meditation/ yoga techniques

hey, as per some advice from my last topic, i have recently been doing some internet research on meditation. i have become pretty interested in it. however i read that some meditation can actually cause anxiety to get a lot worse... is anyone here experienced with this and can suggest a specific type that is beneficial to anxiety...thanks

Hi cat,

If you come up with any info on a specific meditative practice that help to lessen anxiety, please post it. I've researched some meditation methods and started with the mindfulness meditation technique. Maybe it's too early for me to judge as to whether it is helping or not but I get the sense it's not. I don't feel it has helped in lessening my anxiety level. My anxiety level on a scale of 1-10 is usually in the range of 8-10 on a daily basis. It's totally mind scrambling.

I'm thankful for the sertraline that I take daily now as it seems to help me with falling asleep faster. I've always had trouble with falling asleep as long as I can remember. I've read how meditation can be so beneficial and am wondering whether I'm doing something wrong or if the techinique I'm using just isn't suitable for my situation. I'm curious as to whether some techiniques are better for some individuals as opposed to others. A similar comparison would be medications and how for some they are helpful and for others they're not. Oh well, maybe I need to test out some other techniques and see how I respond to them. Now I know how a guinea pig must feel. to both of us.

haha yeah i was going to try some, but even the thought of altering my state of makes me kinda nervous, which kind of ruins my try it attitude..i plan on doing some more research on it in the upcoming days ill post if i find anything helpful

Relaxation techniques/exercises are very helpful. Not quite the same, I know but thought I'd share anyway.

My psychologist let me borrow her tapes and then I ordered some CD's of my own from this site: http://www.wholeperson.com/x-relax/relax.html

Meditation cards have helped me focus when I'm very anxious. It takes a good half an hour before I feel fully relaxed though. However, it's worth the time to me.

Guided imagery cds, like the ones in the above post, help too. You can download single tracks for meditation, relaxation, guided imagery, etc. from msn music for a dollar each. I find I have to vary what I listen to, otherwise I lose interest.

Good luck.

hey tokidoki,

yes I like a variety too, but there is one there that I do every night that I like every time. It's called "Warm" and is one of two on a CD called "Warm" and "Heavy". I don't think I'll ever get tired of it.

A free guided imagery to try, for anyone reading, can be found at www.meditainment.com. It's very nice!

I like David K. Reynolds' books:

http://www.amazon.com/Light-Waves-Tu...dp/0824823788/

http://www.amazon.com/Playing-Ball-R...dp/0688039138/

http://www.amazon.com/Water-Bears-No...dp/0688074480/

You can often find him in used book stores; I read almost all his books back in the 1980's/early 90's. He was part of a California movement back then called "Constructive Living": http://www.todoinstitute.org/constructiveliving.html

Wow-I love that meditainment site!! They have so many different tracks for one price-great deal! Thanks so much for posting that link, it's awesome

hello, I too have done some research on yoga and meditating...when I first tried meditating I almost had a panic attack and I had to stop and go out. I thought this is not working for me so I joined a meditating class and learne dhow to do it. Meditating is all connected to spirituality and it is more then just sitting with your eyes closed, you have to understand the concepts of it......when you have anxiety that happens for no reason like I have it can be very dipiliating but I an learning to accept the fact I have anxiety and for me it's normal to have that racing mind when I try to relax so I look at it and say k it's alright your fine it's all just your own thoughts...you keep telling yourself this calmly and eventually you will relax. I also took up yoga and if you understand and do research and give it a honest try it really does work you have to give it a chance and don't expect results the first time you try it. But anyhoo that's my oppinion...Namaste

Thanks everyone for the suggestions you posted. I've done some more reading on the mindfulness technique and have decided to keep practicing that one for the time being. In all fairness, I haven't been practicing it that long and am willing to keep at it longer before giving up on it. Struggling daily with the OCD, phobia junk and the accompanying anxiety just makes me frustrated and impatient with all of it. Feeling that way isn't helpful at all but I so want relief from it. So, I'll keep doing the mindfulness meditation and continue to keep hoping for better results. I have to remind myself to be patient with it and remember as they say, Rome wasn't built in a day.