Meditation experiences are not always pleasant, as some can completely scare and surprise you. For example, you may feel an increase or decrease in your body temperature, tingling in your hands or feet, and even the out-of-body sensation of weightlessness, in which you feel that your physical body is separated from your spiritual one. In any case, the experience varies from one person to another, because meditation directly affects the central nervous system and cognitive perceptions.
Many people report having experienced unusual sensations during meditation, which causes them a certain level of concern. In this Psychology-Online article, we explain what the most common strange sensations when meditating are so that you understand each one of them.
See flashes of light
One of the strange sensations when meditating is seeing flashes of yellow, white or multi-colored lights when concentrating on breathing. There are even those who say they see swirls of light in front of him or her and hear noises that startle him or her.
If this happens to you, don’t worry, because they are synaptic images that the central nervous system generates when the body is completely relaxed. Some experts call these episodes “dream visions,” because They have to do with memories or emotions housed in , which are trying to come to light.
Changes in body temperature
In some cultural currents, it is believed that meditating unites the energy of consciousness with the soul. For this reason, it is normal for a certain sudden change in temperature to be experienced during meditation, especially for the emergence of cold feeling in fingers and toes. This occurs because the kundalini energy is released, which is the anticipation of the .
Stillness between thoughts
It focuses on calming thoughts. For this reason, another of the strange sensations when meditating is that feel like you’re entering a tunnel of total calmwhich is called “the gap.”
This happens because at that moment your attention is held on a single point and you will experience total stillness in your thoughts, which can go accompanied by drowsiness and flashes of light. It’s as if you feel like you’re entering a quiet tunnel that will take you to other places in your mind.
Feeling of floating
By meditating and focusing on our breathing, brain waves slow down, which are known as “theta waves.” When you reach that level of relaxation, you may experience the sensation of sinking or floating and not feeling some parts of your body. If you want to understand it better, in this article you will see the .
The good news is that it is a very positive feeling, which indicates that you are entering a deep state of meditation that will be very beneficial for your spiritual energy.
Tingling
One of the most common physical sensations during meditation is experiencing tingling in some parts of the body. This happens because, according to Deepak Chopra, the mind and body are intensely connected and when the mind relaxes completely, the body begins to expel accumulated negative energies to try to balance with the mind.
In deep meditations, the heart beats more calmly and the blood expands regularly. This means that, if you have circulation problems or a lot of accumulated tension, when you are meditating, you will experience that “tingling” that is a little unusual. The important is let it flow so as not to store the sensation permanently in your subconscious.
Headache
One of the sensations after meditating is a headache. This does not have to worry you, since, sometimes, the body begins to release the accumulated energy gradually and does not do so completely. That unusual flow of energy causes some dizziness or even headaches, which disappear when you completely heal the patterns that you have recorded in your subconscious.
To help release those tensions, it is good that you recite some mantras or practice certain asanas. These practices will balance your energy levels and help you eliminate that discomfort more quickly.
Spins of energy and a little disorientation
It is possible that when meditating you lose the orientation and position of your physical body. The first thing you should do is rule out whether or not you have any pathology associated with disorientation, such as otitis or high blood pressure, with a medical professional. That said, you should know that it is common to experience sensations of temporary displacement or disorientation when you are focused on your breathing.
Keep in mind that meditation is about healing negative burdens or past traumas, which can cause certain sensory neurological symptoms. When this happens, it is best to stop repeating your mantra and open your eyes little by little to place yourself in the “here and now.” Afterwards, return to meditation calmly and calmly. In this article, we tell you.
Heaviness
Other strange sensations when meditating can be feeling heaviness during the process. Some experts in the area assure that It is because the muscles become less tense and certain fractions go down. This makes people who meditate feel heavy, giving the sensation that they are falling.
Other theories claim that the feeling of heaviness is due to the fact that some people feel sleepy and experience greater muscle relaxation.
Crying
If when you meditate you feel like crying, this means that your body feels the need to release some inhibited emotions. Once you identify the sensation, the important thing is not to repress the need to cry, because that is a regulatory mechanism of the nervous system. In this article you will find more information about the.
Shaking or spasms
A person meditating may feel twitching or shaking. One of the explanations for this phenomenon is that the body relaxes to such an extent that it interrupts the normal patterns of neuronal functioning and the flow of thoughts.
When the mind relaxes, so does the fascia, which is a sheath that covers the muscles and controls muscle tension. Spasms are a endocrine response that you can calm by breathing consciously so that your muscles restart and continue working normally.
Excessive pressure on the forehead or eyes
Another strange sensation when meditating is experiencing very strong tension in the eyes or forehead, which can be annoying and confusing. This point on the body is known as “the spiritual eye” or Anja Chakra. Most likely you have certain muscle tension because, unconsciously, you put all your attention on your eyes.
To reduce this sensation, simply extend your right arm with your thumb outward and stare down at your thumbnail. Keep your eyes soft to release tension and drink some water to soothe your muscle fascia.
Feel sleepy or fall asleep
You may feel sleepy while meditating, or some may even fall asleep during this practice. What happens is that for some it is very difficult to find the balance between concentration and relaxation. Furthermore, when we meditate the heart rate drops, breathing becomes slower and the eyes remain closed, characteristics that the body associates with the time of sleep.
To avoid falling asleep while meditating, separate your meditation time from your rest hours. For example, try not to meditate right before bed so that your body is fully awake when you are meditating and is not confused into believing that it is time to sleep.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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References
- Chopra, D. (2018). Total meditation: Practices for living awake. Barcelona, Spain: Penguin Random House Publishing Group.
Bibliography
- Guillen, J.M.B. (2014). Psychoneurobiological substrates of meditation and mindfulness. Biological psychiatry, 21(2), 59-64.
- Kabat-Zinn, J. (2013). Full attention and mindfulness: A scientific guide to meditation. Barcelona, Spain: Kairós.
- Van Dam, JWP, Ospina, FGG, Segal, ZV, Devine, JT, Dobkin, SL, Carroll, GB, … & Lazar, SW (2011). The effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on psychological health: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 67(1), 61-83. DOI: 10.1002/jclp.20728.