Tips for staying awake during meditation

[SGFlanker6]

I used to meditate quite often and got a lot out of it. I stopped for a while, and as I've recently begun the practice again I find that every time I attempt to meditate I begin falling asleep, to the point where within five minutes of beginning, my meditation becomes nothing more than a struggle to stay awake. If anybody has experienced this and has some helpful tips on how to deal with it I would greatly appreciate hearing them. Best wishes.

[Guish]

Meditate when you feel that you are very fit. Meditating when you are very tired is not a good idea.

[Anchor]

Here's some tips.

Do it in the morning when you have woken up.

Sit upright, don't rest your back on anything as you do that.

Place your attention on something and keep it there, it can be lots of things, watching thoughts, counting breath.

Practice more.

[heyokah]

What I learned from the Shambhala tradition is mindfulness/awareness meditation, in which one doesn't close the eyes. That's a good tool for not falling asleep but to staying focused.

From the instruction:"How to Meditate by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche"

...... At this point we can go through the actual form of the practice. First, it is important how we relate with the room and the cushion where we will practice. One should relate with where one is sitting as the center of the world, the center of the universe. It is where we are proclaiming our sanity, and when we sit down the cushion should be like a throne.

When we sit, we sit with some kind of pride and dignity. Our legs are crossed, shoulders relaxed. We have a sense of what is above, a sense that something is pulling us up the same time we have a sense of ground. The arms should rest comfortably on the thighs. Those who cannot sit down on a cushion can sit in a chair. The main point is to be somewhat comfortable.

The chin is tucked slightly in, the gaze is softly focusing downward about four to six feet in front, and the mouth should be open a little. The basic feeling is one of comfort, dignity and confidence. If you feel you need to move, you should just move, just change your posture a little bit. So that is how we relate with the body.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=h-SC1je3NZQ

Good luck

[Selene]

These are excellent tips. The most important, in my experience, is to keep your spine comfortably erect and avoid leaning back against anything. It is this freedom and proper form of the spine that supports consciousness and meditation. Proper posture is essential for formal, seated meditation.

It is important for comfortable seating that your hips be allowed to roll slightly forward, so that your lower spine retains its slight natural curvature outward and you do not 'hunch over' forward.

You can facilitate or support a comfortably upright spine by either:

• Sitting cross-legged on a comfortable floor or the ground, using a small mat or carpet if necessary for ease of bones. This requires a relaxed, flexible hip joint and may not be your best option.

• Using a firm cushion to raise your hips slightly off the floor. This works better for most people.

• Sitting upright in a chair, with feet placed squarely on the ground or ankles crossed and your back upright, not touching the back of the chair. This work best with a traditional chair, nothing ‘scooped’ or too padded or lounge-y.

• Avoid, in general, too-soft mattresses or surfaces that can easily distort or roll. You need a stable, secure base on which to balance upright and focus comfortably.

• Lying down for meditation is an entirely ‘nother experience. It has its place (as yoga nidra) where you do drift off, but it is not meditation in the generally-understood sense. It has another function.

• Allow your hands to rest naturally on your knees or in your lap. Follow what feels most natural, and this can vary from day to day.

Once you are seated comfortably, visualize the base of your spine and your two knees as forming a kind of triangle or tripod. Lean forward subtly so that your head floats gently at the top of the tripod.

Adjust your derriere or roll your hips forward to adjust as necessary. The base of your skull – top of your spine – will naturally float into the proper position if you allow it.

Ensure that this posture is comfortable for you before beginning to focus on your preferred method of entering meditation. Make any adjustments you feel necessary. Listen to your body.

But keep your spine free and floating upward.

Cheers,

Selene

[voices of silence]

You could also try visual techniques to keep you awake and mediating in a dark rooms or when your tired will make you fall asleep.

[Heartsong]

If you fall asleep that easily then perhaps you are sleep deprived. The healthiest thing you could do for yourself is to allow yourself to sleep.

Likely it will be a deep sleep not lasting very long. When you awake, hopefully naturally and not via interruption, you will be refreshed enough for meditation.

[Highwhistler]

.
Have you ever been alone in bed at night, and thoughts of a person or thing that you love, kept you awake for hours? Without effort, without even trying ... your focused, bliss-filled attention was kept on the "thing" that you loved.

It did not matter what position your physical body was in: You could be flat on your back, on your side or stomach, curled-up in a fetal position ... but your love was so great, your mind so saturated with everything to do with your lover ... that you could not help your Self. You could not help but to meditate on her, him, or it ... for hours.

I wonder if a person fell into true love with the Silence of the Universe, could s/he stay brilliantly awake, fully focused, and absorbed into It for hours and hours and hours? ... with the greatest of ease?

Meditation would not be an exercise, or a science project, or a boring scheduled thing, or something a spiritual master told her to do.

It would be something that happens easily, spontaneously and with love and fascination. Meditation would be something that is naturally generated from the very center of her being.

.

[Ikarusion]

as long as you're able to focus and hold it you should be good. so sometime during the day i suppose.
before bed can be hard, but it has its merits too. i find it easier to empty myself and let go. not always though.

[conk]

roll your eyes upward, as if you were looking into your third eye. You cannot go to sleep if you maintain this eye position. Do it gently or else it will become uncomfortable. This also allows your brain to more easily enter a theta state.