Mindfulness breathing *help

[JonW]

That'll be a pint of Guinness and a bag of cheese & onion for me. Cheers.

[westie]

Thank you very much for the help, very much appreciated A warm welcome to this forum!

So the past few times I've been meditating I've found that I still go on and off were the "ideal" place to focus is. However I realize that it is probably the doing mind that is at work and that I need to approach it more playfully and less strict.

So for example when I meditate I start at for example the belly and stay there for a while, then suddenly the thought comes like "hm, maybe I should focus on the chest instead it seems to be more vivid" and then back and forth like that which completely brakes my focus because i find it hard to distinguish were it is most vivid.

I'm using a meditation bench and I've found that a slight adjustment while I am sitting makes the belly a more ideal place whereas sitting a little bit more upright makes the chest more vivid.

Anyways thank you very much for your inputs everyone Cheers!

[westie]

Oh, and before I forget. Do you ever switch between focusing on the belly / chest / nostrils from session to session? Or do you establish one kind of focus as a ground?

Cheers!

[piedwagtail91]

I tend to focus at the nostrils if I'm sat on a cushion and at my belly if I'm on a meditation stool. I do stick with one place for a full practice.

[JonW]

I tend to focus simply on what comes up. Generally I start by observing my breath and I'll use that as an anchor throughout. During the meditation I might observe thoughts arising and ebbing away. If there's sound, I'll meditate on that. Whatever comes up, even my spaniel licking my face or a woolly mammoth charging at me full-pelt.

[Gareth]

Have a look into 'choiceless awareness.' It's where you allow the attention to go to wherever it is attracted to, bringing your mind back whenever you start thinking.

[BioSattva]

Westie, as long as you know you are breathing in when you are breathing in, then that is enough from what I have gathered. If you want to follow the breath to different places then no problem. Some teachers say "remain in the neighbourhood of the breath". Explore, find what suits you - just remain aware of the present moment relative to your internal bodyscape - anchored in the here and now.

[JonW]

And, as Mr. Kabat-Zinn is fond of saying, "If you're breathing, then there's more right with you than wrong with you."

[westie]

First of all and most importantly, thank you for your answers

So anyway, the reason why I started to question which way is the "correct" way is because in this workbook they use belly breathing exclusively as an example, but in the mindful way through depression they tell you can breathe however you like.

And because they do not tell you why to focus on the belly I assumed there could be some science behind it. It's written by the same authors.

Anyway, now I've read a lot of articles regarding belly breathing, both in sports and yoga and many people seems to agree that belly breathing is alot more deeper, and that we start to breath more with the chest because of stress etc. Some people even claim that you can reduce stress, anxiety etc with "proper" breathing technique (in everyday life, not just during meditation i mean). This is quite interesting.

So anyway, I've decided to give belly breathing a try instead because I've been living with a lot of stress the past two years and maybe my body have adopted to chest breathing instead of belly breathing. I find it quite effective actually to try this change during mindfulness practice.

I am now in week 3 and then you are supposed to take quick breathing pauses throughout the day, this is a powerful tool to intentional focus on the belly, maybe in time I will breath like this more naturally.

Also, I do understand that you should focus on where it is most vivid for you, and that mindfulness should be kept simple and gentle, so I hope that I've not disturbed anyone out there that find the chest more effective to breath with.

Cheers!