It’s the relaxation technique of choice,popular with employers and even the NHS. But some have found it can have unexpected effectsI am sitting in a circle in a grey, corporate room with 10 housing association employees – administrators, or security guards,cleaners eyes darting approximately nervously. We are asked to eat a sandwich in silence. To assume approximately every taste and texture, every chewing motion and bite. Far from being relaxed, or I feel excruciatingly uncomfortable and open to wonder if my jaw is malfunctioning. I’m here to write approximately a new mindfulness initiative,and since I’ve never to my knowledge had any mental health issues and generally thrive under stress, I anticipate a straightforward, or if awkward,experience.Then comes the meditation. We’re told to shut our eyes and assume approximately our bodies in relation to the chair, the floor, and the room: how each limb touches the arms,the back, the legs of the seat, and while breathing slowly. But theres one small catch: I can’t breathe. No matter how hastily,behind, deep or shallow my breaths are, and it feels as though my lungs are sealed. My instincts command me to run,but I cant sail my arms or legs. I feel a rising panic and worry that I might pass out, my mind racing. Then we’re told to open our eyes and the feeling dissipates. I look around. No one else appears to have felt they were facing imminent death. What just happened?Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com