Itching

[DrCathWood]

HI. I have just finished the first week of the Mindfulness programme (Mindfulness: a practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world) and my most pressing question is: what do you do about itching. Now and again I have an intense itch, a feeling like spiders and crawling into my body. When I'm doing a guided meditation I am so distracted by this that i HAVE to scratch it. Is there any better way of dealing with itching?

Thanks.

[ZenDoe]

This will pass. When we first start doing this kind of work, body and mind can resist a bit. Our mind habits are very strong! So, sometimes body/mind might jump in and say, in a way, "YIKES! This is different! I'm going to distract you so that you go back to the status quo!" So, some itching or tickling appears.

It's not about "shutting out" distractions like this. It's about looking at them full-on, which can seem to be the antithesis of "meditation".

When that itching appears, put your whole attention into it - become that itch. (scratch if you must ) That itch will teach you a lot.

[JonW]

Yes, what ZenDoe said.
When I feel an itch or any other form of discomfort when meditating I follow Jon Kabat-Zinn's advice and lay out the welcome mat for it. That's to say, I don't fight it. I simply become aware of it and, if it seems appropriate, breathe into it. It then goes away. It's not unlike acknowledging a thought that bubbles up. With the thought, I welcome it with compassionate awareness. Then, like a bubble, it wanders off or it bursts. Either way, it goes. Whereas if I try to push it away, it pushes back and refuses to budge.

[Steve]

I remember reading in a book several years ago (so can't remember which book!) about a long time meditator attending a retreat. At one stage a fly landed on his nose and stayed there a while walking around the outside of his nostril. He was highly tempted to brush it away but managed not to by focussing his entire intention on it until it eventually flew away. He said afterwards that those few seconds/minutes where by far the most effective part of the retreat.

So, if you can, put your attention on the itch, ask yourself what it feels like and realise that its only am itch not a stabbing pain. This is much easier said than done, but worth trying. If not,then mindfully scratch it!

Steve

[JonW]

Love the story about the fly, Steve.
I wonder what the most mindful course of action would be if, say, a lion started gnawing at your leg during meditation...

[Steve]

I've also read about some meditators likening being in the moment and being aware as if out in the jungle where there are tigers - so they have to be alert to everything going on and its not safe to start thinking about the past or the future. Not sure if this was for real or just an illustration of a state of awareness.

Steve

[ZenDoe]

Oh my gosh, yes, Steve! I'm remembering now that I led a retreat once when there were flies! They'd land on our hands and faces. It became the entire focal point of the retreat!

My other favorite was a midnight session on new year's eve. There were about 20 of us, and we were practicing in my home at the time. We had it all set up so that at midnight we'd chant - it was "supposed to be" powerful and moving and all that jazz. Well, the next door neighbor had his idea of powerful new year's mojo too! About 11:30, just as we were really in a sweet spot, he and his party kicked up the disco music. It was rattling the paint off the walls it was so loud. At midnight, they blasted AABA's Dancing Queen! We all just sat through it, most of us laughing at ourselves and at the situation. It was GREAT!!

[monkeymind]

I'm just a newbie but I had my first interesting experience with an itch just last week.
Well actually it was more of a twinge but a similar kind of situation. Normally I would just scratch the itch, and I have all sorts of inner dialogues with myself about why its fine to scratch the itch.
But on this occasion, I didn't, I just tried to ignore it. I failed spectacularly at ignoring it because it seemed to get sharper and more painful. I decided that it was OK not to ignore it, maybe I should just sit there and feel it for a while to see how far I could tolerate it. This was my Everest and I wanted to see how far I could climb. I knew that I'd rub it pretty soon but how long could I last.
Well at first it twinged even more and hurt more and it was a bit worrying, but after a while it just disappeared by itself. I didn't do anything, it just vanished as quickly as it arose.
So now, strangely, I'm quite looking forward to my next meditation itch or twinge so that I can see what happens when I do nothing.

[DrCathWood]

Thanks for the replies guys.

This is the way that I have dealt with itiching in the past, while I have been doing unguided mediation but I find it more difficult when doing guided mediation and I'm trying to do as instructed by the guider.

[JonW]

As with the itch, so with thoughts and feelings. When we sit and begin watching thoughts and feelings bubble up, they dissolve. They can't maintain themselves without our belief in them.