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Beginner's meditation- without focusing on breath
Hi,
I asked this before but no one's answering so I'm going to try to ask it again-
When I try doing the breath meditations in that video (where I count inhales and exhales from 1-10) or when I do any meditation where I focus on my breathing I always hyperventalate and by the end I'm lightheaded and dizzy, I think this is b/c I'm very anxious and hyperactive.
Is there another safe, easy, beginners meditation I can try that doesn't involve focusing or counting the breaths?
Thanks again!!
I asked this before but no one's answering so I'm going to try to ask it again-
When I try doing the breath meditations in that video (where I count inhales and exhales from 1-10) or when I do any meditation where I focus on my breathing I always hyperventalate and by the end I'm lightheaded and dizzy, I think this is b/c I'm very anxious and hyperactive.
Is there another safe, easy, beginners meditation I can try that doesn't involve focusing or counting the breaths?
Thanks again!!
0
Comments
look down at your thumbs, examine them closely, scrutinise them and compare them studiously.
However, make sure there is no commentary or thought running through your head, as you do.
Forget the breathing.
It's amazing how well the body breathes when you're NOT thinking about it.
This is SO true. As soon as I become aware of my breathing, I start trying to control it, it becomes unnatural and forced and I have to make a conscious effort to just let it flow. It makes meditation harder, but I do reach a point of balance between control and flow at some point into the session.
Options for calming the mind
Counting (mala) beads, chanting, concentrating on candle-light, listening to clock ticking, radiating metta, body sweeping etc. then go to the breath.
The basic practice is mindfulness of breathing, which just means paying attention to the breath. You don't have to count or control the breath or anything, just breathe naturally and pay attention. There are a lot of different approaches, you might want to explore and experiment a bit.
P
keep this and mind but don't pay too much attention to your control, try to put your attention on the sensation of the breath.
so just keep practicing and you will stop doing this eventually.
if you are getting too winded, take a little break, and try again later.
this is very common obviously, and it will pass.
maybe keep in mind to trust the process, hundred of thousand of people have meditated on the breath before, many have experienced this as well at the very beginning of their practice. There is a sense that we are special, that we are the only one experiencing and going through difficulties, but we are not special. Everyone go troughs these minor difficulties.
Have you tried the metta meditation? Walking meditation? Just the present moment awareness?
It is hard to jump into "experiencing the breath" for some people who are hyperactive as you describe. Counting breaths is a way of forcing your mind to keep focus on the breath. That doesn't involve controlling your breathing. Also, the counting should eventually be dropped.
When you notice your breathing is back to normal then you can begin meditation again.
In this way you will train yourself to notice your breath without perturbing it.
You can also use a different support than the breath for the time being. Such as a body scan or the feeling of your seat on the floor. By a 'support' I mean that it helps you notice when you are just daydreaming ie oh I am not remembering the breath.
So I could count beads (like rosary beads) and that alone would be a meditation?
If I concentrate on candlelight I would concentrate on the tip of the flame?
No, I haven't tried metta or walking meditations, and I'd have to research these b/c I don't know what they are or how to do them.
In my DBT class (which uses mindfulness) we would do things like carefully observe a toy for 5 minutes, or stare at a spot in the wall for 5 minutes, or listen to relaxing music for 5 minutes, but I don't know if these are considered meditation.
These are methods for calming the restless wandering mind and can be considered preliminary meditation. Buddhist meditation is a bit more than that.
Here's what meditation is, according to Wikipedia:
Meditation is a holistic discipline during which time the practitioner trains their mind in order to realize some benefit. People generally meditate without any external aid, oftentimes invoking a state of being, such as the non-dual state, or compassion state, or attending to some focal point, etc. The term can refer to the process of reaching this state, as well as to the state itself.<sup id="cite_ref-feurstein06_0-0" class="reference"></sup> Meditation is a component of many religions, and has been practiced since antiquity. It is also practiced outside religious traditions. People meditate for many different reasons, including reaching Enlightenment, increasing one's compassion and lovingkindness, and/or receiving spiritual inspiration or guidance from a God,<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"></sup> achieving greater focus, creativity or self-awareness, or simply cultivating a more relaxed and peaceful frame of mind.
So simply staring at a toy isn't meditation if you're just staring and zoning out, in another world. But the toy - or whatever the object is - can be a focal point of meditation. You can meditate on anything; the purpose is to be aware and present in the moment. It can be a meditation using sound, like relaxing music, or the music can support a meditative environment.
I was taught that it's important to learn to meditate during difficult times or situations. For example, most would not consider an ambulance siren very pleasing, but if you focus on the sound, observe and be aware of everything about it, then that becomes meditation on the siren.
Hope this helps!