Health Problem & Meditation

[Stefan]

Dear Vipassanauts,

what a bad luck. I have been suffering from a vein inflammation in my leg for a month already, and now I was told by my Doctor that I'm not allowed to sit longer than some minutes for at least another two months! I'm not able to meditate when I'm lying down ... sleep comes within minutes. Maybe I should use a bed of nails ... I can do a little Vipassana while walking, but it's not the same ... too many distractions outside, and the movement of the body makes the bodyscan quite cursory. Not meditating properly for some weeks ... I feel that already. Two more months without meditation - I have to admit that I'm afraid of that!

Maybe somebody has a good idea that could help me?

Metta, Stefan

[Flipasso]

My suggestions are: either stick with the walking meditation so that you become used to it and can take more from it. or do meditation standing still.
I wouldn't go against the physician prescriptions, it's better even to not meditate, or to meditate little over two months than to have a bad health problem.
But I think that if you stick with the walking meditation things will turn out fine.
Good Luck

peace@you.all

[Stefan]

Thanks for the reply! Yes, walking meditation seems to be the solution for me at the moment (standing still would even be worse than sitting). But try to feel subtle sensations while your muscles are pumping!

I was thinking that this vein inflammation is the result of a deep-rooted sankhara ... that's why I'm not sure wether I should follow the doctors advice. Maybe it would be better to sit and meditate so I can get rid of it?

Metta!

[mettajoey]

Not following your doc's advice doesn't seem like a good idea but there must be some compromise between not sitting at all and lying down.  Can you sit upright in bed or in a recliner?  Anapana while walking slowly, as suggested, make give some great results.

[Flipasso]

I kind of want to believe that all diseases are psycho-somatic, then your vein inflamation would be the result of sankhara. But that is a kind of thought that is kind of like wishful thinking, and if one is wrong it can lead to serious trouble depending on the disease.
I think it's best to follow your doctor's advice and then, when you're better deal with the psycho issues that maybe caused that vein inflamation.

[Matthew]

Can you sit in a dining chair or no sitting at all? If you can do. If not walk in nature, letting go of all thoughts and just be and see. It's a different form of mindfulness training that may help give your legs useful exercise and aid recovery.

In the Dhamma,

Matthew

[Stefan]

Sitting, yes ... but only short periods and better not motionless.

But I had a wonderful vipassana-walk today, and if I feel my muscles instead of subtle sensations, so be it. But it wasn't like that ... sometimes I could feel both at the same time! Great experience!

It is of great help to have your ideas inside my brain ... big problems suddenly don't seem so big any more!

Metta, right?

Right!

[Stefan]

There's a limitation to the walking-Vipassana: when it comes to "free-flow" in the legs, I nearly fall down. Walking and freeflow from top of the head to the belly is possible, but not from the belly downwards.
so I have to learn levitation at last ...

Metta, Stefan

[Slider]

My question is a little too trivial to start a new thread for. But, it's still related to health so I thought it appropriate to put it in here.
I quite often suffer from heart-burns when I consume anything artificial or sometimes even certain vegetables  and other foods (which I have now recognized and thus avoid e.g. brinjal/eggplant, jam, coke, pepsi, cookies, fatty foods etc.), but at other times, it occurs at random. On a retreat, however, I never experienced any problem with any food that I ate that was in my 'to-be-avoided' list. I also see a considerable reduction in the problem just after a shamtha session.
Why and how does this happen?

[idud]

Hi Stefan,

Instead of doing meditation outside you can try with a treadmill. It is only a suggestion. May be you can avoid all that distractions. In other hand, may be it is quite expensive for only 1 months

Regards

[Stefan]

Instead of doing meditation outside you can try with a treadmill.

hamster meditation!?  ... thinking of a meditation hall full of threadmills, and 50 very serious seekers solemnly taking step after step ... thanks for this picture!

my inflammation is alright again ... I don't sit crosslegged or longer periods, I medtate in a chair.
From this I learned that it is quite easy to shut out distractions from outside ... compared to the distraction a pumping muscle can cause ...

[Stefan]

My question is a little too trivial to start a new thread for. But, it's still related to health so I thought it appropriate to put it in here.
I quite often suffer from heart-burns when I consume anything artificial or sometimes even certain vegetables  and other foods (which I have now recognized and thus avoid e.g. brinjal/eggplant, jam, coke, pepsi, cookies, fatty foods etc.), but at other times, it occurs at random. On a retreat, however, I never experienced any problem with any food that I ate that was in my 'to-be-avoided' list. I also see a considerable reduction in the problem just after a shamtha session.
Why and how does this happen?

Same thing happens to me when I have my stupid period and don't care about my food ... as long as it is sweet or sticky or fatty or spicy or coffee ... reading a book about Sattva Food will help, because it will teach you why certain groups of food upset the body while others don't. And meditation helps, of course, since there is a psychosomatic component to heartburn, too  -that's why it happens sometimes without having eaten "bad" food.

[Floor]

If you are allowed to lie down maybe you can sit up with your legs straight forward.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://coreyannseldon.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/dsc01245.jpg&imgrefurl=http://coreyannseldon.com/yoga-adventures/&usg=__mI-4bye2d4MEeAdoK7NfQCEYrRI=&h=480&w=640&sz=114&hl=en&start=60&zoom=1&tbnid=uCg9XJ-DGFgDrM:&tbnh=148&tbnw=185&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlegs%2Bstraight%2Bforward%2Bmeditaition%2Bposture%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D817%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C1387&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=490&vpy=141&dur=336&hovh=148&hovw=197&tx=185&ty=80&ei=O14tTYqAEYaKlwf3xLzBCg&oei=NF4tTeGJJ8L7lwf6zuWpCQ&esq=3&page=3&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:60&biw=1280&bih=817

[Stefan]

If you are allowed to lie down maybe you can sit up with your legs straight forward.

but this wouldn't work for a course or any comon stting with an assistant teacher, since it is very impolite to show your teacher the soles of your feet (a common rule not only in india) ...

[Matthew]

How about turning your back on the teacher

[Stefan]

How about turning your back on the teacher

this wouldn't help the legs ...

[Matthew]

No I meant sit like that but facing back so the feet aren't pointing at teacher. It was a joke. Honestly. A bad one because you didn't get it but ...