Do you or have you ever done meditation (for stress relief)? (POLL)

[zeroturbulence]

Meditation is supposed to be good for relieving stress and we used to do it in my old karate class before every session. We'd all be sitting on the dojo's floor with our legs crossed and our eyes closed and the instructor had a pair of wooden blocks that he would tap together to signify when to breathe in and when to breathe out and it was very sloooow. I often couldn't wait to breathe back in because it was taking too long. Anyway.....

Do you or have you ever done meditation (for stress relief)? (Wait for the poll...)

 

[Lynx]

I don't do a formal meditation, nothing I learned by following some instructions or anything. If I'm tired I sit or lie down, accelerate respiration and focus on my heartbeat. It's like a nap, except it's faster, I'm conscious and the focus is on energy replenishment instead of structural rebuilding.

 

[Pipp]

If I try to meditate I'll most likely meditate myself into a nap.

 

[Yahweh_is_gracious]

I used to be big into meditation. Like BIG. Like...so big I had the 7 chakras tattooed on my spine BIG.

I won't say more than that, but now I'll bookmark this thread to see how long it takes for folks to chime in with "meditation is of da debbil". Ought to be good for some lulz.

 

[Siberian_Khatru]

Not formerly, but I've been researching guided meditation, and intend on setting some time aside soon to begin it. Sam Harris had someone on his podcast, and they talked about this at length. It sounds like it could be really beneficial─ I just hope I don't get all oppressed by those there evil spirits. AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FO DAT!

 

[zeroturbulence]

I find it interesting how meditation has different purposes...

In our karate class it was to clear our minds of any distractions so we could learn and focus better.
Some people do it to relieve stress and calm their minds
Some do it because they believe it improves their "mind-body" connection
Some do it to feel some kind of trance-like 'out-of-body' experience
Some do it to hone their senses like chuck norris who can hear the silence and see the darkness
Some do it because they believe it helps them feel the presence of God

There's probably other reasons too.

 

[ActivelyWaiting]

... Do you or have you ever done meditation (for stress relief)? ...

Yes, but as Christians, we need to be extremely diligent on what kind of meditation is being taught. For example, I attended a Yoga class strictly for the exercise, and the instructor started slowly slipping in these unbliblical meditative words, and I left and never went back. Once, I had a fear of flying just get laid on me out of the blue, and I attended a course that showed us how to relax our muscles and quiet our mind, and it worked! I still use it today in anxious situations. I also pray first and afterwards.

 

[wwjd_kilden]

I did it a few times in Taekwondo classes and yoga classes , can't say I experienced any focus or inner peace or anything else useful

Like you said people seem to define it differently and/ or have different goals with it.
I think the prayer of the Christian closely resembles the meditation of the hindu .... difference being we might get more results than just a "focused mind"