mindfulness & meditation

Feeling tired during a meditation session is quite common.
One of meditations greatest benefits is its ability to calm us down and put us in a state of tranquility. That fact that you feel tired while meditating may just mean that it's working!

At what time do you meditate?
If you meditate close to bedtime, or right before, as many people do, then it makes sense that you will feel tired. When we go to sleep at the same time, or at a similar hour each night, we are basically training our bodies to understand at what time it should wind down and prepare to fall asleep.

If you choose to meditate around this time, you may just be giving your body extra signals that it needs to get ready to fall asleep. This is because in addition to it already being trained to know that it should be falling asleep soon, you are also giving it all the calming and relaxing signals meditation gives, which may amplify the bodies response and make you even more tired and sleepy.
If possible, try to meditate a little bit sooner so that you are not meditating right before bedtime.

If you meditate right in the morning, shortly after you wake up, and also feel tired, it may just mean that you have not fully woken up yet in order to meditate.
Meditate is a calming exercise, if you wake up in the morning still feeling tired from the night's sleep, and then you engage in a calming and relaxing exercise like meditation, your body may just continue to be sluggish and feel tired, causing you to feel even more tired than you may be after waking up.
If this is the case, try to meditate a little bit later if possible, or, if you are one to drink tea or coffee in the morning (or any other morning drink to wake you up), try meditating after drinking it.

Do you often get tired while sitting down?
There are certain health conditions that cause people to fall asleep and get tired pretty instantly. If you experience tiredness throughout the day while sitting, it may be worth seeing a health expert about this and explaining the situation.

A problem many people face when first starting out with meditation is that they find out just how busy and loud their minds are.
It's a common problem that not only beginners face, but also more advanced and experienced meditators.
Those that are more experienced may just know how to better deal with these situations and how to solve them and quiet their minds quicker than those that are just starting out.

One way to quiet your mind and to stop thoughts from coming while you meditate is to first try to understand what those thoughts are, why they are appearing, and to not fight them.
It's when we try to fight the thoughts that the stream of thoughts become uncontrollable, louder, and more intense.

Instead of fighting them and trying to forcefully expel them, leave them alone. See what those thoughts are and where they lead you to. Allow them to be there, present with you in that moment, and when the time is right, calmly release them and let them go.
Though this may take time to get better at, trying to force your mind to be quiet will probably not work and may just result in you not being able to meditate and quiet your mind.

Don't get angry, upset, or irritated at the thoughts. If they are showing up, it may be for a reason. These thoughts may be what is stressing you out, they may be what is causing your depression, anxiety, or other negative thoughts and emotions. Getting angry or upset will do no good. Instead, accept the situation, and allow it to be until you are able to calmly release those thoughts.

If new thoughts appear, that is ok. Repeat the process, allow them to be. Learn from them, see where they take you, and when you are ready, release them.

As you progress, you will be able to do this much easier and quicker, and eventually will be able to start your meditations with a clearer mind, free from the stream of thoughts. It just takes time, like any other practice.
Expecting to start a meditation practice and not have thoughts is a fair way to burn out from practicing at all, since this is just usually not how meditation works.

Throughout our lives, we have allowed our minds to run wild, without control. Being quiet, for most people, is just not something they have trained themselves to do. Meditation and quieting the mind are skills that need to be developed, and for many, they go against who they have been their whole life, as their whole life was spent without controlling their minds and thoughts.