Problem when I started to meditate

Jeffy14

Hello,

I'm a beginner at meditation and I have experienced bad things since I started.
I learned to meditate a little bit a while ago when doing martial arts (shotokan karate). We had masters who practiced Tai chi and taugh us some basics.
Anyway, I really dont know anything about mediation and I decided to start doing some reading over the internet to learn more and start meditating on my own. I read that one way is to start focusing on your breathing, picture the air coming in and out through your neck, lungs etc... deeply and through the nose.
I did this for a about a month every other day.
I was not doing sports anymore, I got chronic overtraining syndrome and experienced things such as chronic fatigue, etc...
My body was under a lot of stress and that's why I decided to meditate.

When I started doing sports again, only a 10 min fast walk, I felt I could not breath in normally at the end of the session. It's like I was gasping for air.
Now I cant take a deep breath when I'm under stress. It's hard to describe, I want to fill my lungs with air but it's like it gets stuck at some point. It has been going for 2 months now and it seems to reduce when I dont do much things to stress my body, when I avoid sports etc...
It's very strange and very annoying. It's like I cant breath fully, cant feel in my lungs with air.

It's even stranger that all this started with me starting to meditate!!
Now it became very psychological, the more I think about it, the more I cant breath. When I dont think about it, it seems to go away very very slowly over weeks. But when a stress comes back, then it does it again.
That's the first time I ever experienced this, I have no asthma or lung problems, I did all the medical exams.

My question is: Did I do something wrong while trying to meditate? Should I try another technique which does not focus on breathing since it seems to be the problem?

I think it's quite strange to be actually victime of mediation! while it's supposed to help me! Maybe it's just a coincidence I dont know.

Thank a lot for your help!!!!

aMatt

Jeffy14,

This doesn't sound like it is connected to meditation at all. There are many different things it could be, and I would suggest getting into a doctor who can do appropriate testing. It could be sports induced asthma, an allergic reaction, a panic disorder, or any number of heart or digestive or weight related issues.

It might help to know that the sensation of needing a breath is triggered by a buildup of carbon dioxide, not a lack of anything, which means that trying to calm your system by breathing in deep is not as effective as blowing out slowly. By slowly exhaling, you give your lungs more opportunity to increase the co2 concentration of your out breath. This is from my years as a scuba diver... I am not a doctor, and this information was from my dive instructor, not a physician (so take it with a grain of salt!)

If in fact it is a panic disorder, it might help to spend a few dozen breaths with your shirt around your nose and mouth. I know someone with an acute panic disorder, and that action helps her very directly.

Again, I seriously doubt that it is directly connected to your meditation, though you may wish to spend some time looking for solutions from doctors before attempting to resume a controlled breathing practice.

I hope you find your answers with speed and clarity.

With warmth,

Matt

Jeffy14

Hello,

thanks for your answer.
Unfortunatly, I got all the medical exams done. Everything is fine. No asthma, no allergia, no health problem except the one I talked about.
The last thing is anxiety or panic disorder as your said.
But I doubt it's panic attack because the feeling of not being able to breath entierly is permanent. It lasts for weeks. I'm constantly like this and it tends to go away with time. The only way I can take a deep breath is when yawning
What really surprised me is that it came when I started to meditate. To me it's very curious that they happened together. But many they did happen by chance. Or maybe my body is telling me something I dunno.

I'll try your techniques anyhow.
When you meditate and focus on breathing, do you breath in with your lungs? diaphragram?

Thanks again

newtech

Hi.

Cant tell if has to do with meditation, by the way u explain.But, i can say i had developed similar symptoms when i try to control the breath...specially in first months.Everytime u feel like u are trying to get a long/short breath let go of that thought, and just observe.And stop becoming obsessed.

Good luck!

ThailandTom

This could be a result of many many different things. Firstly, maybe the doctor missed something, that does happen from time to time, although it is unlikely. So it could still be down to a multitude of causes with relations to health.

Maybe before you started to meditate your breathing was not much different to how it is now, but you have come to realise the act of breathing. The mind is a very powerful thing and can induce symptoms from the simple act of thinking and obsessing over something.

I have never heard of meditation causing this before in a person, never. If you think about it logically, how would the act of watching your breath decrease the capacity of your lungs or airways? The only link to meditation as I mentioned previously is the focusing on breathing, thus manifesting this symptom from obsessing over it, that is my opinion anyway. I hope you get around this in some way, although it is not a huge problem

Jeffy14

Hello,

Thx for your answers

Newtech and ThailandTom: You are right now it became an obsession. I'll try to let go.

ThailandTom: At first I thought like you that it could be lung capacity but it seems to be my esophagus or airways that contract and prevent me to inhale deeply. I read on some forums that it happens to people very anxious.
When it happened to me, I did not notice being particulary anxious, I was fine but this developped with me focusing on breathing in meditating..

It seems to go away when I dont think about it. But it's hard to stop thinking about it! I would like to know if meditation can help me not think about it? Should I continue meditating?
I'm scared that meditation causes me to focus on breathing and then causes this problem.
Should I focus on something else ?

thanks a lot

ThailandTom

The entire point of meditation is to le

aMatt

Jeffy14 wrote: »

When you meditate and focus on breathing, do you breath in with your lungs? diaphragram?

Thanks again

Jeffy,

When I meditate and focus on breathing, the origination of the breath appears to come from the chest, and the more I settle, the more simple the breath becomes. I sit in the Burmese position, which traditionally makes breathing a little more shallow than a half or full lotus, but it remains largely unlabored. I admit that if I ever feel a claustrophobic feeling from breathing, I take a long breath in and slow my out breath, which puts more of my attention on the diaphragm.

Good luck,

Matt

zombiegirl

Jeffy14 wrote: »

When I started doing sports again, only a 10 min fast walk, I felt I could not breath in normally at the end of the session. It's like I was gasping for air.
Now I cant take a deep breath when I'm under stress. It's hard to describe, I want to fill my lungs with air but it's like it gets stuck at some point. It has been going for 2 months now and it seems to reduce when I dont do much things to stress my body, when I avoid sports etc...
It's very strange and very annoying. It's like I cant breath fully, cant feel in my lungs with air.

a few questions;
are you making sure your back is straight? are you wearing restricting clothing? are you tightening your abs or do you feel your stomach expanding when you breath in?

these things can all affect breath.

i found a good article:
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/1198

ThailandTom

He was saying that his breath is restricted not in meditation as such, but when he is doing every day things or sports.... Even if he was meditating in a wrap of clingfilm, I doubt he would have a short breath an hour later whilst walking along the street or something.

Jeffy14

OK thx a lot for all this I'll go through it
I never paid much attention to how I seat etc...

ThailandTom: what the others said is helpful because I really believe that by focusing wrongly on my breath, it developped the symptoms I described. I must have been doing a wrong breathing technique with wrong focus and from there develop what I described.
I really believe that's my problem. Because when I dont think about this anymore, I tends to go away.
So any advice on breathing, and how to focus on your breathing when you meditate is helpful.
I'll would like to use meditation as a way to correct this and really feel relaxed instead of being scared from doing it because of the breathing issue.
I know it's sounds weird to you and I may be wrong about all this but I want to give it a try.

Thanks all for the advices. I'll check the links and positions to be used.

Dazzle

Hi Jeffy14,

I sincerely hope that you will have a medical check to investigate the possibility of asthma and/or panic attacks.

This Buddhist meditation series on YouTube is a reliable one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd7a9Ur2x0o


Kind regards,

Dazzle

ThailandTom

Maybe we have a wires slightly crossed sir HAHA, oops. I have just seen that one of my posts actually some how totally disappeared apart from on line... Anyway in there I did say that focusing on the breath too much in every day life could be the cause of this. The obsessing over it when you are walking down the street or doing martial arts could be the cause, not a medical matter. This is totally plausible. But personally speaking, I doubt how you can wrongly focus on the breath during meditation to a degree that even a few hours after the session, you have short breath whilst say walking down the street. Maybe since starting meditation you have drawn attention to your breath in general, so it has had this affect on your every day life. It is probably all in your mind unless the doctor has been careless, which is unlikely. Anyway, all the best jeff

Jeffy14

All right thankyou very much ThailandTom and all the rest of you
I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks again

pegembara

Hi Jeff

Perhaps you are not ready for meditation using breath as and object. You might want to try walking meditation using the sensations of walking as object or even the taichi movements.


http://www.wildmind.org/walking/overview

Jeffy14

OK pegembara
I'll try this thank you:!

lightwithin

Your problem reminded me of my own issues. Sometimes, when I become aware of my breathing all of a sudden, I become anxious and stressed and I start breathing shallowly and in a semi-controlled, unnatural way. This makes me even more worried and stressed and it all goes on until I finally "forget" about my breathing and my mind is occupied with something else.

This used to happen more before I started meditating. Now, when I become aware of my breath, I'm more able to relax and try my best to let it flow. But it occurs to me that with the new found focus from your meditation, you started becoming more aware of your breathing and this was stressful and worrisome to you, causing you to breath shallow and feel like you're not getting enough air.

I don't know why your problem lasted for so long tho, because with me, it usually goes away and I'm fine when my mind switches focus to other things.

You've had some useful advice posted here, so I hope it helps you out and that you'll be more at ease during meditation and off the cushion too. Best of luck.

Jeffy14

Hello lightwithin,

What you described is pretty much what I feel.
It lasted long I agree, the first few times it would go away in 1 day though. With repetition it lasted longer and longer.

I want to thank you all because I already feel the difference. With all the advices I got here, the problem really has diminished tremendously.
I know it's strange but I really was unconsciously focusing on my breathing when stressed. By changing my focus, sitting correctly etc... and using the advice you gave me it's getting much better.
I try to be aware of my breathing without being obsessed with it.
Thanks again all.
I hope this totally goes away fast.

skullchin

Jeffy, I was going to suggest walking meditation as well so I'm glad it has already been suggested. BTW, you can use anything as a focal point in meditation including a candle, statuette, lunchbox, etc...

Jeffy14

OK thx skullchin! I did not know all that.
With all these advises, my problem really seems to go away!
I was focusing so much on a shallow breathing that it really created my problem.
It then became an obsession all day long and it worsened it.
Thx a lot to all of you

Karpo22

Jeffy, you might have a similar condition that I do. It started when I was around 17, and it's called Stressed Induced Bronchial Inflammation. What happens is when your body gets stressed, it copes with that stress in different ways, for people with SIBI, your bronchial tubes tend to inflame. While this may sound like it's a horrible condition to have, it doesn't pose any severe medical problems other than slight annoyance. You may want to read about it a little on the internet. If it sounds like the issue you're dealing with then I wouldn't worry about it too much, it will come and go based on your stress levels.

Jeffy14

Just to let you know all that my problem is almost gone.
It was really due to the fact that I was focusing on a shallow breathing, not deep enough (stomach/diaphragm). Then, I was constantly thinking about it which made it worse.

Since I corrected the way I meditate, thanks to all your advices, I made tremendous improvements!
Thx to you all

skullchin

Awesome! Mad props!!