Ask HN: Do you meditate and why?

Meditation has several benefits including ability to focus, resist distractions, and manage stress. However, I don't see too many people talking about it in this community.

No

Yes, I've had to struggle with OCD on an off and chronic insomnia for about the last 10 years. Before that time, I've had a mild but manageable bout of OCD in high school, but got worse after graduation.

My distractions are usually self-inflicted so the outside world doesn't need to do much (just having a book or sock in the wrong place is enough). So I've started listening to white noise a lot of time (I.E. The 10 hour track http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcJ-o_fh1B4) which does help somewhat while working.

What helped me the most so far are breathing exercises. Focusing on breathing is a deceptively simple way to get your mind to sit still for a bit before heading back to work. But it's not just thinking "inhale, exhale".

You have to imagine air as a amorphous blob of light. When you inhale, imagine this lighting up the pathway as it enters your nostrils, sinus cavity, bronchial and your lungs. Now when your inhalation is complete, your lungs are full of light. As you exhale, the light leaves the lungs back the way it came (I keep the inhale-exhale cycle at about 3 to 4 seconds).

I started with just 1 minute at first (that was the maximum I could devote before my mind wandered off) and now I'm up to about 30 minutes when I have time.

The OCD has come down to manageable levels. The insomnia is down a bit too, although I'm making plans to see someone about light-therapy to hopefully "cure" it.

Why did you answer both "Yes" and "No" to your own question?