Zen Breathing
Breathing may seem like a fundamental function that requires no attention, but proper breathing takes training and practice. The difference between yogic breathing and what you are doing now is a difference that can add up to a decade more of longevity to your lifespan.Preparation for Zen Breathing
The art behind meditation can be rewarding, providing the dedicated pupil with a soothing, restful, and energizing, but also calming, feelings with more and more practice.That is the secret for which there is no shortcut in this philosophical exploration.
Being a Zen Master, means mastering meditation. It all begins when a new set of ears stumble upon the confusingly simple-sounding task of staring at a point on the wall or counting beads in your palm.
Of course, once you begin your first steps down the path that leads to the attainment of your personally-invented enlightenment, a product directly correlated in value to the amount of dedication administered along the eightfold path.
As the constant river of thoughts racing into and out of our minds slows in pace and steadies in flow, we begin to realize how many thoughts have been in control of us without our knowledge and study, practice, and try and try and try without end to change the role our conscience plays in managing the functions of the brain itself.
Now that should be confusing to everybody.
How can you refine the object you want refined using the object itself as the tool do the refining, meaning our minds?
This path, and exciting journey, we must and will all eventually conquer is a product of our minds and as we continue to develop our meditative selves, the path continues to unfold before us.
That path is always there right in front of each of us ready to evolve itself as we evolve within.
Stilling the mind, or to have no thoughts, is referred to as the act of stilling the mind, the goal of meditation.
We Americans have coined rather affectionately the term attaining zen as this achievement.
It is certainly more than just a milestone or hurdle approaching steadily in our practice.
The Zen Battle Inside of Us
Stilling the mind is a constant battle we train to be able to engage in continuously as we continue to interact and experience life outside our evolving consciousness.To still the mind does not mean to be thoughtless or ignorant, which causes problems rather than resolves them.
A person can be absent of any thoughts, and by definition be permitted to claim zen attainment. That is not the case.
Before you can retire to the pulpit we all imagine ourselves being entitled to and provided by all other beings, inferior by virtue of not being I.
Well, we are all I; every being.
It's healthy to have a solid foundation of confidence while practicing proper meditation, but that implies a fine line we must all navigate if we are to circumnavigate the obstacles we inevitably create for ourselves when starting along this path.
Stilling the mind leads to clarity and heightened awareness. In order to achieve these benefits, which then lay down the foundation for practicing Taoist Alchemy techniques, for such beneficial effects such as slowing or reversing signs of aging.
A great Taoist master is living among us, with his picture prominently displayed in Google results, and he's almost 80 in that picture.
An excellent example and role model of optimism perfectly balanced with positive energy to foster loving energy internally and harness the fruits of those efforts and then apply them to yourself, keeping all other mental activities as before.
Worry, anger, fear, stress, sorrow, and anxiety interfere with meditation.
When they arise in meditation, and they will all take turns offering you a duel one after another, but eventually less frequently.
These emotions are not evil or negative.
Often they can be great indicators of situations in our lives that we are neglecting.
However, the mind radiates powerful beams of energy like three-dimensional rainbows rippling in waves from the crown of our heads out to the world, down through our bodies, and within the mind itself, affecting our will, spirit, mood, and thoughts.
Still,. that's okay. All good things in all good times.
When these emotions are present, such as in the form of jealousy or malicious intent, the mind is clouded and does not see or foresee clearly.
That obstacle, if present, and if a well-prepared foe during your battle for control over your mind, will be all the more beneficial and rewarding once tamed.
Notice, I make no claim these thoughts can be permanently eliminated.
Introduction to Zen Breathing
To begin proper breathing, find a comfortable, yet supportive, position where you are laying down on your back, such as on a firm mattress.Your clothing should be loose enough to allow you freedom from any constricting or uncomfortable sensations that your mind would inevitably drift towards as the rhythmic breathing exercise creates a welcomed mentality that is best described as the oxymoronic blend of a trance and mental clarity simultaneously.
All parts of your body should be equally supported, so that your head, arms, and feet are not dangling off the end of the bed, for example.
The floor is certainly ideal for starters.
And certainly do not allow any discouragement to snowball into a mental avalanche when you find yourself falling asleep the first few, or even many, times.
That is fine. This practice is very relaxing, and you are making progress such that your mind is finally resting, so the body naturally follows suit.
Turning sleeping sessions, surprise naps, or meditation-induced unconsciousness into meditative awareness will gradually become more prevalent as you continue your journey along the eightfold path.
How to Zen Breathe
Lie face up and relax.Get comfortable.
Place your arms at 30 degree angles at your side, so that they form a Vee.
Place your legs at 30 degree angles from each other, so that they form a Vee.
Take a deep breath in.
Did your lower torso, your stomach, expand up and out as your ribs and shoulders remained motionless?
Of course not.
So this practice is about changing the way we take in each breath.
Allow your stomach to expand by pulling your stomach up into the air and allowing it to expand.
When I first started, I remember I would try to time it, like catching the right beat to start singing lyrics at karaoke, but in this case, as I would begin breathing a slow drawn breath into my lungs, one of my hands would literally grab the skin of my stomach area and pull up so that I could have a physical indicator to help me re-calibrate that process when my lungs would fill, but only my upper torso was being activated.
If done right, and practiced daily, mastering this new breathing style will only take a few years at most.
Keeping the shoulders and chest still while we breath continually at all hours of the day, whether focused on that very action or not, at any given moment is the goal we can all look forward to attaining with practice focused on our breathing.
Mastering this aspect of meditation is essential to understanding yourself and the energy that surrounds you locally, globally, spiritually, and cosmically.
Try to move only the lower part of your torso the next time you breath in.
Ready?
Let's try it now.
Practice Zen Breathing
Blow all the air in your lungs out with a strong exhale out of the mouth.Now, as if you were trying to pretend your stomach was sticking out unnaturally, and yes childishly; however, without arching your back and connecting in your brain those two actions as united into one mental process.
Your stomach should be sticking out like a balloon when the air goes in.
Relax.
Breathe out through your mouth.
Let the stomach muscles pull your lower abdomen in towards the ground like someone was pulling a string from behind you to pull your stomach down.
Let all the air escape as your abdominal muscles tighten gently.
Lower your shoulders.
Relax your whole body, but keep your eyes open and focus on a point in the wall; any point, it doesn't matter, but the same one the whole time.
Take a deep breath in again.
Did your stomach expand out and up when you inhaled without having to think about it?
If yes, continue on to the next topic.
If not, continue practicing.