Breathing is troubling me

[Starman]

Breathing is very important but in meditation it is only a vehicle to help you go inside. I have been doing meditation for more than 40-years and I no longer concentrate on my breath, rather I know that quiet serenity I am seeking in meditation and I just go right to it. Over time you are likely to forgo techniques and just be able to go into that inner stillness which we dive into in meditation without using any techniques.

Practice staying with your meditation experience for longer periods of time, while you are standing in the grocery checkout line, or waiting for other things, even try to meditate while you are sleeping. In the meantime you might want to try the full yogi breath, also called Pranayama. There are lots of websites online, at YouTube, etc., that can instruct you in that technique, and it may be helpful.

There are also techniques, like mantra meditation, third eye meditation, meditating on inner sound, etc., which do not use breathing as a primary technique. There are lots of options available, and you have got to find your own comfort level and what speaks to you. Glad to hear you are doing better. God's speed.

[thespiritual1]

Originally Posted by Starman

Breathing is very important but in meditation it is only a vehicle to help you go inside. I have been doing meditation for more than 40-years and I no longer concentrate on my breath, rather I know that quiet serenity I am seeking in meditation and I just go right to it. Over time you are likely to forgo techniques and just be able to go into that inner stillness which we dive into in meditation without using any techniques.

Practice staying with your meditation experience for longer periods of time, while you are standing in the grocery checkout line, or waiting for other things, even try to meditate while you are sleeping. In the meantime you might want to try the full yogi breath, also called Pranayama. There are lots of websites online, at YouTube, etc., that can instruct you in that technique, and it may be helpful.

There are also techniques, like mantra meditation, third eye meditation, meditating on inner sound, etc., which do not use breathing as a primary technique. There are lots of options available, and you have got to find your own comfort level and what speaks to you. Glad to hear you are doing better. God's speed.

Thank You!

[Shivani Devi]

Originally Posted by thespiritual1

After I finished writing this, i sat calmly and noticed my breath once again and surprise. I found hope that everything is going to be okay. My headache decreased and I feel much better now. Breath is a mischievous thing.

When you are focusing on the breath or aware of it, how do you do it?

Do you become aware of the rise and fall of the abdomen? Do you notice where the breath touches the inside of your nostrils? Do you count breaths? retain breaths? What is your method?

Maybe instead of focusing on the breath itself, you could try focusing on the regulation of breath through the nostrils. This is called Anuloma Viloma or Nadi Shodhana. I won't go into the practice...plenty of good YouTube videos and internet articles about it...look it up!

When the body becomes too hot, increase the inhalation through the left nostril proportional to the right nostril. If you get a headache, increase inhalation through the right nostril proportional to the left one.

If you still have difficulty, put your focus externally instead of internally and candle Trataka is great for that. Again, many videos and articles exist, so I won't go into it here.

All the best with it.