Belly breathing and anxiety questions

[Rara]

Hi all,

 

Those that have read my posts before may be aware that I began meditating due to chronic anxiety and insomnia. Although overall my condition has improved, I notice it comes back in waves.

 

I am going through a change right now with promising yet risky career prospects on the horizon. With this, and Christmas coming up (my parents and siblings are totally disbanded which is sad and difficult for me as I'm therefore responsible for keeping three different branches happy) I know this will be causing it.

 

The interesting thing is, when I shut my eyes at night, I am not conscious of what is causing my anxiety and insomnia. I can be relaxed, and mindful of my breathing, yet my mind is screaming all sorts of things and being very disruptive. Like I say, all sorts of things...nothing particularly related to something I am consciously worried about.

 

That is the background anyway. I don't expect any answers but the context might help people understand where I'm coming from with the next part...my question:

 

------

 

So anyway, I am practicing breathing into the Dan Tien. I find that anything else is too advanced for me and I need to return to basic breathing practice.

 

I have noticed that I am doing this successfully, and can gain peace from my motor-mind. However, I also notice accelerating heart-rate. Again, no idea what is causing it, something completely subconscious. But I will sit, and feel good about being sat in meditation, but slightly weirded out by my heart panicking by itself.

 

Is anybody able to give me an insight into what is going on?

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited November 24, 2014 by Rara

[子泰]

Might not necessarily be the heart. I've read that when you're going into deeper concentration, your spleen can act up and cause a thumping sound that can be easily mistaken for heartbeats. Angry yellow child

[Rara]

Might not necessarily be the heart. I've read that when you're going into deeper concentration, your spleen can act up and cause a thumping sound that can be easily mistaken for heartbeats. Angry yellow child

It's not so much the sound, rather the feeling in the chest. Certainly the heart!

[Spotless]

Try touching a finger to the area of the lower dan Tien ( LDT ) for awhile when you are breathing into the LDT. This will help you to localize the area more.

 

If you are breathing into the general lower belly you can also be breathing into the base of the spine and or several other points that can bring up kundalini and awaken the adrenals.

 

You can also postulate that as you breath into the LDT your entire space will be energized with calming restorative restful power.

Edited November 24, 2014 by Spotless

[Rara]

Where is your awareness when breathing into the LDT? Is it constant? Does it shift?

It shifts due to the mind's distractions. I bring it back to the belly as best I can. I think tiredness is playing a part in my difficulty in focusing.

[soaring crane]

It shifts due to the mind's distractions. I bring it back to the belly as best I can. I think tiredness is playing a part in my difficulty in focusing.

 

Hi Rara

 

Do you want yet more suggestions?

 

The very, very truncated version: Try yongchuan breathing instead. When you inhale, pull the toes up ever so slightly, as slightly as you can physically manage, feel the effect in the yongchuan cavities, or just in the arches of the feet. When you exhale, release that tiny piece of tension.

 

As to why you're excitement level is rising, I think Spotless made some pretty good suggestions up there. The LDT is an area that's connected to a lot of other areas, including the adrenals. It's a power center in the body, and not necessarily an oasis of relaxation.

[ChiDragon]

So anyway, I am practicing breathing into the Dan Tien. I find that anything else is too advanced for me and I need to return to basic breathing practice.

 

I have noticed that I am doing this successfully, and can gain peace from my motor-mind. However, I also notice accelerating heart-rate. Again, no idea what is causing it, something completely subconscious. But I will sit, and feel good about being sat in meditation, but slightly weirded out by my heart panicking by itself.

 

Is anybody able to give me an insight into what is going on?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

Rara....

Learning to breathe is an art of living. The goal in learning to breathe is to accomplish abdominal breathing or dan tian breathing or whatever it is called. The realm of breathing is to breathe down below the belly button. That is where the dan tian is located. At the beginning, it is very hard for someone to accomplish abdominal breathing, especially, for a beginner with breathing problem. Breathing problem means that one cannot breathe down to the chest or abdomen very easily.

 

If you want to correct the breathing problem properly, please do not try to do abdominal breathing right away. It is because it take time for you to practice to get there. Otherwise, you will have symptoms like light-headed, tight in the chest or suffocation.

 

Here is the proper way to correct your breathing habit during your meditation.

1. You need to establish a baseline by taken a deep breath to a point that you are comfortable with.

2. Take a breath deeply, slowly and long, down to that point every time when you inhale. Then exhale at the same point. Eventually, you breath will go down to the abdomen progressively.

 

Please just remember don't do it too fast but slowly. Your body is not used to take so much oxygen, all the sudden. That is why you may get some uncomfortable symptoms.

 

By the way, practicing Tai Ji is the best way to correct the breathing problem. It is because Tai Ji will automatically improve your breathing progressively. Indeed, this is my empirical experience.

[kudos100]

I have noticed that I am doing this successfully, and can gain peace from my motor-mind. However, I also notice accelerating heart-rate. Again, no idea what is causing it, something completely subconscious. But I will sit, and feel good about being sat in meditation, but slightly weirded out by my heart panicking by itself.

 

I have suffered with anxiety and insomnia for years. LDT breathing is great, but I have had most success with stillness/emptiness meditation for these problems.

 

I find cultivation practices can stir up energy, which is not always helpful if the nervous system is over-active.

 

My advice would be to experiment a mindfulness or stillness meditation practice and compare it to breathing into the LDT and see what suits you best.

 

I cannot do LDT breathing or any cultivation in the evening, as it stirs up the energy in my head and makes my insomnia worse.

Edited November 24, 2014 by kudos100

[johndoe2012]

For anxiety, sleep is very important in my experience.

 

Try taking magnesium since our food these days doesn't contain enough.

 

LDT breathing in the evening is not good for people with anxiety. It will probably make things worse since energising the body results in difficulty in sleeping and other things.

 

Ultimately I found the root of my own anxiety to be due to extreme self-hatred.

 

Complete honesty will help crush the ego.

Edited November 24, 2014 by chris d

[rldawson]

Some other possibilities which may, or may not, have been explored:

 

Eliminating from diet:

• caffeine
• sugar (particularly sucrose and glucose)
• saturated fats

Ensuring in diet:

• sufficient fibre
• enough water
• fruit/vegetable intake

When meditating, how long is one breath cycle (in/out) for you? Slowing down the breath, without causing stress or strain, decreases the heart rate.

 

Being over active, taking on too much, and living in a constant state of being rushed, also contributes to anxiety and insomnia.

[dawei]

IMO, it is simply that your nervous system is not getting calm because your spirit is not getting calm... because your mind is not getting calm.

 

I know it may sound 'advanced' but it is not difficult to try:

 

I would recommend a top-down breathing: survey, smile, descend...

 

- inhale slowly through nose; exhale slowly through mouth.

 

Breath into the crown and flowing down and out the feet... let it be like descending rain or oil drops going down...

 

Drop your minds-eye down to:

Eyes.. then nose... then jaw and let it melt away (liquid like)

 

 

 

You successively let it drop down and smile at various points. Some will use colors to help or picture flowers of that color arising... but linger only 3-5 breaths and keep moving down.

 

Some will stop at energy centers or each chakra or avoid certain areas... the idea is to survey and smile at your areas and then let them descend.

 

When you get to the lowest point of the underneath of the stomach, let it breath into that area. At first, I would not try to collect it so much as it may raise your energy feeling... I would tend to let it go down and out the feet (or where ever it wants to go).

 

The important part is that you descend the breath to keep it out of the head and chest.

[soaring crane]

Oh, speaking of anti-anxiety, Lam Kam Chuen's newest book speaks directly to that problem. I have it, and recommend it. It's quite simple, but quite good. It's a workbook and includes a diary to keep track of progress.

[Clarity]

In reading your post, one thing that really jumped out at me was the word "waves". All breathing and meditation aside, I felt a big energetic weakness around that word (as in the energy not supporting you). So anything that comes in "waves" would need to be strengthened on your midline (for example, there's definitely a weakness to "attacking waves of soldiers" as in being "attacked in the night").

 

You're welcome to PM me if you'd like some energetic strengthening for the anxiety and insomnia.

[Boy]

...

Edited December 1, 2014 by Boy

[PLB]

I get a lot of feeling of tension around the heart. I know it is an expression of stress.

Not any one thing I practice seems to directly address it but the closest I get seems to be 5 element qigong and manifesting fire from the middle dantien. I am open to suggestion on the matter because it is not like I understand what is happening energetically.

[Aetherous]

Breathing into the belly can stimulate the adrenal glands, so perhaps that is part of the problem.

 

The source of anxiety is literally just the mind not being able to release (if it did, that extra balled up energy would simply unravel and evaporate), so it's good to do calm abiding meditation. No wonder why they call it that.

[Rara]

Thank you all so much for your advice. I would respond to each individual but that could take a while! The majority of you advise that I stay away from Dan Tien breathing as it will stimulate my adrenaline which is no good if I'm already anxious. That makes sense.

 

Can I ask though, one thing that has always confused me.... Should I do Dan Tien breathing in mornings and/or if I am sleep deprived? This would enhance my energy levels right? Or should I do more calming meditations to help deal with the anxiety/insomnia thus giving me more sleep and naturally energising me?

Edited November 25, 2014 by Rara

[Rara]

In reading your post, one thing that really jumped out at me was the word "waves". All breathing and meditation aside, I felt a big energetic weakness around that word (as in the energy not supporting you). So anything that comes in "waves" would need to be strengthened on your midline (for example, there's definitely a weakness to "attacking waves of soldiers" as in being "attacked in the night").

 

You're welcome to PM me if you'd like some energetic strengthening for the anxiety and insomnia.

 

Perhaps, but I don't know wht other word to best describe it lol. Sometimes its here, others it isn't! But I know what you mean...but perhaps I just need different affirmations to stop myself associating it with an attack?

[Rara]

 

Rara....

Learning to breathe is an art of living. The goal in learning to breathe is to accomplish abdominal breathing or dan tian breathing or whatever it is called. The realm of breathing is to breathe down below the belly button. That is where the dan tian is located. At the beginning, it is very hard for someone to accomplish abdominal breathing, especially, for a beginner with breathing problem. Breathing problem means that one cannot breathe down to the chest or abdomen very easily.

 

If you want to correct the breathing problem properly, please do not try to do abdominal breathing right away. It is because it take time for you to practice to get there. Otherwise, you will have symptoms like light-headed, tight in the chest or suffocation.

 

Here is the proper way to correct your breathing habit during your meditation.

1. You need to establish a baseline by taken a deep breath to a point that you are comfortable with.

2. Take a breath deeply, slowly and long, down to that point every time when you inhale. Then exhale at the same point. Eventually, you breath will go down to the abdomen progressively.

 

Please just remember don't do it too fast but slowly. Your body is not used to take so much oxygen, all the sudden. That is why you may get some uncomfortable symptoms.

 

By the way, practicing Tai Ji is the best way to correct the breathing problem. It is because Tai Ji will automatically improve your breathing progressively. Indeed, this is my empirical experience.

 

Don't worry, I have worked my way to this. I'm thinking now that maybe I have my medications muddled (sorry, that's a cheesy metaphor for my meditation practice lol)

 

Anyone that can advise me on query a few posts up - that would be awesome

[kudos100]

Can I ask though, one thing that has always confused me.... Should I do Dan Tien breathing in mornings and/or if I am sleep deprived? This would enhance my energy levels right? Or should I do more calming meditations to help deal with the anxiety/insomnia thus giving me more sleep and naturally energising me?

 

What works for me is to do any cultivation/energetic practices during the day and then only do mindfulness meditations in the evening.

 

I think the most important thing is to try and find something that suits you personally. Just because something works for one person, doesn't mean it will work for another.

[soaring crane]

Here's the book I mentioned previously:

 

http://www.lamkamchuen.com/His_Works.html#16

 

I do feel you could do worse than to purchase it and apply the techniques, and keep the diary. The methods are very, very simple, but his expanations of the benefits are quite excellent and I think that anyone who works through this program, and keeps the diary, will have to see some significant improvement.

[Rara]

Here's the book I mentioned previously:

 

http://www.lamkamchuen.com/His_Works.html#16

 

I do feel you could do worse than to purchase it and apply the techniques, and keep the diary. The methods are very, very simple, but his expanations of the benefits are quite excellent and I think that anyone who works through this program, and keeps the diary, will have to see some significant improvement.

Thanks!

[dawei]

What works for me is to do any cultivation/energetic practices during the day and then only do mindfulness meditations in the evening.

 

I think the most important thing is to try and find something that suits you personally. Just because something works for one person, doesn't mean it will work for another.

 

I think this is generally good idea... I call the evening meditations, "melting meditations"... whereby one should simply disappear... or rather they are just establishing their self back to the whole.

[Rara]

Yes. Thinking back, it might well not have been anxiety itself during the Dan Tien breathing, but the adrenaline...for I was not conscious of any worries.

 

If I'm struggling to get to sleep, or wake up prematurely, I'm usually aware of why.

[ChiDragon]

Rara....
What did you do before you go to bed? You didn't read some thing or stay on the internet for a long time before you go to sleep, did you....???