Question: When I was meditating I had a tense feeling. My head was hurting and I felt I was pulling my meditation.¹¹⁰

Sri Chinmoy: If you get that kind of tense feeling while meditating, immediately breathe in very fast. When the rhythm of your breathing increases, the tension will go away. Or you can try to imagine that you are climbing up a flight of stairs or a ladder that has quite a few rungs, and while you are climbing you are breathing in. If you feel this kind of ascent, then tension goes away. Tension comes when you are stuck at one place. But when you are climbing, you are like a bird flying up into the sky. When the bird is flying, where is tension?

Also, before you start to meditate, breathe in seven long breaths. This will help you. If you breathe in very powerfully, you will energise yourself and, at the same time, conquer sleep for a few minutes.