Can Meditation Make You Sick? Explaining The Fatigue That Can Come With A New Practice

A common occurrence for new meditators is to fall ill – fatigue, colds, and other minor ailments arise within a week or two of serious practice. Why is this the case? It could be that the practice is triggering the parasympathetic nervous system to finally totally activate after years of proper functioning. This ‘illness’ could be your body returning to homeostasis.

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Well said. Ever since the late 1980s, I've been aware that during the breaks between school semesters, intense projects, or military assignments (when I was serving), I needed to plan for at least two or three days of that break to basically just be ill. I pushed so hard, all the time, it was an extremely predictable pattern. I noticed the same thing when my serious meditation practices started many years ago.

When a high-intensity job I held for over 14 years started causing the same type of response, I started re-evaluating my tasks there. I reassigned what I could, and my rounds of illness started to decrease. I ultimately needed to medically retire from that position about a year and a half ago, but still find myself experiencing this intermittent illness sequence as I am currently in my final (🤞🏻) year of my PhD studies. Sure as always, I find myself becoming ill between quarters. (I am right now, and just entered week two of the three week between-quarters break.)

I have resolved to rework my meditation practice to include more of the quiet and calm practices, rather than almost exclusively walking and physically active practices.

There is much value in what you say about relaxation. I also have resolved that my morning mobility exercises are not to be used as a cardio, "get it over with" practice, but rather an opportunity to make immediate morning inquiries of my body and gently discover where and how I can best facilitate a healthy habitat for my spirit each day.

Thank you for sharing this wisdom with us here in the Insight Timer community. I see you and the light within you. Be well. 🤲🏻💖🤲🏻

Interesting. Thanks for posting