Broadly speaking, there are two approaches to breathing when it comes to meditation and relaxation.
The don't interfere approach, which I generally use, advises that we simply notice inhalations and exhalations with close attention without trying to change our breath. This makes the breath an object of awareness, thereby focusing the mind.
The breath exercise approach, which I also enjoy, advises that we follow certain patterns of breathing to achieve desired ends, like relaxation, increased energy, and such. This makes the breath akin to a muscle that benefits from exercise.
Today the Washington Post had a story that caught my eye, "How to calm your mind with breathing, according to science." Here's how it starts out:
Download How to use breathwork to calm your mind - The Washington Post
Take a deep breath.
Now exhale and notice how you feel.
If you feel even a bit calmer, you have just experienced the power of conscious and intentional breathing.
Research shows that breathwork practices and slowing our breath can alleviate stress and improve mood by harnessing the often subtle but profound influence our breathing has on how we think, feel and behave.
Our “breath accompanies us from birth until death,” said Helen Lavretsky, a geriatric integrative psychiatrist at the University of California at Los Angeles and director of research for the Integrative Medicine Collaborative. As a result, breathing is “an immediate tool available to a human being to self-regulate emotions.”
The relationship between our breath, body and brain has been known for at least 1,500 years, said Paul Dallaghan, a breathwork expert and researcher who is publishing a review on the history of yoga. “One reflects the other. As the breath moves, the mind moves,” he said, citing yoga texts.
More recent research has found evidence supporting this ancient insight.
Several breathing patterns are mentioned in the article, including: "Box breathing involves equal time spent inhaling, holding, exhaling and holding, with each step lasting three or four seconds."
One reason I subscribe to the Calm meditation app on my iPhone is that the app includes six different breathing exercises. Each features a colored ball with a moving cursor around the circumference that's matched to different tones for inhale, exhale, and hold.
So I can either close my eyes and match my breathing to the exercise via the tone, or open my eyes and watch the moving cursor while hearing the tone. Today I tried the Focus exercise -- "Sharpen concentration and improve performance" -- which uses the Box Breathing technique of inhale, hold, exhale, hold, where each of the four is an equal time. Calm uses four seconds.
Thus one full inhale and exhale using Box Breathing takes sixteen seconds. This equates to 3.75 breaths per minute, which is quite slow. The Washington Post article says:
Most people breathe an average of 12 to 20 times a minute, though the rate varies from person to person and circumstance to circumstance. More anxious people tend to breathe faster. However, the “magic number” of calming breaths is around 5.5 to 6 breaths per minute — far slower than most people hit, Dallaghan said. This number comes from observations of people in meditative states — moments of calm, quiet and clarity when breathing would spontaneously slow.
I did Box Breathing for four minutes today, via the Calm app. It did feel considerably slower than my usual breathing, especially with the four second pauses after each inhale and exhale. I felt good doing the exercise.
Usually I do the Relax technique -- "Quiet your mind and relieve stress" -- which is a four second inhale and an extended six second exhale. This equates to 6.00 breaths per minute, which feels nicely comfortable to me. The Calm app lets you choose how long you want to do a breathing technique, ranging from one to sixty minutes, or endless.
I often do the Relax technique for five minutes, which the article says is enough to gain some benefits from a breathing exercise.
A recent study reported that even just five minutes of breathwork each day for about a month could reduce breathing rate, improve mood and reduce anxiety. A 2023 review found that breathwork could help adults with clinically diagnosed anxiety disorders with their symptoms while other research has found breathing interventions helped patients with depression.
Nice summary of breathtaking during meditation.
here is what i think about breathing in meditation.i hope you wont mind sharing these thoughts here.
in my earlier days, when i started this technique as taught by sant mat in general and radhasoami in specific, this was a huge problem.They say Surat needs to ascend from third eye to higher regions.
Breathing is exactly stopper to that.
its like moving into two different directions. either you go up but breath will stop.i thought at that time there must be someway. i tried simran, but problem with simran is one gets stuck at simran only.it gets boring very fast. it becomes difficult to do simran even for 10 minutes.
Then i thought maybe i should skip simran and do Bhajan. closing both ears certainly helped but sound never got louder.it remained near to physical senses.
in both cases breathing was problem. attention goes back to breathing as soon as you try to ascend.
Then i though lets try Dhyan directly. Maybe sound will come later.
here i got lucky. i started remembering close time spent with my Master. initially there was nothing . i was simply siting there trying to do nothing(even though mind is constantly blabbering), i took a step back,observed mind and then i completed dhyan.
Posted by: October | January 02, 2025 at 12:41 AM
continuing with my earlier comment...
Then complete darkness in front of eyes come.Master's role is over. Now is the time to expect things.if one is expecting things before this threshold, you will remain stuck there. now if you do dhyan of Master, Master the Master because if you wont, you will never reach Truth.
it doesn't mean that it is a disrespect to your Master But if you are spiritually strength-ful enough, you can do dhyan of any diety or local God. Its like open playground.
One thing is that its all illusion inside also. Not only outside is illusion inside is also illusion. But to crack outside illusion you dont need cracking up of inside illusion. if you have awakened outside (through whatever means) inside ilussion melts and all the things said about inside regions loses its meaning. You are already there.
Posted by: October | January 02, 2025 at 01:07 AM
Oxygen is to the brain what food is to the body.
Posted by: abetterway | January 02, 2025 at 05:54 AM
@abetterway,.,you just confirmed why RSSB Masters teach their Initiates to NOT do breathing exercises, or the old Yogi Pranayama breathing exercises known as what Paramahansa Yoganada’s taught , that he referred to as “Kriya Yoga.” Heavy breathing does increase Oxygen intake, and holding it in, disperses Oxygen through out the body, which the knotted mind/soul IN THE BODY, where Kirpal Singh always taught his Initiates to “Rise ABOVE body consciousness”, which is to the 3rd eye.
I practiced Pranayama for long enough to know it always kept me in the body, below the 3rd eye, where the actual Spiritual Path BEGINS, as Charan taught.
Practicing the Technique I was taught by Thakar and Charan, produces the Light & Sound which is the verification that we are connected to The “Lord” , as Charan referred to, of which I have come to believe is actually our Higher Self/Causal body.
Why? Because all Lights, Sounds, Visuals and Audables cease in Anami Purush.
Jim Sutherland
Posted by: Jim Sutherland | January 02, 2025 at 06:35 AM
In the UK there is an organisation – Breathworks UK. Sounds similar to the Washington Post story.
Breathworks courses teach a highly adaptable system of understanding, teaching, and practising mindfulness and meditation. It includes:
*The importance of body-based practices, including the body scan and mindful movement
*How mindfulness and compassion practices can be profoundly life-changing and transformative for those suffering from chronic pain and health conditions
*Learning to switch from ‘doing mode’ into ‘being mode’ - learning the difference between thinking about experience and being directly aware of it
*Understanding the key difference between Primary Suffering (e.g. a pain in your leg) and Secondary Suffering (e.g. worrying about what the pain could be, whether it will get worse, etc. etc.)
*The essential role of compassion and kindness - towards others and towards yourself
*How to incorporate mindfulness into daily life.
As it’s a secular movement and not tainted with any aspirational religious/spiritual approach, it’s something I might try if ever I felt the need.
Posted by: Ron E. | January 02, 2025 at 07:42 AM
Meet the Guy who lives on air.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/nicolas-pilartz-breatharian-diet-interview/
Jim Sutherland
Posted by: Jim Sutherland | January 02, 2025 at 08:19 AM
One hour in explains the mechanism of breath work and breathing in meditation. https://youtu.be/QQIwZ41Ro1w?si=EGkii9JZ_3iavSme The design of the body is fascinating.
Posted by: kt | January 02, 2025 at 03:01 PM