If you’ve tried meditation and found it didn’t work for you, it may be that what you practiced was more of a relaxation exercise instead of a true, traditional meditation, according to Deborah Collins-Perrica, a board-certified psychiatric clinical nurse specialist in Hartford, Connecticut.

Traditional meditation has mind, body, and spiritual requirements.

“Meditation isn’t just sitting there and relaxing,” Collins-Perrica told The Epoch Times. “The real, traditional meditations were always originally based in religion, where there was a moral fiber to it.”

For example, most traditional meditations in the Buddhist tradition require one to follow the principles of being a good person, letting go of wants and longings, and having a more open and free mind.

“If your mind is filled with anger and resentment, fighting and arguing all the time, and competing with people in selfishness, you’re not going to get a good night’s sleep. You can’t have good relationships. You can’t even have a healthy body,” said Collins-Perrica, who has over 15 years of experience treating mental illness.

Currently, there are multiple types of meditation being taught and practiced: mindfulness meditation, focused meditation, transcendental meditation, kindness meditation, etc. While many also have a spiritual element, they’re not necessarily traditional meditation.

Traditional meditation is most often handed down as a spiritual or religious tradition and taught by a master or teacher, recognized in a legitimate school of practice, and is simply a practice of sitting in a full lotus position with a mind free of any intention. It is formalized and structured, Collins-Perrica explained.

Some traditional meditation schools teach guidance by using mantras; some are movement-based, as in Tai Chi practice; and others are body positioning-based, such as yoga. Some visual forms of meditation use focusing intention toward an image.

“There are many unorthodox forms of meditation in the world today, and they are loosely defined as ways of thinking, pondering, contemplating, [or] reflecting intensely that aim to help people relax and improve concentration abilities,” she said. These teachings have much more in common with mindfulness relaxation techniques than they do with true meditation.

Mindfulness is a popular technique in mental health today. It asks followers to focus on what is happening in the present moment with attentiveness, openness, and acceptance to attain peace of mind with a noncritical attitude. Mindfulness is widely referred to as a type of meditation.

When you lie down on the floor, clear your mind, and count your breathing, that is not meditation, said Collins-Perrica. “That’s a breathing exercise. That’s a relaxation exercise.”

Collins-Perrica acknowledged the benefits of mindfulness and other meditation practices. But real, traditional meditation may help people when those methods don’t work.

One of her patients, a combat pilot in the U.S. Air Force was exposed to chemicals during warfare, and a few years later he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).

“The diagnosis was indisputable. All of the tests came back positive,” said Collins-Perrica. The patient saw many neurologists and they all told him the disease was progressive. They told him it was going to get worse and eventually he may be completely paralyzed and bedridden.

Multiple sclerosis is a disease that impacts the central nervous system. It causes unpredictable symptoms such as numbness, tingling, mood changes, memory problems, pain, and sometimes even blindness or paralysis.

The distraught patient visited Collins-Perrica about twice a month at the Department of Defense where she worked for many years.

“Our conversation started to turn more towards existential topics because he was facing imminent demise and death,” said Collins-Perrica. So she introduced him to meditation and ancient Chinese Qigong.

The method she introduced was Falun Gong or Falun Dafa, a spiritual practice rooted in the Buddhist tradition. Besides meditation, the practice encourages practitioners to strive to attune their lives to three principles: truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.

A 2016 observational study found that many Falun Gong practitioners had regained health from terminal illnesses. Another study showed that Falun Gong practitioners had enhanced immunity compared to non-practitioners.

Her patient was skeptical at first but realized the practice was different from the relaxation techniques he had previously learned. Falun Gong has meditation and some gentle exercises.

He followed the website and started exercising every day. Slowly, he could sit longer, and eventually, he began to put one leg up, then two legs up, and was finally able to sit in a full lotus position.

About a year later, he went back to the MS specialist who was confounded by his current state of health which was expected to deteriorate but had not, said Collins-Perrica.

That was four or five years ago. He’s now working full-time. “He’s very happy. He’s full of energy. And he’s perfectly healthy,” she said.

Traditional meditation methods have postural requirements—most require sitting in a full lotus position—contrary to many modern practices that ask you to make yourself comfortable, often while walking around or lying down.

The lotus position has been widely seen in Buddhist and Taoist traditions and in some ancient Indian religions such as yoga. A full lotus position requires sitting cross-legged, with each foot placed over the opposite thigh.

“In Buddhist meditation, you always see the Buddha sitting in a full lotus position with the back very straight, the head and the neck very straight, the eyes closed, and the mouth closed. These are traditions that are thousands of years old,” said Collins-Perrica.

Sitting in a lotus position for a prolonged period of time can be very uncomfortable. It requires a good amount of flexibility of the hips, knees, and ankles. Most people would be unable to do it initially, and beginners shouldn’t do it forcefully, to prevent injury.

Collins-Perrica suggested a step-by-step approach and encouraged people to sit for as long as they can tolerate it. “The longer you sit, the stronger your willpower becomes, and the more serene your mind.”

A 2017 controlled trial found that yoga practitioners sitting in a lotus position (Padmasana in Sanskrit) showed increases in subtle energy levels in all acupuncture meridians, while the group sitting in a chair produced universal decreases. Interestingly, the positive effect on the body’s subtle energies could only be seen after sitting in a lotus posture for over 20 minutes.

“Your legs ache and your mind wanders. You have to make an effort to stay focused. Then in the process of staying focused, in the process of tolerating that discomfort, your willpower gets very strong, so your mind can overcome anything.” said Collins-Perrica.

People need mental willpower to overcome life’s difficulties or fight a severe disease.

When you can sit in meditation for a longer period of time, “your willpower is like a mountain. It’s majestic,” she said.

With such strong willpower, real meditation can help you “overcome all of these negative things, pains, distraught, bad feelings, and bad thoughts,” said Collins-Perrica.

Traditional meditation can benefit people tremendously. However, Collins-Perrica explained that to have a more wholesome, genuine life, meditation is not the first step, rather it’s an option that most people find helpful.

“In my practice, the first step with the patient really is the assessment of looking at the mind, the body, and the spirit together. So it’s not just about meditation.”

Usually, people come to psychiatric professionals with all kinds of problems: relationship problems, addiction problems, dealing with death or loss of all types, or being suicidal.

“If you have a problem with someone, or you’re arguing, or someone’s mad at you, or you’re mad at them, you really need to look inside and ask yourself the question, ‘What did I do to cause this problem?’” said Collins-Perrica. Almost every time, you’ll discover that you did something to cause the problem with the other person.

Looking inside, a principle from Falun Dafa is something Collins-Perrica talks about with her patients every day, and they find it truly helpful.

“It’s about—what’s going on in the mind? What’s going on in your body? Can you look inside? Or can you learn to look inside? And when you do, you’re naturally going to find that part of your longing is a fit for this: to be really good, to be really truthful, and to be really good and kind, and to focus this way, to hold these values.”

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Epoch Health welcomes professional discussion and friendly debate. To submit an opinion piece, please follow these guidelines and submit through our form here.