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Originally Posted by Sunset Dragon
I'm quite sure I posted a long time ago about trouble with breathing while attempting to meditate. I take control of my breathing to the point that I either force breath or hold it. I would also panic when feeling the sensations of the breath, while also doing the same when becoming aware of my heartbeat. I've been making some small progress by showing more compassion, less perfectionism, and by diverting my focus to surrounding noises and away from my breath. That being said, I've come to realise my problem has been sensorimotor OCD, since it has worsened in other areas. In particular, I am having an issue with excessive saliva/swallowing by simply becoming aware of it.
I'm posting this for two reasons, one to enlighten anybody who may be facing similar challenges during meditation without knowing the cause, and to ask if anybody else has been confronted by this and how they've personally worked around it in meditation. Diverting my attention elsewhere has been my best bet, although that comes with its own faults. Focusing on surrounding noises can be distracting in its own right.
Edit: A note to mods, maybe this one's better in the meditation section of the forum? My mistake.
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I think it is normal - it's what happens when people become self conscious. Usually we breath without an issue at all
but of course in meditation it somehow becomes :odd:. I don't have any experience with the term you use but my best bet is just to keep trucking, things sort themself out over time this way (sort of like learning to ride a bike)
I would recommend perhaps "just sitting" with bare attention on the breath, relax and smile into any tension, so that it also releases/relieves pressure on the breath. And compassion, yes, that is always a very helpful part of any Buddhist meditation.
Not sure if this helps.
In relation to saliva, what naturesflow mentioned is a taught technique - resting the tongue on the upper part of the mouth. If that doesn't work, I recommend relaxing again - rest into peace of mind and joy - and just keep swallowing if you need to, and as you lose resistance, things might really clear up!
Metta
BT