Cutting through Meditation Oversensitivity
A Critique of Esoteric Approaches
A specific misunderstanding that meditation practice systems such as Advanced Yoga Practices (AYP) are apt to facilitate, is the idea that some people just reach a point where meditation practice becomes too overstimulating to tolerate. This is presented with a focus on the "energetic" sensitivity an individual has to practice and that there comes a point where someone has very little to do, but "wait it out" or to choose a "slow-burn" approach with doing very little to no practice. What this framing fails to account for is the biological basis that may be the cause of an individual's oversensitivity. For example, if a person has too much serotonin, their neurotransmitters will fire too easily with regard to practice stimulation. The symptoms for such biological imbalances happen to greatly overlap with the description of oversensitivity symptoms, creating a lack of clarity as to how to resolve it.
The danger in this is that if a person is only exposed to understanding imbalance symptoms in an esoteric manner, they are liable to not get the help that they need, especially if that help is psychiatric. What also doesn't help is that meditation and yoga practices are capable of contributing to such imbalances. Many of these practices intentionally activate regions of the brain that can push these symptoms over the edge to the overwhelming detriment of the practitioner. Every individual will be approaching practice from a wide variety of neurochemical balances. These dangers are why I appreciate taking a pragmatic approach to practice, as it encourages not ignoring biological constraints and imbalances.
Daniel M. Ingram makes an excellent statement in observing the biological realities of another practitioner in Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha: An Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book:
I have an awakened friend who has found it very useful to take medication to treat his very real bipolar disorder. There is something very down-to-earth and realistic about that. These practices won’t save us from our biology. They merely reveal something in the relationship to it.
The above quote cements the understanding that a healthy practice is not oppositional to seeking psychiatric help. This quote also reinforces why, on the right path, suffering a horribly hindered practice under the assumption of being helplessly "oversensitive" is immoral. No one should feel as if they are unable to practice meditation without overstimulating the nervous system, especially when these symptoms extend beyond meditation into other areas of their life (assuming the user is practicing something as reasonable as Mindfulness-based stress reduction)1. It isn't reasonable to only be able to do.
The ease in underestimating the impact of practice
The mental health risks are precisely why meditation shouldn't be the first thing recommended to individuals that are struggling with their mental health. There are a multitude of different activities that can be done to achieve worthwhile mental health. Meditation is the best thing to do when an individual has already reached the point of great stability from other mental health activities, including therapy.
Ingram further elaborates on the risks of practices possibly leading to “frying yourself”, referred to as “overloading” within AYP:
By “frying yourself”, I mean explicitly severe mood instability and psychotic episodes, as well as other odd biological and energetic disturbances, with some practitioners occasionally ending up in inpatient psychiatric facilities for various periods of time. Exactly how much of this is nature (their own “inherent wiring” and potential for mental pathology), how much of it is nurture (practicing hardcore meditation techniques in high doses such as those presented here), and how much is related to other unidentified factors is a question that is still being worked out, just so that you are not in any way uninformed about the still-developing state of modern science as it applies to the art of intensive meditation.
Medical intervention is justified for practice oversensitivity
If access to that practice is impossible due to physical and mental discomfort, I highly advise seeking help from a mental health professional. There are a number of possibilities that could be the cause that are entirely outside the purview of what a meditation practice community can help you with. No one should have to forgo the basic health benefits that come with concentration meditation due to an otherwise resolvable health issue. These practices do have ups and downs, some more than other (insight meditation for example), but it never hurts to get a second opinion. It would only be insincere if the goal of seeking treatment is to simply practice more, but can easily be resolved establishing a conservative practice routine.
Medications are often seen in a bad light for subjective conditions that are seen as easily resolvable using alternative health practices. There are many communities that surround yoga practices with this mindset. They will be the first to encourage an individual to fear the use of medications to treat these challenges. This bias has been developed culturally due to the poor reputation of the pharmaceutical industry and the always increasing preoccupation with conspiracy theories. This is especially the case in communities and spaces that are woo adjacent — a problem exacerbated by the effects of the pandemic.
For anyone who finds this and has been struggling with practice due to oversensitivity, it’s worth ruling out what may or may not be the problem with the addition of a medical perspective. I hope this helps anyone who finds themselves in this position.
AYP is centered around the use of a specific mantra, breath meditation methods applicable to MSBR are recommended by the system for addressing oversensitivity.