Meditation – not always beneficial?

The practice of meditation is becoming increasingly more common and established in the western mainstream. This is because it has numerous daily benefits for our busy scattered minds and in a bigger sense it is also potentially life transformative. Yet it is not a magical panacea for everyone. Indeed there are some people for who meditation practice can be detrimental to their health and wellbeing. Even the UK health system, the NHS, has written about potential difficulties people may face in meditation.

Meditation practice is generally unsuitable for people with significant[1] mental health conditions, such as anxiety, psychosis and depression. This is because meditation encourages us to take our attention within, and thereby become directly aware of thoughts, feelings, and emotions. This practice helps deepen both our self-understanding and self-acceptance, as well as potentially illuminate the deeper spaciousness that lies as the bedrock of the ever changing scenery of the mind. Yet for those with mental health conditions, directly focusing their attention on dysfunctional mind states/ emotions may further exacerbate their condition. Rather than becoming more self-aware, they can easily become overwhelmed, and thereby more anxious, depressed and so on.

Rather than meditate, within the yoga tradition such a person would be encouraged to be physically active to channel their inner energies in a constructive direction. Karma yoga – selfless work in the present moment – would be excellent, for example digging the garden or cleaning. By keeping the mind engaged, as much as possible, on the task in hand, the mind has less time to become engaged in dysfunctional pathways. Practicing yoga postures can also be helpful. A trained teacher can support you to be more connected to the body and gradually bring a greater harmony to the body and mind. In this way yoga offers key initial steps as a preparation towards meditation.

Those who are energetically ‘spacy’, with little connection to their bodies, should also be wary of diving into meditation too early. They are better served, at least initially, with a similar range of yoga practices as given above. While meditation can offer a temporary refuge from our daily responsibilities and preoccupations, it should not be used as a crutch or an ongoing hiding place from psychological material that we need to work through.

These are general guidelines only. Certain people with mental health difficulties can still learn meditation, particularly if they have ongoing contact with a good meditation teacher. In these days of quick fixes where everything is available at the click of a button, the fundamental role of a teacher is easily forgotten. The smart phone app, or the internet, can be a poor substitute to a teacher who has the training and experience to offer you appropriate guidance and support, and suitable preparation, for your practice.

The suitable preparation will include preparing the body to sit comfortably, training the breath to become deeper, quieter and smoother, and working skillfully with the resistances of the mind to being still.  With the right preparation, suitable guidance, and at the appropriate time, meditation can offer us a peaceful refuge, greater self-awareness, a kinder heart and a sense of coming ‘home’.

Chris Evans/ Swami Krishnapremananda

Swami Krishnapremananda is a senior teacher at Mandala Yoga Ashram. He teaches yoga and meditation retreats and day long seminars both in the Ashram and elsewhere around the U.K. and Europe. He has been practicing and living yoga for 30 years.

[1] In my understanding we are all on the mental health/ imbalance spectrum, and we dynamically shift along it depending on the prevailing mind state and emotion that is playing through our body/ mind at any given time.