Difficulties with focusing on breath

Steppewolf

Hello everyone,

Lately I started with a zenmeditation course.
I was told to stare at a point on the floor and focus on my breath and count each out-breath.

But when I'm focusing on my breath, it gradually becomes unnatural and I feel tensed, like in the following:

I remember for the first few years I practiced zazen, sometimes when I tried to be aware of my breath, instead of settling and becoming calm, I became tense. The juxtaposition of trying to be consciously aware of an involuntary action produced a self conscious tension. Other times is my breath felt stuck as if I couldn't breath past a point in my upper chest. Another time, even though my breath was moving smoothly, I felt like I wasn't getting any oxygen. I had the image of a pair of broken bellows where the handles moved back and forth, but no air was being transferred. If anything like this happens to you, try to relax and forget about your breath. Return your attention to your posture, to your spine, to he contact between your thumbs and other physical sensations until your breath returns to normal again.

Source: http://www.intrex.net/chzg/Pat1.htm

Does this sound familiar to you? Should I forget about my breath?

Greetings,

Steppewolf.

zonetones

I wouldn't worry about it. Look at your mind and emotions to find the source of the tension. Although I study Vajrayana, my teenage son is studying Zen and I sit Zazen with him once a week. I'm finding that the time sitting Zazen is an excellent time to examine the mind and what causes thoughts and emotions to arise. Remember: This state of it feeling unnatural is impermanent and will pass. Over time, it will feel natural .

Steppewolf wrote: »

Hello everyone,

Lately I started with a zenmeditation course.
I was told to stare at a point on the floor and focus on my breath and count each out-breath.

But when I'm focusing on my breath, it gradually becomes unnatural and I feel tensed, like in the following:



Does this sound familiar to you? Should I forget about my breath?

Greetings,

Steppewolf.

Steppewolf

zonetones wrote: »

I wouldn't worry about it. Look at your mind and emotions to find the source of the tension. Although I study Vajrayana, my teenage son is studying Zen and I sit Zazen with him once a week. I'm finding that the time sitting Zazen is an excellent time to examine the mind and what causes thoughts and emotions to arise. Remember: This state of it feeling unnatural is impermanent and will pass. Over time, it will feel natural .

Thanks zonetones for your reply. It is indeed a good way to examine the mind and it will pass.

viewport

Steppewolf wrote: »

I was told to stare at a point on the floor and focus on my breath and count each out-breath.

But when I'm focusing on my breath, it gradually becomes unnatural and I feel tensed, like in the following:

Is this vipassana? Mindfulness meditation?

I'm not assuming I know your situation. I'll try to give some general advice.

Mindfulness is about being a totally impassive observer. Your breathing should be automatic, as natural and comfortable as possible. Your mind must not touch your breathing, only observe it.

If you feel your breathing tense, it's a great opportunity to shift the mindfulness to the cause of the tension. Do I have stage fright? Is my breathing irregular because someone (myself) is watching me breathe? Do I fully understand the term "impassive observer" in this meditation.

fivebells

Don't focus on the breath. "Concentration is what you do to oranges." The way my teacher puts that instruction is "Rest in the experience of breathing." Remember, the experience of breathing includes every aspect of experience of the moment, including the movement of clothes on your skin, the slight shift in your visual field as your rib cage moves, any tension and the causes and conditions of the tension, etc. Feel free to include as much of that in awareness as you like, and rest.