Breathing Lessons: Learn Anapanasati Meditation
Breathing Lessons: Learn Anapanasati Meditation
Breathing Lessons: Learn Anapanasati Meditation
Anapanasati Meditation
Many yogis find that anapanasati, a form of meditation that
focuses on the breath, is a natural place to begin their
sitting practice.
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Let Go Into Freedom
Anapanasati is the meditation system expressly taught by the Buddha in
which mindful breathing is used to develop both samadhi (a serene and
concentrated mind) and vipassana. This practicesaid to be the form of
meditation used to bring the Buddha to full awakeningis based on the
Anapanasati Sutta. In this clear and detailed teaching, the Buddha presents a
meditation practice that uses conscious breathing to calm the mind so that it is
fit to see into itself, to let go into freedom.
It is important to note that you are learning to be mindful of the raw sensations
that come through breathing, free of conceptualization or imagery of any kind.
For those who have done hatha yoga and pranayama, can you see that your
training has been an excellent preparation for this? Of course, when you direct
your attention to the breath, you may find that the mind prefers to be
anywhere else but there. The practice is to keep returning to the breath each
time you are distracted. Little by little the mind learns to settle down; it feels
steady, calm, and peaceful. At this early stage, you are also encouraged to be
mindful during the activities of your day. Turning to the breathing from time to
time can ground you in these activities. The breath is always with you, helping
to cut down on the unnecessary thinking that distracts from the here and now.
You are now in a position to practice pure vipassana meditation. The mind is
able to bring the fullness of mental and physical life into focus. The primary
meaning of vipassana is insightinsight into the impermanent nature of all
mental and physical formations. In the words of the Buddha: "Focusing on the
impermanent nature of all formations, the yogi breathes in; focusing on the
impermanent nature of all formations, the yogi breathes out."
As you sit and breathe, observe the arising and passing of all mental and
physical events. The mind empties itself of all its content; the body discloses
its transparent and constantly changing nature. Deep penetration into the law
of impermanence can profoundly facilitate your ability to let go of the
attachments that produce so much unnecessary anguish.
Anapanasati Meditation
Step 1
After sitting quietly for a few minutes, bring attention to your exhalations.
Becoming aware of your exhalations in the beginning is often necessary to get
you going. Think of it as properly warming up. Feel the breath sensations
associated with exhaling again and againwithout interfering. Accept
whatever sensations turn up. Let them be.
Step 2
As you become more familiar with the details of exhalation, do you find that
you are interfering with the process of breathing out? If so, in what way?
Instead of letting the out-breaths happen on their own, do you tamper with
them? You may discover, as some yogis do, that you don't trust your own
breathing to do the job of exhaling on its own.
Step 3
There are many ways to disturb the breathas your awareness becomes
more precise, see the specific ways in which you direct the natural process of
breathing. Do you give exhalations the full time that they need? If you are
cutting the breaths short, notice this. Gradually, as your breathing becomes
less willful, your exhalations will begin to terminate naturally, by themselves.
As you begin to interfere less with your breathing, can you see any change in
the quality of the breathor your mind?
Step 4
Now begin to work with your inhalation in much the same way. Do you disturb
your inhalations as soon as you begin to observe them? Any help at all by you
is interference. In short, become aware of the unique ways in which you
disturb your inhalations.
Step 5
Finally, become more familiar with the breathing pausethe gap between
breaths. What happens during the pause, especially as it lengthens itself?
Anxiety? Boredom? A tendency to get distracted? You can begin with
exhalations, and as you feel them, become more aware of how your
exhalations change into inhalations. Do you, for example, rush and cut short
the end of your exhalations, pushing inhalations through before they are due?
Are the inhalations willful and early, curtailing the pause between exhaling and
inhaling?
As you observe how you tamper with this natural process, you interfere with
the transitions between breaths less and less. Re-establishing the full strength
of the pause, even if it is only brief, brings with it calm and satisfaction. The
breath recovers on its own if you let it. You develop trust in the "recuperative"
power of your own breathing process.
In allowing the breath to flow naturally, you develop a crucial skill for when
your practice expands beyond just breathing in vipassana. Can you also allow
the entire mind-body process to unfold just as naturally and see it clearly as it
does? To do so is to invite the liberating power of insight to manifest itself and
enrich your life.