Ms. Hofmann, meditation has a good reputation. However, we rarely, if ever, hear of side effects. What is that all about?
It is known that yoga – which is closely related to meditation – and meditation have many so-called salutogenic effects. That is, they promote health and can help with mental and physical problemsThese positive effects have been very well documented in many studies. However, the literature mainly focuses on these positive, healing aspects, and meditation is sometimes touted as a panacea. This has led to the image that it is completely unproblematic. But that is not entirely true. In certain situations, stressful, crisis-like experiences can occur.
People have been meditating for a few thousand years. Why are we only now realizing that it can also be harmful?
Such problematic experiences are well known in cultures that traditionally meditate. In Western society, psycho-spiritual, transformative and consciousness-altering practices have only become increasingly popular in the last few decades. So it is not a new phenomenon, but one that is now occurring more frequently in our society.
