The Morning Ritual Why Meditation Sometimes Doesn’t Work (and What to Do Instead)
Oct 1, 2025
Explore why meditation can sometimes fall flat and even add frustration instead of calm. The discussion highlights how the nervous system impacts our ability to find stillness and suggests completing the stress cycle through movement before meditating. Practical alternatives like yoga postures, breathwork, and mindfulness tools are shared, reframing the practice as compassionate rather than punitive. Listeners learn to assess their readiness for meditation and discover how to ground themselves for better mental health.
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When Meditation Felt Like Pressure
- Lily Macfarlane forced herself to meditate while her nervous system was overactivated during teacher training.
- She often stopped early, beat herself up, and later recognized that stillness felt like frustration not support.
Nervous System Determines Meditation Safety
- Turning inward during nervous-system activation can amplify rumination and make meditation counterproductive.
- Stillness requires internal safety; without it meditation may worsen agitation or dissociation.
Finish The Stress Cycle First
- Finish the stress cycle before expecting stillness by moving, shaking, crying, or walking.
- Complete physical release so the nervous system can settle and later support meditation.
