Technique of Breathing with Mindfulness the Fine Points
Technique and theory of applying mindfulness to breathing, some fine points
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is moment to moment awareness of anything that occurs before thinking that stays only in the present moment and experiences and accepts its wave like nature by feeling-sensing, and then lets it go, and then returning for the next moment of awareness.
Why use breathing?
Breathing is ideally suited for practice of mindfulness in and out of meditation because of its inherent wave like nature and represents a bodily function which is automatic yet we have some conscious control, is always present so it is an excellent anchor and reminder of mindfulness, to be available and used whenever we need it.
What are the cardinal features of mindfulness?
The six key features of mindful awareness or knowing are 1. staying in the present moment, 2. Allowing and acceptance regardless of feeling good, bad or neutral, called equanimity, 3. experiencing by sensing-feeling, not using thinking, and 4. letting go of everything after experiencing the wave like nature, 5. And then returning for next present moment and 6. These are all done intentionally, on purpose with conscious awareness, this feature itself valuable in that it pulls you out of the auto pilot thinking mode.
What does mindfulness breathing actually do for your mind and body, what will I feel?
Applying mindfulness exclusively to each breath will increase concentration, increasing concentration results in a calm mind and a relaxed body, and makes mindfulness more powerful. Mindfulness increases concentration and concentration increases mindfulness, of the two mindfulness is the most important, maintain mindfulness and concentration will follow.
How do you actually breath with mindfulness?
Here is the theory and the actual practice which it go into more detail under “finer points”. You need to practice to really understand, remember mindfulness is something you feel-sense be with in experiencing, not something that involves thinking processes. You sense-feel-experience the breathing until your awareness the sensations and feelings feel as if they are one.
Allow your mindful awareness of knowing using the six features to rest on the physical sensations of a breath 1. stay only in the present, don’t bring in any comparison based on past experience or expectations from the future, 2. accept each breath as if it was the first time you ever experienced it not being moved by the emotions being felt, not moving toward it if feeling positive, or moving away if negative, or ignoring aspects if is seems more neutral, but treating all equally, no wanting, no avoiding, no ignoring, but with emotional even mindedness called equanimity, 3. Don’t use any thinking-doing mind activities by adding or subtracting anything to the breath, no thought, no emotion, no control, no expectation, no striving, and use just enough effort to experience each breath, try to become one with it, sensually-emotionally merge with the breath by, by feeling the sensations of the breathe, just as it is, nothing more , nothing less, a mirror like reflection of the actual experience, allow it to unfold, in its wave like nature, as you accept and feel it, and then 4. Let it go after it runs its course, for the next breath, not holding on by memory, feeling, wanting, thinking, or anything, and 5. Then returning to repeat the process, again and again.
What are the finer points of actually doing mindfulness based breathing?
Try applying mindful awareness to a breath, don’t force but allow using just enough effort, your awareness to gently rest, on the sensations of a breath, follow the lead of the breath, don’t put your awareness in front of the breath and lead it, and don’t put your awareness behind the breath, trying to catch up with it, just try to get closer and closer to it so your awareness and the sensations of breath are side by side, close and intimate, until they merge, “awareness feeling and sensation becoming one”, this occurs by feeling-sensing, so that you are touching the breath, allowing the breath to pull your awareness, as you allow it to , and follow it, accept it regardless of perception of feeling good, bad, neutral or boring or uninteresting, as you allow the wave like nature of one breath to unfold and you accept and feel it, until as it come, peaks and then begins to go away, allow it to pass, and then let it go for the next wave like breath.
Is there a summary formula and can this be applied to other things?
Mindful present moment, and then moment to moment , awareness, acceptance and allowing with equanimity, experiencing and letting go, returning, over and over, is the formula that is applied to each breath or anything else, such as distractions to breathing, any thought, emotion, or sensation from the body like a pain or external to the body like a sound. What you learn from breathing you can apply to anything you can experience and it will be helped.
My mind continues to wander, what do I do at that point ?
Notice it with mindful awareness and equanimity applying the formula just discussed, and go back to the breathing, is the short answer.
No matter how hard you try, something a thought, feeling or sensation will pull you focus off the breathing, your mind will wander to it, and displace the breathing in the front of your mind, this is normal, expected and part of the process, recognizing this distraction reinforces mindful knowing increasing mindfulness , and handling the distraction with mindfulness, pulls you back to the breathing, increasing concentration as much as your focus on the breath if not more so.
The sequence of mindful awareness of breathing until distracted, handing the distraction with mindfulness, and then returning back to the breathing is the basic process of mindful breathing , and the formula applied to anything you want help with mindfulness, an emotions, a thought a body sensation. Be aware, get distracted, handle the distraction by noticing what it is and its emotional charge, and as soon as you can, returning back to being aware of the original object is the formula or sequence.
What if the distraction still won’t go away how do I handle that?
We will discuss this elsewhere in more detail, but basically you make the distraction your new temporary object of meditation for as long as it takes, but just enough until they are weak enough to go back to your primary object of meditation which for us now is the breathing.
What is the use of dealing these distractions why just not ignore, them or use force of mind, will power, to get rid of them, or just move away from them super fast when you see them coming?
We are doing mindfulness meditation where everything is handled with mindful awareness and equanimity, regardless of feeling good, bad or neutral, which means one doesn’t ignore anything, nor does one use force or fight or argue with a thing, nor does one avoid or runaway from them, but become aware of their wave like nature experience them by sensing-feeling without thought, accepting them and then allowng them to pass.
We don’t treat anything as the enemy, or a friend, or ignore it because it seems not interesting. This applies to our problem emotions, thoughts and body discomforts also, and is the whole purpose of applied clinical mindfulness. The second reason is just that, the distractions usually are or represent the very problems that you are having or some how are connected to them, so when you are dealing with distractions, you are in fact actually helping to clarify your problem areas and at the same time are lessening the feelings and body sensations that are associated with them, may be causing them and be fueling them.
Are there some general distractions or problems that I should be aware of?
There are five major distractions that effect both concentration and mindfulness and when in doubt ask your self if it could be one of these, two have to do with your emotional state, 1. Want something too much or desire, 2. Not wanting something a lot called aversion or avoidance, two have to do with the speed of your mind, 3. The mind is too too fast, called restlessness, or 4. The mind is too too slow, called lethargy, and the last is 5. Called confusion, it is when your are stuck , you don’t know , not sure what is happening, a state of doubt, that can be caused by the other by the other four distractions, in any combination or anything else.
Can you tell me more how these would affect my attempts to do mindfulness based breathing?
The excessive wanting or desire can show itself in the “desire” to try really hard to learn to do the mindfulness breathing correctly, and the “wanting or desire” will actually interfere with the ability to stay focused on the breathing, as soon as you become aware of the “desire”, with mindfulness, feel-sense its wave like nature, as it weakens you will be able to Find the breath again, Follow it, and Feel it as your primary object of Focus, in the present moment, with equanimity, that is without emotional judgment or thoughts from the past or future. Desire and the other five major distractions and how to deal with them are discussed in a specific article on distractions and labeling. Labeling and Distractions