Counting Breaths

meh_

When I meditate I start by counting the breaths - in one, out one etc. From 1-10, to 1-9 to 1-1.
I have been told that when I get lost, I should restart.

Does this mean every time I have a thought pop into my head?
I have many of these every breath for most of the meditation.

Or when I lose count?

Normally I just ignore the thoughts, and put my attention back on my breathing

DairyLama

I have been told that when I get lost, I should restart.

Does this mean every time I have a thought pop into my head?
I have many of these every breath for most of the meditation.
Or when I lose count?
Normally I just ignore the thoughts, and put my attention back on my breathing

You only need to restart the count when you lose it.

P

Cinorjer

Either, long as you become comfortable with doing it. Try both and see what feels best for you. When I first started meditating, I restarted after each thought, and for quite a while my mantra was "One...one...one...darn...one..."

If that gets too distracting, you can even do the alphabet. It's just a tool to focus and keep the little monkey talk generator in your mind in neutral.

Arjquad

That's close to what I do when I meditate but I don't start over I just move on from the thought knowing that it is unneeded at that point in time.

buddhajunkie

restarting after every distraction might create a sense of frustration, which would be unhelpful.

So be more forgiving to yourself and only restart when you totally forgot the count.

Sabre

Hi meh_

The attention should be mostly fixed on the breath, not on the counting. Counting is just an aid to help the mind remember it should be with the breath. So if you get interrupted sometimes it's not a problem, the breath itself is more important. So I'd suggest what Buddhajunkie says. Keep it fun, that's important. No frustrations, meditation shouldn't be a chore.

For some counting works quite well, for me counting totally didn't work because it took to much attention to remember where I was leaving little for the breath, so I use other means to stay with the breath, like imagining I'm breathing in peace, breathing out problems.

Sabre

genkaku

I was taught to count the exhalations from one to ten and begin again. When something interrupted (I want a Big Mac, did I flush the toilet, I wonder when the movie begins, etc.) and when I recognized the interruption, I just began again. Over and over ... begin again. Frustration or no frustration, just begin again.

When I complained once to a teacher about my mind buzzing like bees with interruptions, he said, "If you can't count to ten, count to nine. If you can't count to nine, count to eight. If you can't count to eight, count to seven ... and if you can't count to two, count to one. Over and over -- just count to one."

Vincenzi

counting* breaths is how I use the japa mala; after 108 breaths it is not necessary to count.
But I rarely count breaths.

*I don't count in numbers, I just finish the 108 beads.

csrao

I had similar experience when I started counting breaths serially, without putting a limit on the number of breaths. Either I lost track of breaths and counting or I was subconsciously counting and consciously thinking thoughts as a parallel activity! Then I changed my counting practice to counting only up to 'three' breaths, as described below. It has made a world of difference to me. I never lost track of breathing or counting.

**** COUNTING MODE: While breathing in, feel the faint coolness inside the nose and on the top lip. While breathing out, count slowly in the mind. First out-breath, count ‘one…’, second out-breath, ‘twoo….’ and third out-breath ‘threee….’. Then repeat the same sequence: counting ‘one….’ during the first out-breath and so on. Continue this practice of counting breaths in sets of three, as long as you like. You will lose track of breathing or counting some times. Every time you realize that your mind wandered, count ‘one….’ during the next out-breath and get back to the practice. ****

This has helped me in training my mind to be on breathing, with very little wandering and even when it wandered it comes back to breathing on its own! After many years of practicing the counting mode, I could keep my attention on breathing without counting. These days I begin my meditation with the counting mode and after my mind becomes steady, I switch to simply focusing on breathing and my mantra. These two are my faithful companions to keep my meditation on track. If you are interested , more details of my meditation practice are in this page http://countingbreaths.com/fob/meditation/meditation-practice/

I hope this helps.

BonsaiDoug

counting* breaths is how I use the japa mala; after 108 breaths it is not necessary to count.
But I rarely count breaths.

*I don't count in numbers, I just finish the 108 beads.

I pretty much do the same. After one circuit around the mala, my mind has pretty much settled, and then I just sit in the moment. Before I know it, 40-45 minutes have passed. I find I no longer have use for my timer.