Everyday Mindfulness

Hi all!
Usually when I meditate formally or informally I focus on the air going in and out of my nostrils, and it works fine for me! I am even starting to experience deeper levels of meditation...it's pretty cool!

However, I have heard that when you are overcome by strong emotions (like fear or anger) it may be useful to focus on the rise and fall of your belly (because it is your strong core). When I practice focusing on my belly, I start to control my breath! By control, I mean I try to breath with my diaphragm, which takes some focus off of the movement of my belly. I know you are supposed to breath naturally, but I can't seem to "let go" of this urge to control my belly. When I focus on my nostrils I can simply watch the breath without controlling it, but NOT when I focus on my belly. Anybody here have similar experiences? Or even better....tips/advice on how to overcome this!

I've experienced this quite often. When focussing on the belly it's as though my breathing becomes self-conscious and out of whack. When I notice that happening I simply revert to another anchor.

JonW wrote:I've experienced this quite often. When focussing on the belly it's as though my breathing becomes self-conscious and out of whack. When I notice that happening I simply revert to another anchor.

Yes Jon, exactly! What other anchors do you use?

If it's the breath, I tend to focus on the nostrils. Sound is a good one - whatever sounds happen to arise, though I occasionally meditate to music. Increasingly though, I don't seem to need an anchor for much of the sitting meditation.
For the body scan I always use a guide, mostly Mark Williams or Kabat-Zinn.

Hi LucidMind

This is really common and still happens to me. I also do what JonW does. In the past I have tried very gently imagining that each in-breath or out-breath will continue indefinitely - at some point change happens and one knows for sure that it was not oneself. It kind of half-works for me - it can release some of the control.

Another method is imagine you are watching your belly breathing as you drop off to sleep - pretend your body is in bed and you have just worked all day. The dangers of this are obvious - drifting off to sleep, but it can work well if one has had some green tea or if one is feeling particularly energized in the morning or whatever.

Hope any of that helped. I wouldn't drop one's efforts in this area, however, since practicing letting go of the belly is good practice for letting go in general, and if one remains focused on the belly, it seems, for me anyway, that this is one of the key areas where tension preceding various reactive behaviours can first be detected - a kind of early warning system. It's a very useful area of the body to focus on.

Bio.

Whenever I do a body scan or concentrate on my breathing I am always aware of the sense of my belly. Sometimes this is where I find it easiest to tune into my physical and emotional state but sometimes it confuses me and seems to drown out other sensations, sounds, smells etc.

if one remains focused on the belly, it seems, for me anyway, that this is one of the key areas where tension preceding various reactive behaviours can first be detected - a kind of early warning system. It's a very useful area of the body to focus on.

So does this mean there is merit in me continuing to acknowledge the anchor my belly gives me while also being open to widening my focus beyond it.

I hope that makes sense! I fear I am confusing myself and sometimes I find these ideas and experiences harder to convey in writing.

FeeHutch wrote:

if one remains focused on the belly, it seems, for me anyway, that this is one of the key areas where tension preceding various reactive behaviours can first be detected - a kind of early warning system. It's a very useful area of the body to focus on.

So does this mean there is merit in me continuing to acknowledge the anchor my belly gives me while also being open to widening my focus beyond it.

I hope that makes sense! I fear I am confusing myself and sometimes I find these ideas and experiences harder to convey in writing.

Sorry Fee, I'm not a teacher (yet! ) - I can only talk from personal experience. When the sympathetic nervous system kicks in for fight/freeze/flight, the belly's blood supply apparently drains so that the blood can be used elsewhere. I grabbed this quickly from AnxietyCare.org.uk:

Adrenalin works by prioritising the blood supply, making sure that oxygenated blood is available in the arms and legs for a quick getaway and through the brain to help us make split second decisions. The blood supply is taken from areas of the body where it is not needed in times of danger, such as the stomach and sexual organs, because if one is in a life-threatening situation, they are not going to stop and eat a meal or have sex. This is usually the reason why when someone is continually stressed, he or she may feel sick, is unable to eat

I feel remaining sensitive to the belly and smiling inwardly towards it allows one to undermine the sympathetic nervous system a lot more efficiently. Here is wikipedia on 'butterflies in the stomach':

Butterflies in the stomach is the physical sensation in humans of a "fluttery" feeling in the stomach, caused by a reduction of blood flow to the organ. This is as a result of the release of adrenaline in the fight-or-flight response, which causes increased heart rate and blood pressure, consequently sending more blood to the muscles.

It's interesting that people seem to refer to this feature more commonly and earlier on in the adrenaline response than any of the other features.
Maybe the beginnings of the adrenaline response can be detected by highly sensitive tissue in the stomach more easily than elsewhere in the body?

The Japanese Zen teachers taught students to primarily focus on the 'hara'; the whole area of the belly, and similarly in China the 'Dantien' has held a similar role in meditative and yogic arts. Finally, the following may 'seal the deal', so to speak, with regards to the value of using the belly as an anchor to enhance one's Mindfulness:

ScientificAmerican.com: Think Twice: How the Gut's "Second Brain" Influences Mood and Well-Being
February 12, 2010

A deeper understanding of this mass of neural tissue, filled with important neurotransmitters, is revealing that it does much more than merely handle digestion or inflict the occasional nervous pang. The little brain in our innards, in connection with the big one in our skulls, partly determines our mental state and plays key roles in certain diseases throughout the body.

Although its influence is far-reaching, the second brain is not the seat of any conscious thoughts or decision-making.
[...]
The second brain contains some 100 million neurons, more than in either the spinal cord or the peripheral nervous system, Gershon says.

This multitude of neurons in the enteric nervous system enables us to "feel" the inner world of our gut and its contents. Much of this neural firepower comes to bear in the elaborate daily grind of digestion. Breaking down food, absorbing nutrients, and expelling of waste requires chemical processing, mechanical mixing and rhythmic muscle contractions that move everything on down the line.

Thus equipped with its own reflexes and senses, the second brain can control gut behavior independently of the brain, Gershon says.
(Etc.)

and...

WSJ.com: Hungry? Your Stomach Really Does Have a Mind of Its Own
January 25, 2011

The "gut brain," formally known as the enteric nervous system, is made up of some 500 million nerve cells, as many as there are in a cat's brain.
[...]
Because higher animals needed more brain power in order to seek out food and sex, they eventually developed a second, big brain, allied to a central nervous system. At the same time, humans and other higher-end animals kept their enteric nervous system. Another shift likely occurred when humans learned to prepare food, specifically through cooking. When grains are ground, or leaves are cooked, they become more digestible, allowing more nutrients to get absorbed by the body.

In my opinion it's worth getting to know that part of myself a lot better than, say, my little toe.

The idea of a second brain that doesn't make any choices is a very interesting one. Thanks for your thoughts Bio. Lots for both brains to think about

I found this practice pretty difficult to begin with, and on occasions still do, particularly as I agree with Bio and know the gut to be my intuitive second brain and I concentrate a lot on how that feels as an indicator of my emotional state. So I tried a technique that I have used with a child client and I placed a button on my tummy button and watched it moving up and down rather than trying too hard to focus on my tummy/diaphragm when breathing. This changed my experience to one of intrigue rather than the deeper focus that the meditation seemed to be asking for. I know this doesn't quite follow the rules, however I think sometimes that trying too hard is my overriding perfectionism and the letting go can be difficult. Does anyone else find this?

Nibzy wrote:I found this practice pretty difficult to begin with, and on occasions still do, particularly as I agree with Bio and know the gut to be my intuitive second brain and I concentrate a lot on how that feels as an indicator of my emotional state. So I tried a technique that I have used with a child client and I placed a button on my tummy button and watched it moving up and down rather than trying too hard to focus on my tummy/diaphragm when breathing. This changed my experience to one of intrigue rather than the deeper focus that the meditation seemed to be asking for.

Heh, that sounds like fun. Whatever works.

Nibzy wrote:I think sometimes that trying too hard is my overriding perfectionism and the letting go can be difficult. Does anyone else find this?

Yes - I still do. Even though I find it easier to 'let go' these days, I have a feeling it will never be truly easy unless my controlling ego is completely dissolved - letting go of the belly appears to be a lifelong 'effort' in this respect.

Another thing about it I think is that controlling it gets boring after a while - just like the same-old same-old thoughts. Keeping-on practicing daily wears out inefficient and impractical approaches to formal sitting - sometimes stubborn habits just need to be worn down day by day - slowly in many cases, unfortunately, but it does happen.