Restlessness
When we are busy and stressed, we might not want to meditate, but that is when we need it most.
In meditation, when we become restless, it can be a signal that stress is being released from the mind and body. Meditation is the perfect antidote for stress. As the mind settles down and the body settles down, integration and coherence are cultivated. This causes the elimination of any built up stress in the nervous system.
In meditation, there's a purification process that goes on, and impurities start to move out as you are sitting in silence. This purification generates movement, whether it’s movement of the mind, movement of the body or movement of the emotions. So, it's important to realize that the content of the activity that occurs in meditation, to-do lists or current, mundane issues, usually have no relationship to the stress being released.
The fact that you are having thoughts, the movement of the thoughts, is an indication you are releasing stress, but the content of the thoughts has no particular correlation to the stress you are releasing.
So sitting through the distractions and staying with the practice is deep practice.
If there is a lot of energy coursing through the body, imagine the body as a wide container where the energy is allowed to bounce around like a ping pong ball. Accepting it like this can take away the extra agitation of fighting the restlessness. Sitting still with the restlessness often allows it to settle down on its own.
Because the settling can take a while, patience is needed. Sometimes the mind will marshal myriad arguments to convince you to act on some restless impulse. During meditation it is important not to give in to irrational compulsions, such as the notion that it is important to defrost the freezer immediately.
