Free Flow Breath or Controlled Breath?

[Ibnezubair]

Most of the experts strictly recommend not to control the breath, and let it flow freely, during breath meditation, while some of the experts recommend to control the breath, e.g. Thich Nhat Hanh in his famous book "The Miracle of Mindfulness". So what is the rational behind seemingly contradictory instructions and what is better for a practitioner who is comparatively new?

[JonW]

Hi Ibnezubair,
Good question.
There are no hard or fast rules for this.
Most modern-day mindfulness teachers and writers seem to favour an approach which invites you to to settle into an easy, natural breathing rhythm, not breathing in any particular way, simply allowing the breath to come and go, without any conscious direction or manipulation.
A minority seem to favour controlling the breath in various ways. Counting, for example.
There's no right or wrong in this. For some people, particularly at the start of a practice, counting the breaths might make it easier to focus.
Whatever feels most comfortable to you is the approach I would suggest.
All good things,
Jon

[Eric A.]

In a tradition, with a teacher, certain things are taught certain ways. It's not any one thing that determines this, but sometimes the sum total of everything in that tradition that brings things into balance. The biggest thing to balance is "letting go" - such as flowing with the natural breath - and "attentive awareness" - which is why another element to the exercise might be added. This paired balance goes back thousands of years in ancient meditation manuals: calm/insight, stopping/seeing, tranquility/wisdom, etc. The most usual instruction for Mindfulness Meditation is the natural breath combined with sitting upright with back and neck reflecting good posture, this helps to sharpen the attention, and allows one to sit longer without pain.

[JonW]

'The most usual instruction for Mindfulness Meditation is the natural breath combined with sitting upright with back and neck reflecting good posture, this helps to sharpen the attention, and allows one to sit longer without pain.'

Yes. It's really that simple. And the breath is just one object of awareness that we can use to anchor us in the present moment, rather than find ourselves ruminating about the past or speculating about the future. We can also use sound, body sensations etc.

[Ibnezubair]

Thanks to all those who shared their love.

Ibnezubair

[Eric A.]

I'll have to be honest however, I find it feels really good to just slightly regulate the breath, kind of on the order of a gentle hug, but nothing more than that. It's easy to focus that way too. But only momentarily. Then i might let the breath roam free and lightly hug the mind. LOL

[BronteFan]

It also depends on conditions. I was born with slight bronchitis which only really affects me when I'm running, in a smoky atmosphere or out in the wind but this means that when I'm doing some guided meditations with breathing exercises included I sometimes find prolonged deep breathing exercises especially ones where I have to hold my breath for a certain count can be uncomfortable but these breathing exercises are only part of the guided meditations so I can go onto normal breathing later especially as these are on my favourite meditation C.D.'s. These are laying down meditations too which I find more comfortable than sitting ones though I do seated meditations as well however it's a case of personal choice. Anyway, my main point is that it doesn't really matter. It's a matter of personal preferences & what works for some people don't work for others. We've got to try a few different ways & find out what works for us. I hope this is helpful.

[Brettfavor]

I've been meditating every day for the past 8 months. At this point I'm up to two 15-30 minutes sessions a day on average (first thing in the morning and when I am settling into bed. I've done cognitive behavioral therapy in the past so as skeptical as I was at first I actually started to be able to enter that "mind state" fairly quickly where the meditation bleeds into the rest of your day so you are more present and mindful of your thoughts and actions. Occasionally, I'll have a miniature therapy session depending on the topic of the meditation.

We are taught to focus on the breath (I begin every meditation with multiple deep breaths in the nose and out of the mouth almost like a sigh so during the rest of the day if I take a deep breath or sigh I'm often reminded to become/remain present). However, once I "settle into the natural rhythm of the breath" it always feel like breathing stays a voluntary process instead of reverting back to the involuntary process that I can just focus on (I'll sometimes basically deprive myself of air for so long that I have to breath trying to get it back to involuntary, but even that feels like it's taking effort).

So here's my question? Whilst meditating how do you get to a place where you are breathing completely involuntarily without drifting off (because that's the only time I can seem to do it regularly)?

Thanks for your time and your answers.

[JonW]

Hi Brettfavor,
Welcome to the forum.
I was asked a similar question recently by someone I was teaching.
In terms of focussing on the breath, I always advise keeping it as simple as possible and not to over-think it (if that's possible). If any confusion is caused by bringing attention to the actual breathing, then I recommend focussing the attention on a part of the body directly affected by the in-breath and out-breath. In other words. sensations on the tip of the nostrils, the rising and falling of the chest or the expansion and contraction of the abdomen.
Just out of interest, is breath the only anchor you use during meditation? Do you meditate on sound, for example? Or do you practice body scans? Varying the anchors, I find, keeps practice fresh. And some anchors are easier than others for some people.
I hope this is of some help.
All good things,
Jon

[Brettfavor]

JonW, breathing probably the most common thing I focus on, but no I do things like body scans and walking meditations where you focus on just a little bit of everything quite a bit. Most of the time when I meditate I'm in my bedroom with a lot of white noise (and I almost always meditate with the sound of thunderstorms in the background) so I focus on sound less than anything else. I actually prefer to do body scans, but focusing on my breathing is the best way I've found to have mindfulness bleed into daily life when I'm not meditating, each deep breath or sigh is a reminder to come back to the present (I'm one of those people who's mind goes 1000mph jumping from topic to topic with a tendency to get stuck in my thoughts, sometimes that's good because it allows me to good at problem solving, but it causes a lot of overthinking with worry and/or rumination as well if I'm not careful).

Thanks for your reply.