Help on diaphragmatic breathing

[LucidMind]

Hi guys!

I have been pretty active on this board lately asking different questions...I hope i'm not taking up too much space Because of family emergency, my practice has been getting much deeper and more intense lately (I guess that is the silver lining to my situation).

I am a little confused with incorporating diaphragmatic breathing with meditation. I have two questions:

A. Is it important to breath with your diaphragm while meditating (or even essential?)

B. When I do a sitting meditation it seems like sometimes I force myself to do diaphragmatic breathing, which takes away some concentration from my nostrils or belly (whichever one I decided to use as an anchor). How does one incorporate diaphragmatic breathing in meditation without consciously controlling your breath (at least a little bit)? Thanks for your help in advance, I really look forward to reading your replies and discussing this.

[Cheesus]

The more questions the merrier!

I'm not nearly as long in the tooth as others on the forum, so my advice isn't necessarily the best...

But, I really don't think your style of breath is that important when practicing mindfulness. The only important thing is that you know what the breath is doing, wherever you are focused. Is it short and sharp? Is the air cold on your nostrils? Is the breath comforting? Is it erratic and nervous? Often I find that when I watch the breath for a while, it will generally settle down and come further into the pit of my stomach. It's not something I aim for, though, it's just something that happens. I think this is perhaps a good analogy for the potential benefits of mindfulness in general: when you observe something rather than try to meddle with it, usually things just come back to homeostasis.

I have come across some teachers who recommend you vary your breathing so you can experience different styles of breath. I don't follow this particular course of action myself however some might find it beneficial. However, striving after one particular pattern of breath in particular is probably not the most fruitful way to practice.

[piedwagtail91]

I usually do pranayama before I meditate, but pranayama or yoga is the only time I'm aware of where I'm breathing from or how I'm breathing.
When I'm mediating I'm not really aware of what sort of breathing I'm doing, I'm just aware of the sensations, at the nose or belly.
I leave the actual breathing to do it's own thing.
But that's just me
I expect there'll be many different answers.

[FeeHutch]

Questions and posts are what keeps the community growing Lucid so please don't apologise
If I am focused on breathing during formal practice or as I am right now as I type this reply I am just paying attention to it doing its thing. I tend to find my breathing slows down a little when I pay attention but I don't otherwise try to control it.

[JonW]

As the others say, the more questions the merrier.
I never try to breath in a particular way during practice but I have got into the habit of taking three deliberately deep breaths at the start of a meditation while I am adopting my posture.

[LucidMind]

Thanks for the kind words

Great answers! I will NOT worry about diaphragmatic breathing during my meditation sittings...seems like it will only serve to distract my attention. I bet if I am deep in mindful meditation my breathing will naturally become diaphragmatic if I don't think about it (like Cheesus said!). If my mind does try to consciously control my breathing i'll use that as another opportunity to focus my attention on the actual sensations and feelings of the breath.

I have been taking conscious diaphragmatic breaths throughout the day (non-formal meditation) when I am especially anxious, and even though I control my breathing I am still mindful of my belly moving up and down. This seems to be helping a lot when I am under a lot of stress and feeling intense anxiety. A very close and beloved family member is dying on hospice right now, and this practice has really enabled me to be present in the room even when things are not so pretty