5 Common Hindrances To Meditation
The five hindrances are the most common sticking points that people experience in a meditation practice.
Chances are you’re experiencing, or will experience, one or more of these hindrances at some point during your journey with meditation.
I did NOT come up with the list of five hindrances, they were developed as part of Buddhist philosophy and have been widely spoken about for a long time. Becoming aware of this list is an integral part of starting a meditation practice, as it will lay to rest any notion that you’re somehow meditating wrongly. Mainly because you’ll realise that the hindrances/challenges arising for you are completely normal.
The list is as follows:
Restlessness
A restless mind and body is the most common hindrance. The restless feeling of not wanting to sit and do ‘nothing’ anymore can disrupt the meditation. Often restlessness is experienced quite early on in meditation, the body feels agitated and wants to move. Fears, worries and anxious thoughts will occasionally preoccupy the mind.
Doubt
Doubting your ability to meditate, doubting the teacher's guidance, doubting the efficacy of meditation. Doubt is a hindrance that is mostly experienced for anyone new to meditation. It’s such a strong hindrance, that it’s often the reason people stop meditating.
Lethargy
Feeling very sleepy or fatigued every time you meditate can certainly be enough to stop you from meditating. For some it could be because they're generally under-slept, but for others it’s just the mind's way of trying to distract you from confronting emotions and sensations.
Sensual Desire
Preferring the appetites of the senses rather than having the eyes closed. A want for food, sex, experiences and possessions. All of which are wonderful, but will distract you from meditation. We live our life in front of screens, an addiction which really becomes apparent once we attempt to meditate.
Ill Will
Refers to ‘negative’ states of mind. Anger, envy, resentment, bitterness, disappointment, regret, guilt, jealousy, judgement etc. As these emotions are usually quite uncomfortable to experience in the body, people would rather stop meditating than practice how to accept the presence of them.
Can you relate to experiencing any or all of these hindrances?
I certainly can. In fact I can safely say that I’ve experienced all of these hindrances at some point during a meditation session. Indeed when I first started meditating, the hindrances seemed so strong that I would struggle to last longer than a couple of minutes without finding a reason to stop.
Eventually through guidance and practice, the hindrances became less and less impeding. Now, even though they still arise during meditation, I understand how to overcome any hindrance when it arises. Also as they’re not nearly as strong as they once were, I can meditate for much longer.
How to overcome the five hindrances
A better subtitle would actually be ‘how to accept the five hindrances’, as the antidote to any of the hindrances is to notice it arising and then practise accepting it.
When you can accept what’s arising for you, it may intensify momentarily but then it will pass.
Accepting the presence of something uncomfortable can be extremely challenging at first, but the more you get used to it the better you get. If you’re unsure why accepting the hindrance will mean that it passes, read the article ‘how to meditate’, which explains how acceptance is key to meditation.
Expect the hindrances to arise, they definitely will. And now that you are expecting them, you’ll be in a much better position to practice allowing them to be there and watching as they fade away.
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