WARNING: Meditation Can Be Dangerous

Meditation: how can an activity so perfectly calm bring on a head injury?

My story is so freakish that it’s embarrassing. But still, I will tell it only because I have a little extra time on my hands as I cannot work out for a few days.

Sunday night, as usual, I retreated to the living room after my youngest daughter (Pip) was finally tucked into bed. On all evenings that I am home, meditating before bed is my normal routine. I turn off the lights and sit on my meditation cushion and turn on some meditation music (sounds of nature). Because of the cold snap (-10 C at night), I decided to sit with my back towards the warm fire place.

I closed my eyes and meditated for about 15 minutes before I decided to stretch my back (up and then forward), bringing my head to the floor momentarily (eyes still closed). I never made it to the floor. CRACK! My forehead came down hard on the sharp corner of my very solid, heavy wooden coffee table. I had forgotten how close I was sitting to the coffee table and had no idea how fast I move when I’m attempting to stretch. My eyes shot open in pain and shock. I stumbled to the mirror to check out what was going on with my head. I had a small, bloody, triangle shaped indentation on my forehead which, swelled into a blue, toonie-sized lump. I iced it for about fifteen minutes as I cried in pain and shock. There is something about a head injury that makes one cry. Unfortunately, I hit my head on a small point which caused considerable pressure in one small area. The night was rough, instead of feeling peaceful after the meditation, I felt nauseous, faint and had (still have, after 36 h) a splitting head ache at the top of my head, all night long.

I have a mild concussion and still, on day 2 post trauma, the top of my head pounds in pain off and on all day. I’ve only had one other concussion in my life. About 5 years ago, I hit the back of my head on ice while snowboarding. Sadly, this meditation head injury feels worse. I am a person who never gets headaches unless I have a nasty virus so the head pain is new. Peter is in Vancouver so I had Pip sleep with me for comfort. I panic a bit when the headache wakes me and it is a relief to have little Pip and her calm Buddhaness beside me in the middle of the night.

Take care all meditators out there. Remember, that when your eyes are closed, the room is dark and you’ve been clearing your mind for a while, you can lose awareness of your body in the room space.