3 Common Meditation Struggles

Meditation isn’t always easy, especially when you are first getting started. This can be frustrating and make you wonder if you’re doing something wrong. You may even be tempted to quit meditating before you experience any benefits. But before you do that, look at these three common meditation struggles and see if the solutions below work for you.

Struggle #1: Expecting to Feel Good or Different

You’ve tried several forms of meditation. You’ve looked up meditative chants and tried to connect with your inner self. But you’ve yet to feel good or different. You feel like the same old you and you’re wondering why.

Think about how it would feel if you had one hundred pounds to lose and you were serious about taking the weight off. You would probably join a gym or get a personal trainer. You show up several times a week to run on the treadmill or lift weights. Not every gym session leaves you feeling amazing. Once the initial excitement wore off, it just felt downright hard.

It’s the same concept with meditation. You will have transformative meditation session and struggle through others. But most sessions aren’t going to feel that way. Most will be challenging. Just remind yourself that meditation is worth it for your mental and physical well-being.

Struggle #2: Hating the Sound of Silence

When you live a busy, hectic lifestyle you’re surrounded by constant noise even if you don’t realize it. You are getting notifications from your phone, your email is going crazy and your spouse and kids need you for something.

Silence can feel downright awkward and uncomfortable.  If the silence of meditation is bothering you, you can add in a white noise machine or find a white noise play list on YouTube. There are also white noise generators apps that you can purchase and use on your smart device.

If the white noise doesn’t work for you, you can use resources like Insight Timer. Download the app and find guided meditations or gentle music. There are hundreds of great options to choose from.

Struggle #3: Getting Restless During Sessions

You can sit comfortably at your TV or computer for hours on end and never budge. But the moment you get quiet and settle down for meditation, you suddenly feel like you can’t sit still.

Don’t feel bad if this happens to you. Your body just tend to struggle with constant movement to stillness. If you were driving your car at 65 miles per hour and you suddenly turned onto a road where the speed limit was only 15 miles per hour, you’d feel tense at first, almost like you were driving in slow motion.

It’s a similar feeling when you meditate. You’ve been stuck in fast forward since you woke up and slowing down doesn’t feel natural. Be patient with yourself and your body during meditation. Just let your body gradually adjust to a different speed.

Don’t look at meditation as something you HAVE to do, a job. View meditation as a journey. Enjoy the process and keep learning as you go along.