Nodding off even when my back is straight..

[akashic610]

I sip upright in a chair when I meditate. Last night while meditating, towards the end of it I began to nod off even though I was sitting upright. I meditated for 40 minutes. I will add that even though I've only been meditating for a week, I seem to be able to focus on my breathing more easily. Thoughts seem to disappear more quickly too. But is the nodding off something that will go away with more practice?

And yes, I'm positive that I keep my spine straight.

[CFTraveler]

Depends on how tired you are. If you're sleep deprived, you can nod off standing up.

[akashic610]

Well I did it pretty late last night. I wasn't really tired though. I get 8-9hours of sleep a night.

[Freawaru]

But is the nodding off something that will go away with more practice?

Yes, don't worry. Falling asleep is a common obstacle once one has overcome the obstacle of agitation.

[Korpo]

Every time I hit a new level of deeper relaxation it may happen that I fall asleep again - the discomfort that kept you aware is gone. There is an edge between wake and sleep we inch toward during meditation and trance, and finetuning is part of getting closer to that edge and deeper inside without losing awareness.

Congrats on your good progress!

Oliver

[DolphinSpirit]

Sorry, I shouldnt laugh, it reminds me of a time when I did fall off my chair while meditating,

I prefer to lay down, unless I am doing an open eye meditation, where I need to be sitting upright.

Love and Light
Mel

[Cal]

I think nodding off can be a symptom of emtpy focus. Fill your awareness with more of yourself, your breath even more than usual breath almost too slowly for compfort, feel your entire being.

Should keep you up, it does me.

Love and light to all
Cal

[Tom]

Depends on how tired you are. If you're sleep deprived, you can nod off standing up.

There was one morning when I got off work and was walking home when more than once I found myself dreaming before hitting the ground and waking up. At one point I collided with a parked car and complained that it had been put there in my path specifically for the purpose of annoying me.

[BirdOfPrey]

The nodding off is recognizable for me. I recently started meditating again, and earlier today I even started to nod off after 5 minutes. Even tho my back was straight, my head was high up, etc. It's a normal process.

However, it could be related to the amount of time you spend meditating... Perhaps 40 minutes is too much to start out with. I started out with 10 minutes, and that's great for now, even tho I feel I could easily do 15 minutes without problems, I want to stick to 10 minutes for a few more days, so I can get used to the process of sitting quietly for a period of time. Stretching the time too fast might tire you out.

You could try to meditate half the time for a period of time to see if that works, and if it works, you could steadily increase the time back up to 40 minutes.

Also, how well are you handlign the agitation? I remember when I first started to meditate, I become so irritated with sitting there I sometimes wanted to explode. Right now, it's a minor issue. I usually notice I become agitated, and let go off it(Which really works well) and it's gone within 5 seconds.

With love,
Bird of Prey

[Korpo]

I wanted to add that doing standing meditation can be helpful. I sometimes do it, and it can help a lot. Also doing it in the garden or some other nice, sunny or attractive place, especially nature, can be wonderful.

Oliver