Anxiety, sadness and movement

A place to discuss health and fitness, including healthy diets, etc.
Post Reply
User avatar
Könchok Thrinley
Former staff member
Posts: 3275
Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2015 11:18 am
Location: He/Him from EU

Anxiety, sadness and movement

Post by Könchok Thrinley »

Heya,

lately I have been feeling quite a bit blue or anxious most of the time. I think it is mostly caused by some unpleasant circumstances that I find myself in (we all do actually, war, inflation etc). So I have been wondering about some method of treatement as it is starting to be quite disruptive.

Do you think that maybe prostrations could help with dispelling these feelings? Or maybe yantra yoga?

The characteristic of these feelings is that they are tightening my chest and sometimes there is quite an unplesant pressure of sorts. The kind one feels in case of for example strong grief or sadness. So that is why my line of thinking is that it is necessary to move a bit.
“Observing samaya involves to remain inseparable from the union of wisdom and compassion at all times, to sustain mindfulness, and to put into practice the guru’s instructions”. Garchen Rinpoche

For those who do virtuous actions,
goodness is what comes to pass.
For those who do non-virtuous actions,
that becomes suffering indeed.

- Arya Sanghata Sutra
User avatar
Johnny Dangerous
Global Moderator
Posts: 17092
Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2012 10:58 pm
Location: Olympia WA
Contact:

Re: Anxiety, sadness and movement

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

Exercise, less caffeine, breathing practices that are calming. Especially if it doesn’t go along with any particular thought pattern, it is the body going into fight or flight mode. Practices that involve contemplation of wholesome states help too, but don’t work as well when you are really wound up because anxiety actually alters your thought process.
Meditate upon Bodhicitta when afflicted by disease

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when sad

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when suffering occurs

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when you are scared

-Khunu Lama
Nyudo
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2022 2:35 pm

Re: Anxiety, sadness and movement

Post by Nyudo »

If you feel like moving it's possibly your body telling you movement would be a good idea.

Follow your body's wisdom and move however and wherever it wants to go.

Another helpful thing: check out YouTube instruction videos for beginners Qi Gong. Learn the first 7 basic slow routines. Like everything else of you are going to really do it right a real teacher would be best but we aren't going for rocket science level expertise here. Just slow gentle movements.

PS the Ksitigarbha mantra for ripening karma works wonders whenever things are looking down.
User avatar
Könchok Thrinley
Former staff member
Posts: 3275
Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2015 11:18 am
Location: He/Him from EU

Re: Anxiety, sadness and movement

Post by Könchok Thrinley »

Johnny Dangerous wrote: Sun Apr 24, 2022 7:29 pm Exercise, less caffeine, breathing practices that are calming. Especially if it doesn’t go along with any particular thought pattern, it is the body going into fight or flight mode. Practices that involve contemplation of wholesome states help too, but don’t work as well when you are really wound up because anxiety actually alters your thought process.
Thanks a lot!

Do you think short sessions of watching the breath would also be helpful to deal with it in the long term?
“Observing samaya involves to remain inseparable from the union of wisdom and compassion at all times, to sustain mindfulness, and to put into practice the guru’s instructions”. Garchen Rinpoche

For those who do virtuous actions,
goodness is what comes to pass.
For those who do non-virtuous actions,
that becomes suffering indeed.

- Arya Sanghata Sutra
User avatar
Konchog Thogme Jampa
Posts: 1175
Joined: Sun Oct 01, 2017 4:48 am
Location: Saha World/Hard to Take

Re: Anxiety, sadness and movement

Post by Konchog Thogme Jampa »

Könchok Thrinley wrote: Sun Apr 24, 2022 6:16 pm Heya,

lately I have been feeling quite a bit blue or anxious most of the time. I think it is mostly caused by some unpleasant circumstances that I find myself in (we all do actually, war, inflation etc). So I have been wondering about some method of treatement as it is starting to be quite disruptive.

Do you think that maybe prostrations could help with dispelling these feelings? Or maybe yantra yoga?

The characteristic of these feelings is that they are tightening my chest and sometimes there is quite an unplesant pressure of sorts. The kind one feels in case of for example strong grief or sadness. So that is why my line of thinking is that it is necessary to move a bit.
Pray to Tara and don’t watch the news
User avatar
Könchok Thrinley
Former staff member
Posts: 3275
Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2015 11:18 am
Location: He/Him from EU

Re: Anxiety, sadness and movement

Post by Könchok Thrinley »

Konchog Thogme Jampa wrote: Sun Apr 24, 2022 7:45 pm Pray to Tara and don’t watch the news
If only it was casued by news only. :D

But honestly I did find that engaging in virtuous actions, especially offering to the three jewels, etc. helps immensely. However, it is quiteh ard to do it once the wheel starts spinning as it can be quite paralyzing.
“Observing samaya involves to remain inseparable from the union of wisdom and compassion at all times, to sustain mindfulness, and to put into practice the guru’s instructions”. Garchen Rinpoche

For those who do virtuous actions,
goodness is what comes to pass.
For those who do non-virtuous actions,
that becomes suffering indeed.

- Arya Sanghata Sutra
User avatar
Johnny Dangerous
Global Moderator
Posts: 17092
Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2012 10:58 pm
Location: Olympia WA
Contact:

Re: Anxiety, sadness and movement

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

Könchok Thrinley wrote: Sun Apr 24, 2022 7:45 pm
Johnny Dangerous wrote: Sun Apr 24, 2022 7:29 pm Exercise, less caffeine, breathing practices that are calming. Especially if it doesn’t go along with any particular thought pattern, it is the body going into fight or flight mode. Practices that involve contemplation of wholesome states help too, but don’t work as well when you are really wound up because anxiety actually alters your thought process.
Thanks a lot!

Do you think short sessions of watching the breath would also be helpful to deal with it in the long term?
It depends on whether you are confident that that is a calming technique for you I think.

One of my teachers (a Lopon and psychotherapist) says that prior to object-focused techniques it is sometimes good to focus on “grounding techniques” in modern terms, stuff like focus on the whole body or breathing with the whole body, contact of body with the ground, resting in the senses, etc.

I think the reason is that the aspect of shamatha that involves focus on an object can sometimes increase tension.

Subjectively, this is the case for me. The most immediately calming technique for me is simply focus on tactile sensation, contact with the ground or cushion, etc.

You might also try these techniques on your back in corpse pose or similar, that adds a physiological dimension, I don’t remember the details well but the gist is that your body is less capable of fight or flight mode when laying on your back.
Meditate upon Bodhicitta when afflicted by disease

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when sad

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when suffering occurs

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when you are scared

-Khunu Lama
User avatar
Könchok Thrinley
Former staff member
Posts: 3275
Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2015 11:18 am
Location: He/Him from EU

Re: Anxiety, sadness and movement

Post by Könchok Thrinley »

Nyudo wrote: Sun Apr 24, 2022 7:41 pm If you feel like moving it's possibly your body telling you movement would be a good idea.

Follow your body's wisdom and move however and wherever it wants to go.

Another helpful thing: check out YouTube instruction videos for beginners Qi Gong. Learn the first 7 basic slow routines. Like everything else of you are going to really do it right a real teacher would be best but we aren't going for rocket science level expertise here. Just slow gentle movements.

PS the Ksitigarbha mantra for ripening karma works wonders whenever things are looking down.
Thanks, that is a solid advice.

I used to practice one style of qigong but had a small falling out with the teacher and stopped. But I would like to get into 8 brocades.

What I especially appreciate about Qigong are the stances. That is a practice that does not have any counterpart in any system afaik. I remember how after a tai chi class at uni where we did a 20 minute stance I just barely got home and slept for several hours despite it being 10am and having slept enough the night before.

Which Ksitigarbha mantra do you mean? The long one starting "Chim bho Chim bho"?
“Observing samaya involves to remain inseparable from the union of wisdom and compassion at all times, to sustain mindfulness, and to put into practice the guru’s instructions”. Garchen Rinpoche

For those who do virtuous actions,
goodness is what comes to pass.
For those who do non-virtuous actions,
that becomes suffering indeed.

- Arya Sanghata Sutra
User avatar
Johnny Dangerous
Global Moderator
Posts: 17092
Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2012 10:58 pm
Location: Olympia WA
Contact:

Re: Anxiety, sadness and movement

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

He is a controversial teacher in some ways (perhaps for valid reasons, idk), but I have to say that Reggie Rays somatic approach to meditation really helped me on this level. He has some free audio out there with these techniques. I found that while I generally don’t “get” him as a Dharma teacher, the therapeutic value of his techniques for working with anxiety, etc. has been huge.
Meditate upon Bodhicitta when afflicted by disease

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when sad

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when suffering occurs

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when you are scared

-Khunu Lama
User avatar
Könchok Thrinley
Former staff member
Posts: 3275
Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2015 11:18 am
Location: He/Him from EU

Re: Anxiety, sadness and movement

Post by Könchok Thrinley »

Johnny Dangerous wrote: Sun Apr 24, 2022 7:58 pm It depends on whether you are confident that that is a calming technique for you I think.

One of my teachers (a Lopon and psychotherapist) says that prior to object-focused techniques it is sometimes good to focus on “grounding techniques” in modern terms, stuff like focus on the whole body or breathing with the whole body, contact of body with the ground, resting in the senses, etc.

I think the reason is that the aspect of shamatha that involves focus on an object can sometimes increase tension.

Subjectively, this is the case for me. The most immediately calming technique for me is simply focus on tactile sensation, contact with the ground or cushion, etc.

You might also try these techniques on your back in corpse pose or similar, that adds a physiological dimension, I don’t remember the details well but the gist is that your body is less capable of fight or flight mode when laying on your back.
Hm, that is really interesting.

I used to have that problem with shamatha, however Trungpa Rinpoche's instructions for meditation with breath have helped me quite a bit. He adviced to relax a bit with outbreath.

Also at least for me short session of watching the breath is quite relaxing as I tend to focus on the belly. Thinking of it I am not sure I can imagine doing this meditation without engaging body quite heavily.

Thank you for the shavasana point. Definitively worth trying out.
“Observing samaya involves to remain inseparable from the union of wisdom and compassion at all times, to sustain mindfulness, and to put into practice the guru’s instructions”. Garchen Rinpoche

For those who do virtuous actions,
goodness is what comes to pass.
For those who do non-virtuous actions,
that becomes suffering indeed.

- Arya Sanghata Sutra
Giovanni
Posts: 765
Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2020 11:07 am

Re: Anxiety, sadness and movement

Post by Giovanni »

Obviously Konchog Trinley, no one wants to feel anxiety and sadness. But before taking remedial action it can help to reflect on the fact that what you are experiencing is the human condition. This is what Dukkha feels like, and it is there just beneath the surface for many people covered lightly by layers of distraction. When our practice takes us under that layer we experience what we use busyness and movies and sex and drugs and nicotine to distract us from. So actually our anxiety and sadness can be good teachers, which does not mean that we should not try to be without them if possible.
Feel them deeply, then do what will help you to be freer of them.
Soma999
Posts: 702
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2016 3:52 pm

Re: Anxiety, sadness and movement

Post by Soma999 »

When thought rush and you feel overwhelmed, it is good to ground in the body. Doing sports can help, so all this energy get exausted in physical exercice.

A cold shower can also help, the cold help to connect with the body, and from my experience it seems to « cleanse » also energetically.

Breathing is very important. I found the Wim Hof breathing method is invaluable, so strong, easy and gives good help not only to reset the nervous system but to help improve everything in the body.

Some plants can help you to feel more relaxed, gomphrena for exemple.

The liver flush (dr Hulda Clark and Andreas Morritz) can be a very powerful way to help you. It helps the body, with strong effects on your energy.

Sometime people are depressed also because they have toxins in their body. When the body is cleansed, the head works fine.

That’s how it is done with some old school naturopathy. You cleanse the body with flush (liver flush, castor oil flush, magnesium salt flush…), and sometime many dark clouds just disappear.

In the Amazon they use those kind of approach. If the body is fine, the head will often by fine also. So they cleanse : flush, bath with plants and so on…
Post Reply

Return to “Wellness, Diet and Fitness”