probably would've benefitted from a class.

I still jog but I don't practice yoga as much because I need exercises that shake me up.

 

[Sunflower_Moon]

It really helps the posture as a natural effect? I'm liking the sounds of the benefits it had for you and I'd like to start doing it everyday now! I'm also using videos now, but plan to take a class once I get some strength.

 

[á´…eparted]

I have for brief periods of time in my life, and ultimately found it not useful except for one particular case.

The particular case was practicing mindfulness meditation for a few months. It helped train me to more properly manage day to day stressors and not let them ware me out by having them cycle and overfire in my mind. Luckily, the lessons learned stuck with me after I stopped. Mindfulness meditation was so boring to me and I never enjoyed it.

Other forms of meditation have never given me any useful insights, lessons, or useful nuggets of information. More than half the time the entire process resulted in me feeling very anxious, in particular if other people were around. I could not explain it and to this day I can't either. Other times, meditation resulted in me falling asleep, being incredibly bored, or feeling like I was making the entire thing up. It never felt significant.

For some people it is useful, but aside from the single lesson I learned (at the recommendation of my therapist), for me it is not.

Yoga is of no interest to me and I doubt I'll ever do it.

 

[Mole]

I started meditation under the instruction of Ainslie Mears. It is a form of muscle relaxation leading to the relaxation of the mind.

It is initially a mantra meditation like Om, but today I dispensed with the mantra and went straight to the experience of meditation. And it worked. So I now have a wordless meditation which leaves me relaxed and refreshed, and ready for new experience.

So meditation, for me, is now a progressive felt experience. I actually feel the deepening experience of meditation as I go along.

So meditation is now felt rather than thought. It is like meeting an old love. How pleased she is to see me and how pleased I am to see her.

 

[Raffaella]

It really helps the posture as a natural effect? I'm liking the sounds of the benefits it had for you and I'd like to start doing it everyday now! I'm also using videos now, but plan to take a class once I get some strength.

Definitely, yoga's known for improving posture and lower back pain since it stretches and strengthens those muscles.

 

[kyuuei]

Erm.. I do meditate. I don't know if my form of meditation is the same as what most people think on it, but since there's no right answer there I'm going to go ahead and say I do and I like it alright. I do actively let go of thoughts and focus on nothing when I am going to sleep at night. I also find physical tasks very meditative.. things like focusing on JUST the project at hand with no external thoughts interfering. Spiritually speaking I meditate and I find 'energy' in myself from the inspiration and beauty of things and I take moments out of my time to just... be there. I think there is something to all of that. There was a huge huge difference walking into a church thousands of years old and walking into the metal tin shed that someone threw up and put a cross on it. There is a difference between seeing a garden someone made for practical reasons and one for aesthetic reasons. And I feel those reasons with my eyes, and my thoughts follow.

As far as yoga. Yeah, I do it. Not as often as I need to be. Pretty much many yoga poses are also things my physical therapist gave me to do to help maintain my injured hips. It is slow, and methodical, and when you have a good instructor (even though mine is free and online she's still good) they give you a LOT of options to make it your own level. But I don't really buy into the whole spirituality aspect of it all. I suppose if you're already religious it could be.. but for me I just ignore it, the stretching is awesome and it does work and that's all I need it to do for me. I think stretching is SUPER underrated in terms of health and fitness, kids aren't exposed to it as much anymore unless they're in gymnastics, and overall despite the spirituality aspects of it stretching is one of the best things you can give your body--ESPECIALLY if you're active. In that respect, I have a lot of respect for yoga promoting stretching in the masses. I think I'd have rather been a total yogi and potentially not had hip pain now-a-days than to just be discovering what's wrong with me and dealing with pain on a daily basis. There is a LOT of truth to helping body aches and pains and chronic conditions with stretching that people just.. don't want to take the time to do. Me included. Stretching is fucking boring.

 

[Riva]

I've done yoga and loved it. Out of all exercises I've done yoga was the best and making me feel the best afterwards. It just makes your body feel light, and that feels good. I don't have time to do it anymore since I am busy and I am working out (resistance training) 5 times per week. My current is to gain muscles. However, i've promised myself that after I do reach my muscle mass goals that I would start yoga again and continue to do it with my resistance training. When my studies are over I guess I'll have time to do both.

Regarding meditation, I do it twice a day. What I do it called maithree meditation. It falls onto the category of samadhi but has little elements of panna. Meditation can be devided into three categories in general (sila, samadhi, panna).

I've also done (and do) vipassa (which falls under the category of panna) from time to time. But if your goal isn't Buddhist Nirvana (constant non-attachment to all cravings with long term practice) or if you don't accept the four noble truths I don't recommend you do vipassana. However, I highly recommend maithree meditation.

 

[Haven]

I've done a lot of meditation with some Buddhists, it helped me get through a rough patch where I had to cope with an enormous amount of stress. After a while I just stopped for no real reason other than I have other things to do. I still try it every now and then, there are a few techniques I remember.

Yoga is good too, it's more active and less religious, but not as effective for stress imo.

I identify as ESFJ.

 

[Riva]

I've done a lot of meditation with some Buddhists, it helped me get through a rough patch where I had to cope with an enormous amount of stress. After a while I just stopped for no real reason other than I have other things to do. I still try it every now and then, there are a few techniques I remember.

Yoga is good too, it's more active and less religious, but not as effective for stress imo.

I identify as ESFJ.

What type of meditation did you do? I am interested because you said it helped you get through a rough patch.

I often believe that if you have issues in your life you should deal with those rather than becoming relgious or meditative. But perhaps 10 minutes a day praying or meditating wouldn't distract you from your real problems.

Also, your Buddhism friends, are they born buddhists or people who started practicing it after learning about it? Perhaps most western (don't know where you are from) buddhist don't believe in afterlife and merely practices buddhism for psychological reasons.

I actually think that's more effective/healthy than born into buddhism who tend to practice buddhism out of religious loyalty than the psychological benefits it can give.

 

[Haven]

What type of meditation did you do? I am interested because you said it helped you get through a rough patch.

Just your traditional show up and sit down kind.

Also, your Buddhism friends, are they born buddhists or people who started practicing it after learning about it? Perhaps most western (don't know where you are from) buddhist don't believe in afterlife and merely practices buddhism for psychological reasons.

Yea they had all come into it later on in life, it was nice