Try to breathe in a way that's gentle to the body, that calms things down within the body.

"For bodily serenity, you work with the breath. Remember the Buddha’s instructions that once you’re aware of long breathing and short breathing, try to make yourself aware of the whole body and then notice the effect that the breath is having on the body. Then try to make that effect more serene, make it more refined. Try to breathe in a way that’s gentle to the body. This helps to calm things down within the body. All the different processes calm down. Whatever tightness you may feel here or there in the body: Think of it dissolving away.

If there’s a sense that the breathing requires a lot of effort, just remind yourself: The breath is going to come in and out on its own. There are pores all over your body. You don’t have to pull it in or push it out. The breath will come in naturally, go out naturally. Any perception you can hold in mind that helps to make the breath easier: Experiment to see what way of picturing the breath to yourself helps to make the process of breathing more serene."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Serenity"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Breathe in a way that feels refreshing, soothing and comfortable to find a deep and lasting happiness

"So spend some time right here. Breathe in, breathe out, in a way that feels refreshing, that feels soothing, that feels comfortable — whatever the body needs right now, whatever the mind needs right now. Give it some good breathing. That way, you’ll be able to find the peace that comes when you’re not constantly being pulled into paying attention outside. And from that peace comes a deep and lasting happiness." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Paying Attention Inside"
Read more

The pleasure we're working toward when we're meditating is a noble, worthwhile pleasure

"Everything we do is for the sake of pleasure, physical or mental. So when we’re meditating, we’re doing it for pleasure, too. And it’s good to think about what kind of pleasure we’re working toward and why this is a worthwhile activity — why the Buddha says the pursuit of this pleasure, or the use of this pleasure, is part of a noble path, whereas a lot of other pleasures in the world are anything but noble. We work with the breath, trying to find a comfortable breath, and then we learn how to use that sense of comfort, that sense of ease, and spread it around the body. We’re working with pleasure here that’s both mental and physical. The breath feels good when you allow it to find a good rhythm and when you allow it to spread around. And there’s a mental pleasure that comes as well. The mind has a good place to stay. It feels at ease. It can rest. It can put down a lot of its guard, a lot of its tendency to be ready to jump of at any moment — because that’s what it’s learned fro...
Read more

You can handle fear by fortifying your inner adult with breath knowledge

"One of the most powerful elements of fear is your unwillingness to think of what you can do. You don’t even want to think of the situation. But if you actually sit down and think about it patiently, step by step, you realize you can handle it. You might have to muddle through, and things might get difficult, but you can handle it. And as you’re thinking this, it’s helpful to have the breath coming in, going out really comfortably. So learn how to use the breath, reclaim your breath. Get in touch with your inner adult and fortify the inner adult with what you now know about the breathing. That’ll change the balance of power in the mind." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Nurturing Your Inner Adult" (Meditations7)
Read more