Hello, friends.
Today we continue to talk about depression and the topic of a new article: meditation for depression, relaxation and mindfulness as a remedy against the blues.
In the last article, I talked about how to overcome depression on your own without any antidepressants and doctors, who do not make your psyche stronger, but only relieve symptoms. And only you can provide the best help to yourself, through meditation and quality relaxation. Be sure to read it and then come back here.
Why does depression occur?
As I said last time, the cause of depression is not in the external world, but because our psyche or mind works incorrectly and distortedly. We look at everything through a dark window, the world seems gloomy and dull. The fact of the matter is that it only seems.
The point is that people interact with the world around them through windows consisting of their views, beliefs and mental patterns.
To better understand where depression comes from, I will tell you a secret.
For many, having learned it, an insight may even occur, after which many psychological problems will recede. So stop everything you’re doing and carefully, slowly read everything I’m about to say.
So.
Human consciousness consists of two fundamental parts: the higher consciousness, the real Self, the soul and the ego, which includes the mind, our entire psyche, both conscious and unconscious.
We need the ego to interact with external space, with its help we perceive the world around us, this is that thick window through which we look at everything around us. We cannot look at the world with higher consciousness alone; it is impossible without the ego (why this is so, I will not talk in detail now, this topic is beyond the scope of today’s article). Therefore, the world that we observe around us is not actually what it really is, because... our perception is necessarily distorted.
We do not look at the world, but only watch a movie, a picture that our psyche, our mind has painted for us. After all, it’s better to look and enjoy the beauty of nature, not sitting at home through the window, but to go out and see with a clear look all the colors of this beauty. But there is no escape from this window of the ego. We are forced to observe everything with distortion.
Another thing is that some have a window so thick that the light of the world cannot pass through normally and makes its way to us with a very large refraction. As a result, we see something completely different from what is actually outside. This happens in those whose ego works very strongly. Internal dialogue, the main component of our mind, is constantly on and at full volume. Such people have ingrained patterns in their heads that are difficult to change. They are self-centered, stubborn and do not accept other people's opinions. For others, the window of the ego consists not of ordinary glass, but of distorted glass. In this case, the surroundings seem ugly, implausible, as in the kingdom of crooked mirrors. This is how psychological problems and illnesses arise.
For others, the glass is not only distorted, but also heavily smeared with the dirt of negative emotions. Then the world seems dark and terrible
This is how depression occurs.
All these people with such windows do not know what silence of the mind , when the glass of the ego’s windows is clean, transparent and when we look at the world with a sober, unclouded look.
In fact, this is how we can and should look at the world, at the entire surrounding reality, at the people around us. When we are not drunk, in a figurative sense, when there is no blur in our eyes, but we see soberly, detachedly, with understanding and love. This is the only way to get rid of depression and become a healthy and happy person.
How to learn to look at the world this way, clean the windows from the dirt of negative emotions and remove excess glass?
How to get out of depression on your own and start living?
Very simple. Take up meditation.
Useful breathing exercises
To fully overcome depression, it is very useful to do special breathing exercises. Its implementation will not require much time, but will have a truly amazing effect, allowing you to get rid of depression in a fairly short time.
You need to stand up straight, placing your arms freely along your body and placing your feet at the width of your own pelvis. Next, take a slow and even breath, raise your arms straight up (through the sides), connecting your fingers in a “house” at the highest point.
You need to look up and look at the intertwined fingers. Then slowly exhale, lowering your hands down and intertwining them again in the form of a house.
At the same time, you should tilt your chin down, looking at your joined fingers. Next, you need to inhale again and raise your straightened arms up (across the sides), intertwining your fingers. And as you exhale, lower your arms in front of you, spreading your elbows and pointing your palms down.
During such meditation, a feeling of a balloon slowly deflating should be created. You need to repeat this exercise at least 7 times.
Meditation for depression
The best way to get rid of negative emotions and clear the windows through which we look at the world is to leave the mind alone, not to identify with it. If we can separate ourselves from it, the mind (ego) will lose energy from our attention and simply fall silent. The ego lives due to the fact that we are constantly linked to it. After all, only we ourselves create all those thoughts that oppress us and lead to depression. By disidentifying from the mind, negative thoughts and emotions gradually dissolve, making way for purer feelings that come from the soul. The entire psyche is rebooted (Matrix reboot), it takes a break from us, from our incorrect patterns, obsessive thoughts and slowly levels out and returns to normal.
How to accomplish all this? Of course, do meditation.
Meditation is disidentification with our ego, when we move into a position of detached observation of our inner space. Thanks to which the internal dialogue stops, we come to the silence of the mind, and all the dirt, the cause of our depression, dissolves.
Our windows, from the example above, are cleaned and we begin to look at the world with a completely different perspective. More pure, sober, truthful and aware. The problems that used to oppress us no longer seem so terrible. And we no longer fear new difficulties and adversities, preparing to meet them with a braver heart, without hiding in the darkness of depression and blues.
Of course, you should know that all these miracles will not happen immediately. Meditation works correctly, but slowly. You need to be patient, and for faster and 100% results, apply the recommendations that I will give below.
You must also learn how to meditate correctly, and not just sit with your eyes closed at a certain time for show and wait for results.
These are the basic principles that, once you understand and put into practice, you will meditate correctly and achieve success in getting rid of depression.
The essence of proper meditation is that we sit in a special position or simply on a chair with a straight back. We close our eyes, disconnect from the outside world, move our gaze inward and move on to a detached observation of our inner mental space. We separate from the psyche and, in complete silence of the mind, watch as thoughts, emotions and other contents of lower consciousness float past us. We begin to understand that we are not these thoughts, we are something more. All the negative emotions that gave rise to depression no longer seem as important as before. They fade, losing nourishment from our attention and gradually dissolve. We do not participate in the process of their disappearance, we only create the conditions for starting the process and watch it with detachment. In order for the process to start correctly and for us to get rid of depression, we need to come to a special state called non-doing.
Read in detail what non-doing is and how to meditate correctly in my book: “Complete and correct instructions for meditation.”
Now I’ll briefly say that the essence of not doing is that we don’t try to fight our thoughts and emotions, but on the contrary, we let them go free. Fighting is an option for interaction, and by letting the mind go to its own devices, we ignore it, separate from it and just simply observe it without doing anything.
The process of not doing opens the door for deep-rooted negative thoughts and emotions that we were previously unaware of to come out. Previously, they were deeply hidden under the cover of internal dialogue in the subconscious. During meditation, when the mental chatter subsides, they begin to come out. This way we can finally get to the root cause of depression. Our task throughout the entire practice is not to identify with the thoughts and emotions coming out, but to remain a detached observer of them.
Not everyone will be able to do this. Long-forgotten grievances, anger or despair can emerge with such force that it is difficult to observe them. They absorb us again, and the blues fall with even greater force. That’s why you need to properly go through this difficult stage of getting rid of depression. Be prepared for it, have courage, and most importantly learn to meditate correctly. Of course, you won’t be able to meditate correctly right away. Emotions of depression strive to merge with us, the main thing is not to despair and catch ourselves in the fact that we are not observing, but again experiencing and thinking. As a result, crises and exacerbations may occur. It will be many times worse for you. Be prepared for this. Continue to meditate, but only correctly, using non-doing. The manual will help you.
If it gets so bad that you can’t even meditate, stop the practice for a while, and then try quality relaxation by lying in shavasana, which I will discuss below. I can only do it in person in person, so listen to your intuition and use common sense.
To overcome depression, you need to meditate almost every day for 20-30 minutes. No other way.
The main thing is to start. Once you get the hang of it and feel the results, you will enjoy practicing and will be happy to sit in a meditation pose every time.
Meditation for stress relief
- the position should be as comfortable as possible. Such that during meditation you do not mentally return to it. The back should be straight, the head slightly lowered to the chin, the shoulders laid back and down.
- eyes are closed, attention is concentrated on breathing.
- breathing is deep and measured. Inhale through the nose for 8 counts, i.e. While you inhale, stretch the act into 8 equal parts. After inhalation, a powerful exhalation follows, also through the nose.
- Duration of meditation for anxiety and stress: 11 minutes.
To conclude the practice, work with breath holdings:
- deep breath - hold for 5-10 seconds. - exhale.
- inhale - hold for 15-20 seconds. - exhale. + circular rotations of the shoulders - exhale.
- inhale - hold for 15-20 seconds + quick circular rotations of the shoulders - exhale. Relaxation. Stay in this state, feel the emptiness and silence inside, the absence of emotions. You simply are.
An effective relaxation technique against depression - yoga nidra
If you have very severe depression, a relaxation technique is also used separately along with meditation, lying in shavasana. It often happens that a person suffering from an illness is simply not able to meditate properly. The darkness of melancholy completely swallowed him up, draining all his strength, and it is very difficult, almost impossible, to move into the position of a detached observer. Quality relaxation comes to the rescue. To combat depression, I suggest you try a very powerful relaxation technique called yoga nidra.
The essence of yoga nidra is that the voice of an instructor from outside helps us relax and turn off the ego (the voice can simply be recorded, the presence of the instructor is not necessary). As instructed by the presenter, we look with our inner gaze at parts of the body and move our attention. What happens? It is pure attention, the instrument of our awareness, our real Self, that turns on, while the ego, psyche, mind, on the contrary, freezes and turns off. The stopping of the ego is so good that we are immersed in an interesting altered state of consciousness between sleep and wakefulness. All the dregs of the subconscious that lead to depression come out. The release can also occur through the body, which is characterized by twitching or trembling of any of its parts.
Gradually, the negative emotions that caused depression disappear, and the psyche becomes more balanced.
Yoga Nidra is perfect for those who simply do not have the strength to sit down in meditation and experience its healing effect. It is also indispensable when the roots of depression lie deep in the subconscious and a beginner is not able to reach it in meditation and disidentify with it. It will remain in us, leading to illness.
By deeply relaxing to the voice of the instructor, we give the green light for all the dirt to come out of our ego.
Depression disappears on its own; we just create the conditions for healing.
But remember. Meditation, if done correctly, has a better effect in freeing the subconscious mind. During deep relaxation, many do not discover true awareness within themselves, but only fall into a semi-trance or fall asleep. The instructor's voice does its best to help you avoid falling into oblivion. But still, for beginners who cannot yet meditate well, and those suffering from depression are among them, yoga nidra will be an excellent start to getting rid of the blues.
Start there. And then gradually move on to meditation, completing the practice only with high-quality ordinary relaxation in shavasana.
I will write in detail about the wonderful effects of yoga nidra next time.
Now, without putting off the practice for later, just lie down in shavasana, turn on the recording that I will post for you now and follow what the instructor tells you. It's simple. If possible, do not fall asleep. But don’t forget about not doing. Don’t try, just calmly move your attention around your body, according to your voice. The practice will go perfectly if you don’t fall asleep and your awareness is dotted. Either you fall into a half-sleep, then you emerge and realize everything. Start by practicing yoga nidra every day.
Here's the entry:
