Transcendental Meditation - Technique

Ok you're eager to get into it but don’t know where to start? There are several different methods that you can use. I am going to outline one of the very simple ones with an emphasis on using it to heal RSI - or any other part of the body that may be injured. Anytime I refer to the hands or wrists or RSI on this page you can substitute it for any of the other areas or chronic injuries you are trying to heal.

The ultimate goal of this(and indeed most other meditation methods) is to put you in a state where you are thinking NOTHING. Simple right?? Well you might think so, but for most people thinking nothing is actually a very difficult task. When I say thinking about nothing I mean absolutely nothing, your head should be clear, totally conscious of everything around you and peaceful. If you think this is easy give it a try right now for 1 minute, try to think absolutely no thoughts for one minute. GO!

Well how did you do? Mabe you got 5 seconds without thinking anything? No doubt thoughts started coming in your head - "Am I thinking nothing? I am thinking nothing! This isn’t so hard... I wonder if my minutes up yet" etc. Thankfully it is not necessary to be able to maintain absolute concentration for the full 40 minutes to gain the healing benefits of meditation.

Ok how do you go about doing it then? Well, you start by selecting a one syllable word - any word. It need not be religious, though if you are a religious person then the name of your god will do nicely. If not you can select the body part that is paining for example hands, leg, knee ... Now go to your selected location and sit down in your meditative position, with your eyes open just sit for a few minutes and try to forget all your worldly problems. Try to bring your mind down from its hyperactive awake state to something a little bit more relaxed.

Next, close your eyes and try to make your breathing slow and rhythmic. Its a bit hard to describe in words but I’ll try, it should go innnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn............. ooououuuuuuuuuuuuuutttttt....... as your lungs fill up you should slow down your intake so as to make a graceful transition from breathing in to breathing out. As your lungs empty, again slow down your exhalation to make the transition from breathing out to breathing in. You should not be filling your lungs to their absolute maximum capacity or emptying them completely, but just breathing as much as is comfortable. Your mouth should be closed, and all the air should be entering and leaving through your nose. You should be trying not to think of anything at this point, though most likely you will become caught up in endless streams of thought. This is natural and whenever this happens calmly bring yourself back to focus on your breathing.

If you are meditating for the first time it might be a good idea to stay at this stage for a few days until you are comfortable with it. Just concentrate on your breathing and trying to still your mind.

The next step is to start to say your word in your mind. But we are trying to think about nothing I hear you cry! Yes that’s true, but by saying the word in your mind you are focusing your thoughts and so are less likely to wander off. It's sort of a compromise, we can't think about absolutely nothing so we may as well limit ourselves to think about exactly one thing to the exclusion of everything else. It is probably easiest to say your word once as you inhale and once as you exhale, try to keep your breathing slow and rhythmic. Remember you are saying the word only in your head, there should be no movement of the lips or anything else external.

Now if you are trying to reduce the pain in your wrists you should be trying to "feel" your wrists as you are breathing. As you breathe in try to feel the cool fresh air coming in and fresh blood flowing into your wrists. As you breathe out feel the blood returning from your wrists and the warm used air coming out of your nose. After some practice you may have some feeling in your wrists, they may feel "fat" or as if they are getting more blood then usual. This is a good sign and your pain will begin to reduce, even if you are not getting this feeling if you persevere your pain should start reducing. Remember it is not an overnight solution, it will take at least 3-4 weeks before you begin seeing real results. During this time you should try not to miss too many sessions, definitely try to get at least one session in every day.

There will be many many many times that your mind will wander off and you will start thinking about whether you put the cat out, or turned the iron off, or what your boss is going to say to you tomorrow. Whenever this happens realize it has happened and calmly bring yourself back to the breathing, your word, and your RSI. It is important not to get frustrated, these thoughts are normal and as you meditate more they will reduce.

Well, folks thats all there is to it! This simple technique can be used initially to help reduce your RSI but by prolonged use you can (apparently) reach some sort of spiritual realization. I myself haven’t experienced any such thing but there have been many books written on the subject by many different people which you should read about if you are interested in pursuing it further.