Following the breath

[williamrowlandMember]

How important is the practice of following the breath, as opposed to just observing it? Lately, I’ve been trying to follow Stage 2 and 3’s instructions on following the breath. The problem is that it starts to feel very tiring after some minutes. I am able to discern all parts of the breath equally, but that requires a lot of effort, and soon it becomes hard to keep meditating. Could this be that I am focusing too hard on the breath, or is this normal? Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Blake BartonKeymaster]

Hi William,

You are probably applying too much effort. It is more tiring at first to notice more detail. I recommend having the intention to notice more detail, and then just seeing what happens.

It is interesting that you contrast following the breath vs. just observing the breath. Following the breath is also just an observation, although you have the intention to notice more detail.

You may have an expectation that you should notice more detail than your mind is currently capable of doing. There could be a feeling that “I” have to notice a large amount of detail, and this means the sense of self is involved, and this is much more tiring than doing it through an intention.

You might try just noticing the beginning of the inhale and the end of the inhale, and just “observe” the rest of the breath. When that is not too tiring try adding the beginning of the exhale and the end of the exhale. You can slowly work up to noticing more detail.

Blake

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