This is another blog for those of you who might be interested in establishing or improving your sitting mindfulness practice. One of the things that I have found most difficult to do is to simply allow my body to breathe naturally. When you purposefully observe something, it’s very hard not to try to control it. Think about what it’s like when you have an itch. Imagine sitting and simply noticing that itch without scratching it. Very hard to do! We are all so used to noticing the way things are and then trying to adjust them in some way. Sometimes this is so automatic that we don’t even notice it. When you sit and observe your breathing, you are probably making minor adjustments to the mechanics of your breathing that you’re sometimes not even aware of. For example, you might be aware that it’s usually most effective to breathe through the diaphragm rather than to draw air into your lungs by expanding and contracting your chest. As a result, you might automatically default to belly breathing mode during sitting mindfulness without even knowing that this is different from what your body might do if it were left to its own devices.
It took me a very long time before I was able to just sit and let my body breathe in some natural way. I have found it helpful to remind myself that my body knows how to breathe, and that the point of sitting mindfulness is to simply sit and breathe (not to try to relax or change my breathing). I also try to remind myself to observe my breathing with curiosity and notice the interesting sensations as I breathe in and out, as well as the sensations at the bottom and top of the breath. It’s interesting to notice the natural physiological ebb and flow of breathing and the mild urge to breathe out at the top of the inhale and to breathe in at the bottom of the exhale. Sometimes I notice that my breathing changes a lot more than I would have expected, changing from deep to shallow, rough, smooth, and short, etc. Sometimes, breathing feels like the natural undulations of the ocean coming into shore and then sliding back out again. As certain thoughts go through my mind, and as emotions arise and subside, I often notice changes in my breathing. You might be thinking this sounds incredibly boring! And, sometimes it is. But, it’s a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. If it’s hard to just let your body breathe naturally during sitting mindfulness, you might consider starting by trying this during walking, yoga, or other activities. Just tune in to learn how your body is breathing naturally while you are doing these other things. You might learn something interesting! ~Alexander L. Chapman, Ph.D., R.Psych.