A magnetic pulling sensation during meditation is a common experience and is not something you should be worried about… (unless you are experiencing pain in which case you have a physical complaint and should consult a medical professional.)
However, for most people, the most likely cause is that they are opening up and developing inner channels for energy to flow in ways that they have not experienced before. In a way, it’s not so different from exercising to grow your muscles… you will experience sensations in the muscles when they are used in new ways.
In both cases, the sensations are benign and are an indication that your physical body is experiencing positive change.
In this article, we will share more information about this ‘growth’ and some other possible causes for the pulling sensation, how it affects you, and what you should do about it. So, let’s get into it…
But First, Let’s Understand What Meditation Is
Meditation is a practice that involves focusing your attention to achieve a state of heightened awareness and inner peace. It has been utilized for centuries across different cultures and spiritual traditions because it works at cultivating mental clarity, emotional well-being, and spiritual growth.
Meditation comes in many forms, each with its own techniques to achieve these changed states. Currently, in the West, the most popular forms of meditation include mindfulness, transcendental meditation, and loving-kindness meditation.
Often during meditation, the practitioner will direct their attention inward by observing their thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations. It is this inward focus that helps develop a deeper connection to your own experiences as well as helps you to gain insight into the nature of your mind.
Therefore, being able to recognize and experience your bodily sensations is a significant part of meditation. Some of the most common sensations meditators experience include vibrations, a feeling of warmth, tingling, eyes watering, and a magnetic pulling sensation.
When you learn to pay attention to your physical sensations you will find that you will anchor yourself in the ‘present moment.’ The benefit of this is that it will help you develop greater awareness of your body as well as encourage a deeper connection between your mind and body…
And as you progress and get into deeper states of relaxation, body, and mind, your sensitivity to what is happening ‘within’ is heightened… therefore, you become able to feel the subtle shifts of energy within your body more easily… and this includes the magnetic pulling sensation.
What Does The Magnetic Pulling Sensation Feel Like?
People often describe the sensation as being drawn to a particular point or object or being pulled into a deeper meditative state where awareness of the ‘outside’ world, other people, events, and even your own body and mind are disappearing.
Another way of describing it is as the ‘dissolution of self’ and this is in essence the dissolution of boundaries… I.e. you no longer relate to yourself, body, and mind as an individual that is separate from everything else.
For me, I have experienced the pulling in different ways over the years. When I first started meditating nearly 30 years ago, I would feel my body expanding and contracting. This would repeat and continue until I would either get so big or so small that my consciousness disappeared altogether. You can read more detail about that and some of my other experiences in my article What Is the Best Experience You Have Had While Meditating?
Many times throughout the years, and even now, I experience the pulling sensation on the top of my head, like my soul is being drawn up and trying to exit my body. And at other times, my third eye region will become very intensely stimulated.
As with any of the sensations we experience during meditation, the nature of the experience is very subjective. By this I mean it’s based on or influenced by your personal thoughts, feelings, experiences, and the existing ‘health’ of your physical and energetic bodies. And therefore, your experiences are not going to be the same as anyone else’s.
What Are The Main Reasons Why You Experience a Magnetic Pulling Sensation During Meditation?
Energetic and Spiritual Reasons Include:
1. The subtle energy or life force energy (prana, chi, or qi) that flows throughout your body, supporting your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, is shifting/changing. And through the process of meditation, you are becoming more aware of this energy that is responsible for maintaining balance and vitality…
The magnetic pulling sensation you are feeling could simply be a greater awareness of this energy or a different movement of this subtle energy.
2. Many spiritual traditions refer to the bodies’ energy centers as chakras. These are spinning wheels of energy that correspond to different aspects of life and consciousness. Each chakra is associated with specific qualities that influence various physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of our being.
The magnetic pulling sensation you are experiencing during meditation could be due to the activation or alignment of certain chakras, particularly the Ajna, (3rd eye center, or 6th chakra). Therefore, it may be an increased flow of energy through these centers that are leading to the sensation of magnetic force or attraction.
3. When your energy has been stagnant for a long time, you will notice when it begins shifting. Meditation awakens the subtle energy channels in our bodies, and they begin to expand and increase in their ability to channel energy through them. This moving energy is going somewhere and is possibly being ‘pulled’ to a point that it can’t yet move through. And this can be a likely cause of the sensations you are feeling.
With more practice, the repetitive nature of the energy shifting will eventually remove any blockages and therefore allow greater quantities to easily flow through your body. You don’t need to do anything to help it… in fact, it’s better if you just allow it to happen of its own accord, without interference from your mind… Your lack of understanding of this subtle energy exchange and flow will just cause it to slow down if you turn your attention to it.
4. Everything in the universe, including our thoughts, emotions, and experiences, is vibrating at a particular frequency. The higher something vibrates, the better the feelings are including love, joy, and expanded consciousness.
The magnetic pulling sensation during meditation could be interpreted as a sign that you are aligning with higher vibrations, or tuning to an elevated state of consciousness… which is drawing you closer to achieving a sense of unity and expanded awareness.
Altered States of Consciousness:
Meditation is known to induce altered states of consciousness, characterized by shifts in perception, cognition, and self-awareness. These altered states can open the door to unique sensory experiences that might not be present in ordinary waking consciousness.
The magnetic pulling sensation reported during meditation could be a result of the mind transcending its usual boundaries. As it does so, you may become more receptive to subtle energy or energetic shifts within the body, perceiving them as magnetic forces.
Some Physical Factors May Include:
- Focusing too hard: You may be tensing the muscles in your forehead too much and this is causing stress and tension between your eyebrows. It happens more frequently in people who are under stress or are experiencing anxiety. If you think this may be the reason you are experiencing tension in your head, then you will benefit by learning to relax your facial muscles as well as your neck and shoulders during meditation as well as throughout the day. Techniques such as deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation, are good for this.
- Any underlying physical conditions including sinusitis and migraines may also contribute to the sensations you are experiencing.
- Some sensations are also caused by factors including increased blood flow, changes in brain activity, or the release of certain chemicals in the body.
What Should You Do When You Experience The Magnetic Pulling Sensation During Meditation?
I often find that when I experience the magnetic pulling sensations in my body that I also experience my breath becomes very shallow and it even can feel like I am not breathing at all, and my body becomes numb
so that I lose the sensation of it. I can imagine that this alone would be enough to freak out a lot of people. However, for me, it’s never been something that I felt I should be concerned about.
For some reason, I intuitively knew right from the first time that I began experiencing unusual sensations while meditating that they were a vital part of the process of my growth and expansion. I instinctively knew that there was never anything to be afraid of… so I always just continued with my practice.
However, if you are not comfortable with any of the sensations you experience while meditating, you can always ‘come back down.’ And the easiest way to do this is to return your attention to an anchor like your breath, a candle flame, or a mantra.
Some More Tips For Dealing With The Magnetic Pulling Sensation During Meditation Are:
- It’s easy to just accept what is happening if it is not causing you any physical pain. Buddhist philosophy teaches us to ignore any bodily sensations and return to the focus of our meditation. They believe that any attempt to analyze what is happening is just going to interfere with the purpose of your meditation… the acquisition of peace and harmony.
- Don’t resist it. The more you try to resist the sensation, the stronger it will become. Instead, just try to relax as much as possible and allow it to happen naturally.
- Focus on your breath. One way to help you to focus on your breath is to begin counting your breaths. Start by counting each inhalation and exhalation as “1.” Then, when you reach 10, start over again.
Change your position. If the sensation becomes too strong, you can change your position. This will shift your energy and allow you to return to your meditation. However, it’s more than likely that the sensation will return when you are deeply relaxed gain… it will return because it is ‘what you are ready to experience’… If you weren’t ready for this experience, you would not be having it!- Take a break. If the sensation is becoming too overwhelming, you may want to take a break for a while. However, don’t give up meditating. Instead, just come back to it later when you are feeling more relaxed about it.
It is important to remember that meditation is a cumulative practice, and it takes time and patience to master. If you are experiencing the magnetic pulling sensation, it’s because you have reached a certain level of self-awareness that allows for this. And this is a good thing! If you just keep practicing, eventually you will learn how to be at ease with it in a way that is both helpful and beneficial for you.
Final Thoughts About The Magnetic Pulling Sensation During Meditation
The magnetic pulling sensation experienced during meditation encompasses various perspectives and explanations. From a psychological viewpoint, the mind-body connection and altered states of consciousness can play a significant role in shaping our perception of this sensation.
And then we have the energetic and spiritual perspectives which offer alternative explanations, revolving around the shifting of subtle energy, chakra activation, and alignment with higher vibrations. These perspectives suggest that the magnetic pulling sensation could be your body and energy fields tuning to a higher state of consciousness.
Whatever the reasons for your sensations, it’s important to understand that your experiences will be very personal in nature, that they are in no way harming you, and that ultimately, they are for your own good.
So, whether the magnetic pulling sensations you are experiencing are arising from physiological, psychological, energetic, or spiritual factors, they are contributing to the richness and depth of your meditative experience. In essence, they are offering you an opportunity for personal growth, greater self-awareness, and some inner transformation.
Therefore, you should just accept and allow the experiences to come and go as it does, without the need to focus on them, and they will naturally, in their own good time, enhance your journey by deepening your understanding of the interconnected nature of all things.
