7 ms·

How to meditate

47 points by lazydon 13y ago

spodek 13y ago
My one-step way worked great, which was to go on a retreat with this organization -- http://www.dhamma.org http://www.dhamma.org. It's suggested donation. The challenge is the first time you go has to be for a full ten days. No reading, writing, or talking. The idea is you are a monk for ten days. I had never meditated before. I showed up with comfortable clothes and toiletries and they took care of everything else. Very challenging, but as rewarding and life-changing as anything I've done. I wrote up my experiences -- http://joshuaspodek.com/vipassana-meditation http://joshuaspodek.com/vipassana-meditation, http://joshuaspodek.com/goenka-10-day-meditation-retreats http://joshuaspodek.com/goenka-10-day-meditation-retreats, and http://joshuaspodek.com/jumping_for_joy http://joshuaspodek.com/jumping_for_joy -- for more background. EDIT: copying from the first link to save a click (losing the formatting, sorry): A reader emailed me about mindfulness and self-awareness. I mentioned to him a meditation retreat I did a few years ago and found an old post I wrote about the experience, answering another reader’s questions about the course. I did a ten day Vipassana course a few years ago. What it’s about: It teaches you a meditation technique and gives you the time and space to practice it. It’s based on buddhist beliefs. We meditated for 8-10 hours per day for ten days. That’s basically it. You aren’t supposed to read, write, gesture, etc, except to ask the instructor questions. They provide food and instruction on what to focus on. Was it hard: Yes, it was hard. The first couple days were painful while getting used to sitting still for so long. I started getting comfortable by the second day. Ten days is a long time (the place I went in Massachusetts required your first session be ten days) so it’s a mental challenge. Keep in mind, thousands of people have done it. It’s hard, but anyone can do it. You just have to persevere. Main benefits: Some people had profound, life-changing positive experiences, understanding more about themselves and their perception of the world around them. Some people go regularly. On the other hand, some people left early. I found the experience positive. The main benefits were a better understanding of my priorities in life, calmness, less attachment to things, more freedom. I haven’t meditated much since then, but I do sometimes, and I keep many of the benefits. I’ll probably go again for shorter sessions periodically. I later added By the way, I don’t like religion, so I didn’t like some of the buddhist stuff, but no one else I talked to had a problem with it. I guess I’m more sensitive to religion than most. You can generally ignore the religious part if you want and just get the technique. I did, anyway. and Regarding location, I don’t think it would make that much of a difference. My eyes were closed to meditate around ten hours a day, sleeping seven or eight hours a night, meals in an eating room. There is not much room for variation. Nor should there be. All one needs is quiet.
- SirensOfTitan 13y ago
  I would love to do this, but it's difficult to sacrifice 10 days in the context of a busy life.
  - blakesterz 13y ago
    Yeah, you spelled impossible wrong... I'd love to even be able to take one day and do this.
    - shock 13y ago
      It's all about priorities. If your life really depended on it I'd bet good money you'd find the time to do it. I went to a 10 day Vipassana retreat last august and I'm really glad I did. Sure, I got cold feet and the usual fears: the fear of failure, the fear of not being man enough to last the full 10 days, you name it... In the end I chose to get past the fears and the excuses and just to it and I encourage you to do also. I was worried that I'd be in pain because of some gastritis I was doing treatment for at the time but they have been extremely supportive and they've provided me with extra food for dinner (everybody else just got fruits for dinner) so my stomach wouldn't chew on itself. I'm sure I've tried to make some other excuses for not going but they don't come to mind right now. I plan to go to other retreats too. After you do your first 10 day retreat you are considered an old student and can go to retreats just for a couple of days if you want. I now know that leaving my comfort zone is one of the best things I can do for myself.
- IgorPartola 13y ago
  What is a reasonable donation for something like this?
  - vvvv 13y ago
    Whatever you think it'll cost to allow somebody else to go on the 10 day course in your area.
- futurist 13y ago
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
rainmaking 13y ago
I have to admit that the woman in the illustrations was so expressively drawn it had a distinct distracting effect from my inner calm.
actsasbuffoon 13y ago
The problem I have with meditation is that I get too relaxed. If I clear my mind and let my muscles go limp then my heart rate drops very rapidly. I decided to experiment with it when I was waiting to have my wisdom teeth removed. They hook you up to a heart monitor to make sure the general anesthetic doesn't cause your heart to stop, and within a few minutes of meditation I managed to set the heart monitor's alarm off. Through years of practice I've gotten faster at it, and now I can get into a reasonably deep meditation in less than 30 seconds. The problem is that after about a minute my eyes start to very painfully roll back into my head. It hurts like hell and is completely involuntary. Trying to keep them from rolling back prevents me from meditating. I've looked around on the internet, but I've never managed to find an explanation of why that happens to me. Seems like I'm a pretty severe outlier on that one. Has that ever happened to anyone else?
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- FlyingAvatar 13y ago
  I have not had this problem, but I might suggest not trying to relax at all in your case. You are likely able to "relax" your heart well enough that you are actually causing yourself to start to pass out. Relaxing your body as part of meditation is intended to help you quiet your mind, but if that in itself is a barrier, then you should try not doing that part. You could instead practice allowing your thoughts to float away, and with your eyes open allowing yourself to "see" without perceiving. Let the goal of your meditation be simply being with the world where you are, without trying to judge or affect it.
- up_and_up 13y ago
  A dropping heart rate is a sign that your mind is calming way down. The same thing happens to me. Heart rate and blood pressure both drop. It is connected to the breathing rate. If you can reduce your breath rate down to 1-2 times a minute you can feel extreme calmness but it will greatly lower the heart rate. Just do some vigorous yoga or exercises after the meditation session to get the blood pumping again. Not sure about the eye issue. Maybe try open eye meditation. Example of a yogi practicing open eye meditation: http://www.yogananda.com.au/galleries/py1/images/py1923.jpg http://www.yogananda.com.au/galleries/py1/images/py1923.jpg
jasongaya 13y ago
Great Post with perfect image
chunkyslink 13y ago
I've taken to meditating while running. I've tried many of the techniques described here but I find myself most able to work with while running is 'follow your breathing'. Sometimes I've 'come round' after a 20 mins or so and I've literally run miles. By 'come round' I mean I am able to manage about 20 minutes. Of course always be aware of your surroundings and this is often better on trails and tracks where there are no cars.
- SeanDav 13y ago
  I used to meditate while running (at least for some definition of meditation) - but the downside is you have to be exceptionally fit to do it. Can't imagine me being able to do that now!
  - hessenwolf 13y ago
    I tried and failed to get into running on my own for years, until one day I went running with a colleague, who was also a seargeant in an Asian national army, and regularly ran two marathons in a day. The first thing he said is, you are running too fast. You should run slowly enough that you can breath regularly, or you will never last. So, I slowed down, and I can do 12k an hour or so, which is pretty fair, but I only ever go for a max of two hours at a time. I find it incredibly meditative, and use it as my creative problem-solving time. One tip though, NEVER run on your heels. Get some barefoot shoes or just concentrate on not doing it. You lose the spring in your angle and knees, and just bang the hell out of your joints.
a3voices 13y ago
Meditation is extremely overrated and is mostly a placebo.
- chunkyslink 13y ago
  Perhaps you've been doing it wrong? Thats quite a bold statement.
- ocharles 13y ago
  Care to back that up?
  - royprins 13y ago
    I think the request for proof lies with something that claims to have a certain effect or benefit. On the other hand, it has been proven that taking breaks can enhance concentration and endurance. Meditation should be no exception.
- andrewcooke 13y ago
  shrug. placebos are pretty powerful. it's a useful tool. since starting meditating regularly i use it quite practically. it helps when you're in an environment with screaming kids, for example. i don't really care if it's placebo (which would be what? working only in my mind? you don't say...?) or not (but what else could it be?). it helps.
- ankitml 13y ago
  whatever is a mystery is a placebo. That view wont help you mate.
- a8da6b0c91d 13y ago
  Meditation in the context of these bobo articles is just prayer for westerners who hate Christianity. It's a warped solipsistic form of prayer, however. Of course if they knew a damn thing about real Buddhism or Hinduism they'd avoid using terms from those religions, too.
  - 13y ago
a8da6b0c91d 13y ago
You repeatedly see deep breathing recommended, which is exactly wrong. Do not take deep breaths to calm down. Instead take shallow breaths as slowly as possible. You want to boost blood CO2 levels. This is how bag breathing works to reduce anxiety. Overbreathing/hyperventilation induces anxiety. A high breathing rate is correlated to disease and illness; the healthiest people breathe the least.
- dood 13y ago
  Different traditions recommend different breathing techniques, but the most common teaching (that I've come across) is to not make any conscious effort to modify your breathing, instead concentrating on simply observing the breath as it is.
  - a8da6b0c91d 13y ago
    Deliberately lowering the breathing rate is extremely powerful. Who cares what some alleged "tradition" says. More powerful is vagus nerve stimulation coupled with reduced breathing. Hold your breath for a minute at a time with your face in cold water.
    - shock 13y ago
      I care. Vipassana meditation is about observing reality as it is and accepting it. Trying to control the breathing would defeat the purpose. Other forms of meditation are based on controlling the breathing and in those cases the purpose and outcome would probably be different but not trying to control the breathing has definitely its uses.
- up_and_up 13y ago
  IMO Deep breathing is not the same as Overbreathing/hyperventilation. Deep breathing should be done in calm and controlled manner. There is no tension/stress involved with Deep breathing as in hyperventilation. Deep breathing increases the amount of oxygen in the blood and brain. In my meditation practice I do 10-20 mins of Deep breathing and than the breath gets extremely shallow very easily after that. There is no need to hold or restrict the breath at that point. It naturally slows to 1-2 breaths per minute. Which induces great calmness.
lbsnake7 13y ago
I've been trying to find a no bullshit guide to meditation for a long time now but I can't. None of this energy, chakra bullshit. Just a proper guide to relaxing your body and calming your mind through breathing exercises, positive thoughts and maybe some external stimuli (like music). But almost every guide I read has to do with how the stars channel their energy through your heart to make you feel one with nature.
- mbrock 13y ago
  Try instructions from the Theravada Buddhist tradition, or zazen. Though Buddhism itself is enormous and diverse, these traditions of meditation instruction are in themselves rational, unsuperstitious, and useful. I particularly recommend Gil Fronsdal's introductory series on http://audiodharma.org/ http://audiodharma.org/ -- which comes from a U.S. tradition of secular mindfulness meditation inspired by Theravada and Zen.
  - dwc 13y ago
    Very good advice. For an excellent primer, I recommend Mindfulness in Plain English[1], which has been around for 20+ years and remains one the best and most recommended books. There is a little mystic stuff! but it's easily ignored. 1. http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html - links to buy, or scroll down to read first edition PDF for free.
    - mbrock 13y ago
      Yeah. The mystic stuff might also turn out to be interesting or even true. People are so picky with what they read! :)
- danielbln 13y ago
  "Mindfulness in plain english" is a good secular, non-bullshit introduction to mindfulness (vipassana) meditiation: http://www.vipassana.com/meditation/mindfulness_in_plain_english.php http://www.vipassana.com/meditation/mindfulness_in_plain_eng...
- 13y ago
Tenoke 13y ago
I ask this fairly often - Can anyone show me some decent studies (with significant sample sizes, good controls etc.) that show any benefits of meditation worth the 30-60 mins a day that you need for it? Alternatively, can I get the same benefits from just lying on my bed or listening to music for the same amount of time?
- emperorcezar 13y ago
  Don't know if anything in this helps, but Wikipedia links to some reasearch. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_on_meditation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_on_meditation
  - Tenoke 13y ago
    I've checked random studies from this wiki on multiple occasions and they weren't very convincing.
- shock 13y ago
  How would those studies benefit you personally? I haven't researched such studies but for me they don't provide any benefit. How would it help me if a study existed that suggested that 98% of people who practice meditation are happier if I'd be in the 2%? My point it: try it for yourself and see if _you_ get benefits from it. The rest is mostly irrelevant :)
  - Tenoke 13y ago
    >How would it help me if a study existed that suggested that 98% of people who practice meditation are happier if I'd be in the 2%? I am way more likely to be in the 98% so I will put more effort into it and try it for real in this case. >try it for yourself and see if _you_ get benefits from it. A bunch of meditation practices suggest that you get benefits only after doing it for a while. I've personally tried some stuff and never got enough benefit to make up for the 30-60 mins of lost time but if there was more evidence for the benefits I'd try harder.
- loceng 13y ago

47 points by lazydon 13y ago

My one-step way worked great, which was to go on a retreat with this organization -- http://www.dhamma.org http://www.dhamma.org. It's suggested donation. The challenge is the first time you go has to be for a full ten days. No reading, writing, or talking. The idea is you are a monk for ten days. I had never meditated before. I showed up with comfortable clothes and toiletries and they took care of everything else. Very challenging, but as rewarding and life-changing as anything I've done. I wrote up my experiences -- http://joshuaspodek.com/vipassana-meditation http://joshuaspodek.com/vipassana-meditation, http://joshuaspodek.com/goenka-10-day-meditation-retreats http://joshuaspodek.com/goenka-10-day-meditation-retreats, and http://joshuaspodek.com/jumping_for_joy http://joshuaspodek.com/jumping_for_joy -- for more background. EDIT: copying from the first link to save a click (losing the formatting, sorry): A reader emailed me about mindfulness and self-awareness. I mentioned to him a meditation retreat I did a few years ago and found an old post I wrote about the experience, answering another reader’s questions about the course. I did a ten day Vipassana course a few years ago. What it’s about: It teaches you a meditation technique and gives you the time and space to practice it. It’s based on buddhist beliefs. We meditated for 8-10 hours per day for ten days. That’s basically it. You aren’t supposed to read, write, gesture, etc, except to ask the instructor questions. They provide food and instruction on what to focus on. Was it hard: Yes, it was hard. The first couple days were painful while getting used to sitting still for so long. I started getting comfortable by the second day. Ten days is a long time (the place I went in Massachusetts required your first session be ten days) so it’s a mental challenge. Keep in mind, thousands of people have done it. It’s hard, but anyone can do it. You just have to persevere. Main benefits: Some people had profound, life-changing positive experiences, understanding more about themselves and their perception of the world around them. Some people go regularly. On the other hand, some people left early. I found the experience positive. The main benefits were a better understanding of my priorities in life, calmness, less attachment to things, more freedom. I haven’t meditated much since then, but I do sometimes, and I keep many of the benefits. I’ll probably go again for shorter sessions periodically. I later added By the way, I don’t like religion, so I didn’t like some of the buddhist stuff, but no one else I talked to had a problem with it. I guess I’m more sensitive to religion than most. You can generally ignore the religious part if you want and just get the technique. I did, anyway. and Regarding location, I don’t think it would make that much of a difference. My eyes were closed to meditate around ten hours a day, sleeping seven or eight hours a night, meals in an eating room. There is not much room for variation. Nor should there be. All one needs is quiet.

SirensOfTitan 13y ago
I would love to do this, but it's difficult to sacrifice 10 days in the context of a busy life.
- blakesterz 13y ago
  Yeah, you spelled impossible wrong... I'd love to even be able to take one day and do this.
  - shock 13y ago
    It's all about priorities. If your life really depended on it I'd bet good money you'd find the time to do it. I went to a 10 day Vipassana retreat last august and I'm really glad I did. Sure, I got cold feet and the usual fears: the fear of failure, the fear of not being man enough to last the full 10 days, you name it... In the end I chose to get past the fears and the excuses and just to it and I encourage you to do also. I was worried that I'd be in pain because of some gastritis I was doing treatment for at the time but they have been extremely supportive and they've provided me with extra food for dinner (everybody else just got fruits for dinner) so my stomach wouldn't chew on itself. I'm sure I've tried to make some other excuses for not going but they don't come to mind right now. I plan to go to other retreats too. After you do your first 10 day retreat you are considered an old student and can go to retreats just for a couple of days if you want. I now know that leaving my comfort zone is one of the best things I can do for myself.
IgorPartola 13y ago
What is a reasonable donation for something like this?
- vvvv 13y ago
  Whatever you think it'll cost to allow somebody else to go on the 10 day course in your area.
futurist 13y ago

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

rainmaking 13y ago

I have to admit that the woman in the illustrations was so expressively drawn it had a distinct distracting effect from my inner calm.

actsasbuffoon 13y ago

The problem I have with meditation is that I get too relaxed. If I clear my mind and let my muscles go limp then my heart rate drops very rapidly. I decided to experiment with it when I was waiting to have my wisdom teeth removed. They hook you up to a heart monitor to make sure the general anesthetic doesn't cause your heart to stop, and within a few minutes of meditation I managed to set the heart monitor's alarm off. Through years of practice I've gotten faster at it, and now I can get into a reasonably deep meditation in less than 30 seconds. The problem is that after about a minute my eyes start to very painfully roll back into my head. It hurts like hell and is completely involuntary. Trying to keep them from rolling back prevents me from meditating. I've looked around on the internet, but I've never managed to find an explanation of why that happens to me. Seems like I'm a pretty severe outlier on that one. Has that ever happened to anyone else?

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
FlyingAvatar 13y ago
I have not had this problem, but I might suggest not trying to relax at all in your case. You are likely able to "relax" your heart well enough that you are actually causing yourself to start to pass out. Relaxing your body as part of meditation is intended to help you quiet your mind, but if that in itself is a barrier, then you should try not doing that part. You could instead practice allowing your thoughts to float away, and with your eyes open allowing yourself to "see" without perceiving. Let the goal of your meditation be simply being with the world where you are, without trying to judge or affect it.
up_and_up 13y ago
A dropping heart rate is a sign that your mind is calming way down. The same thing happens to me. Heart rate and blood pressure both drop. It is connected to the breathing rate. If you can reduce your breath rate down to 1-2 times a minute you can feel extreme calmness but it will greatly lower the heart rate. Just do some vigorous yoga or exercises after the meditation session to get the blood pumping again. Not sure about the eye issue. Maybe try open eye meditation. Example of a yogi practicing open eye meditation: http://www.yogananda.com.au/galleries/py1/images/py1923.jpg http://www.yogananda.com.au/galleries/py1/images/py1923.jpg

jasongaya 13y ago

Great Post with perfect image

chunkyslink 13y ago

I've taken to meditating while running. I've tried many of the techniques described here but I find myself most able to work with while running is 'follow your breathing'. Sometimes I've 'come round' after a 20 mins or so and I've literally run miles. By 'come round' I mean I am able to manage about 20 minutes. Of course always be aware of your surroundings and this is often better on trails and tracks where there are no cars.

SeanDav 13y ago
I used to meditate while running (at least for some definition of meditation) - but the downside is you have to be exceptionally fit to do it. Can't imagine me being able to do that now!
- hessenwolf 13y ago
  I tried and failed to get into running on my own for years, until one day I went running with a colleague, who was also a seargeant in an Asian national army, and regularly ran two marathons in a day. The first thing he said is, you are running too fast. You should run slowly enough that you can breath regularly, or you will never last. So, I slowed down, and I can do 12k an hour or so, which is pretty fair, but I only ever go for a max of two hours at a time. I find it incredibly meditative, and use it as my creative problem-solving time. One tip though, NEVER run on your heels. Get some barefoot shoes or just concentrate on not doing it. You lose the spring in your angle and knees, and just bang the hell out of your joints.

a3voices 13y ago

Meditation is extremely overrated and is mostly a placebo.

chunkyslink 13y ago
Perhaps you've been doing it wrong? Thats quite a bold statement.
ocharles 13y ago
Care to back that up?
- royprins 13y ago
  I think the request for proof lies with something that claims to have a certain effect or benefit. On the other hand, it has been proven that taking breaks can enhance concentration and endurance. Meditation should be no exception.
andrewcooke 13y ago
shrug. placebos are pretty powerful. it's a useful tool. since starting meditating regularly i use it quite practically. it helps when you're in an environment with screaming kids, for example. i don't really care if it's placebo (which would be what? working only in my mind? you don't say...?) or not (but what else could it be?). it helps.
ankitml 13y ago
whatever is a mystery is a placebo. That view wont help you mate.
a8da6b0c91d 13y ago
Meditation in the context of these bobo articles is just prayer for westerners who hate Christianity. It's a warped solipsistic form of prayer, however. Of course if they knew a damn thing about real Buddhism or Hinduism they'd avoid using terms from those religions, too.
- 13y ago

a8da6b0c91d 13y ago

You repeatedly see deep breathing recommended, which is exactly wrong. Do not take deep breaths to calm down. Instead take shallow breaths as slowly as possible. You want to boost blood CO2 levels. This is how bag breathing works to reduce anxiety. Overbreathing/hyperventilation induces anxiety. A high breathing rate is correlated to disease and illness; the healthiest people breathe the least.

dood 13y ago
Different traditions recommend different breathing techniques, but the most common teaching (that I've come across) is to not make any conscious effort to modify your breathing, instead concentrating on simply observing the breath as it is.
- a8da6b0c91d 13y ago
  Deliberately lowering the breathing rate is extremely powerful. Who cares what some alleged "tradition" says. More powerful is vagus nerve stimulation coupled with reduced breathing. Hold your breath for a minute at a time with your face in cold water.
  - shock 13y ago
    I care. Vipassana meditation is about observing reality as it is and accepting it. Trying to control the breathing would defeat the purpose. Other forms of meditation are based on controlling the breathing and in those cases the purpose and outcome would probably be different but not trying to control the breathing has definitely its uses.
up_and_up 13y ago
IMO Deep breathing is not the same as Overbreathing/hyperventilation. Deep breathing should be done in calm and controlled manner. There is no tension/stress involved with Deep breathing as in hyperventilation. Deep breathing increases the amount of oxygen in the blood and brain. In my meditation practice I do 10-20 mins of Deep breathing and than the breath gets extremely shallow very easily after that. There is no need to hold or restrict the breath at that point. It naturally slows to 1-2 breaths per minute. Which induces great calmness.

lbsnake7 13y ago

I've been trying to find a no bullshit guide to meditation for a long time now but I can't. None of this energy, chakra bullshit. Just a proper guide to relaxing your body and calming your mind through breathing exercises, positive thoughts and maybe some external stimuli (like music). But almost every guide I read has to do with how the stars channel their energy through your heart to make you feel one with nature.

mbrock 13y ago
Try instructions from the Theravada Buddhist tradition, or zazen. Though Buddhism itself is enormous and diverse, these traditions of meditation instruction are in themselves rational, unsuperstitious, and useful. I particularly recommend Gil Fronsdal's introductory series on http://audiodharma.org/ http://audiodharma.org/ -- which comes from a U.S. tradition of secular mindfulness meditation inspired by Theravada and Zen.
- dwc 13y ago
  Very good advice. For an excellent primer, I recommend Mindfulness in Plain English[1], which has been around for 20+ years and remains one the best and most recommended books. There is a little mystic stuff! but it's easily ignored. 1. http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html - links to buy, or scroll down to read first edition PDF for free.
  - mbrock 13y ago
    Yeah. The mystic stuff might also turn out to be interesting or even true. People are so picky with what they read! :)
danielbln 13y ago
"Mindfulness in plain english" is a good secular, non-bullshit introduction to mindfulness (vipassana) meditiation: http://www.vipassana.com/meditation/mindfulness_in_plain_english.php http://www.vipassana.com/meditation/mindfulness_in_plain_eng...
13y ago

Tenoke 13y ago

I ask this fairly often - Can anyone show me some decent studies (with significant sample sizes, good controls etc.) that show any benefits of meditation worth the 30-60 mins a day that you need for it? Alternatively, can I get the same benefits from just lying on my bed or listening to music for the same amount of time?

emperorcezar 13y ago
Don't know if anything in this helps, but Wikipedia links to some reasearch. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_on_meditation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_on_meditation
- Tenoke 13y ago
  I've checked random studies from this wiki on multiple occasions and they weren't very convincing.
shock 13y ago
How would those studies benefit you personally? I haven't researched such studies but for me they don't provide any benefit. How would it help me if a study existed that suggested that 98% of people who practice meditation are happier if I'd be in the 2%? My point it: try it for yourself and see if _you_ get benefits from it. The rest is mostly irrelevant :)
- Tenoke 13y ago
  >How would it help me if a study existed that suggested that 98% of people who practice meditation are happier if I'd be in the 2%? I am way more likely to be in the 98% so I will put more effort into it and try it for real in this case. >try it for yourself and see if _you_ get benefits from it. A bunch of meditation practices suggest that you get benefits only after doing it for a while. I've personally tried some stuff and never got enough benefit to make up for the 30-60 mins of lost time but if there was more evidence for the benefits I'd try harder.
loceng 13y ago