Discursive Meditation: Phase 3

[ecosophia]

Another week has gone by, and it's time for another installment of instruction for those of my readers who are following this sequence of posts. Here's Pharaoh Khafre, the builder of the second biggest pyramid in Egypt, reminding you of the correct posture -- well, except that you don't have a scepter to hold and so should relax that right hand and rest it palm down on your thigh like the other. If you need more detailed reminders, you can find the first two phases of the practice here and here. So far we've dealt with posture and relaxation. Now it's time to integrate a third factor, which is breathing. 

How you breathe has powerful effects on your state of consciousness, and there are intricate systems of breathwork that take advantage of this for various reasons. If you don't have a teacher to supervise you and watch for signs of trouble, though, those can be risky. Breathwork stimulates the vagus nerve, which has a range of effects on the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine glands; if you do it clumsily, you can mess up your health. (I learned that the hard way, and it took about five years for me to get things back to normal. You don't want to go there.)

Fortunately there are methods of breathwork that are both safe and effective, and one of them is very commonly used in discursive meditation practice. It's called the Fourfold Breath. It's quite simple. You breathe in through your nose, slowly and deeply, to the count of four. You hold the breath in to the count of four. You breathe out through your nose, slowly and fully, to the count of four. You hold the breath out to the count of four. Repeat to the same steady rhythm. 

How do you know how slow or fast to make the rhythm? Simple -- make it reasonably slow without gasping or running out of air. Keep it steady, gentle, and flowing. No two people will have exactly the same rhythm, nor will you have the same rhythm every time you practice. Don't use a metronome or any other mechanical aid; just let yourself find a pace that works for you. 

One detail worth noting is that you don't hold your breath by closing your throat; you hold it by keeping the muscles of your chest and abdomen in their positions, either expanded or relaxed. If you're used to closing your throat to hold your breath, this can take some practice. How do you tell if you're closing your throat? Draw in a deep breath, hold it for a little while, and then breathe out. If you hear or feel a little "pop" inside your throat, you've closed it. To keep from doing that, keep trying to breathe in a trickle of air while you hold your breath in, and keep trying to breathe out a trickle of air when you're holding your breath out. You'll get the hang of it quickly. 

For the next week, five minutes of the Fourfold Breath will be your practice. Take the position, hold yourself still, and let the tension drain away from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet, just as you did last week; take a minute or two to do this. Then begin the Fourfold Breath. Keep doing it for five minutes. What you're doing this week is the sequence you'll use to begin the process of meditation for real next week.  Keep at it, and see where it take you!

Comments

three or four?

[(Anonymous)]

In the DMH you recommend the threefold breath. I just tried it and it feels awkward at four, although I could count quicker! I guess I have developed a comfortable pattern at three. This is my intuition - that as each person does this they will find their own rhythm and count quicker or slower to match it.. and that the importance is not in the number but in the slow and regular rhythm... does this chime with your experience?
Blueday Jo

Re: three or four?

[ecosophia]

You can certainly use a count of three if that works for you. The number doesn't matter -- what matters is that each phase lasts roughly the same amount of time.

Thanks!

[(Anonymous)]

I've been doing the 4-fold breathing in the same sort of rhythm one would use for doing exercises, a sort of 4-square pattern, and yes,closing my throat to hold my breath. Upon reading this column this morning, I experimented with letting it flow more smoothly. Still can't stop the throat-closing, but it felt much better just one one try.

Re: Thanks!

[ecosophia]

It takes practice to keep the throat open -- it certainly did for me! It's much better for your lungs, though.

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks for doing this JMG, I have started the practice of meditation.
Having a chair the right height, so that your feet are flat on the ground and thighs at 90 degrees makes a big difference. I also noticed my pant leg was at 90 but my lower leg was at 80 degrees and moving it to the right position felt better.

The only part of me that felt sore was the middle of my back.

The one thing I wanted to check with you about is an affirmation that I have been doing.
My biggest issue is a lack of motivation, so I have been using this
“I am a man of action”
It seems to be working, even though I am not taking it completely seriously.
By that I mean I have fun with it, I have been trying to find the right theme song to go along with it, (spiderman’s theme song, Gilligan’s island’ s theme song, the Oscar Myer bologna jingle , stuff like that)

Is there anything obviously wrong with my approach?

[(Anonymous)]

Some good thoughts here, and can attest to dangers involved in mispracticed breathwork...had tried to incorporate some "chi"-related breathing patterns directly into my usual Western rituals and had some bad, bad physical experiences. (I surmise there was some "etheric" interference goin on with the astral effects, but not sure--your clarification to me last week on etheric vs astral was useful in understanding the distinction). I imagine these traditions could be usefully combined, but that's beyond me. Have since used a simple 4-count with breathing and it's been very useful.

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks for this series! I had been meaning for some time to give meditative prayer another go (I am lazy about it). This was just the kick in the pants I needed, and also a helpful framework for getting going again. A few questions:

1) Why does this make my feet hot?

2) After a while, this induces hypnagogic hallucinations. Which makes sense if you figure it's putting you in roughly the same state as at the edge of sleep. Is this a feature or a bug? When this happens, do you pay attention? Ignore and continue? The lady in pastel business attire (with pearls!) tackling the giant gray lizard creature like a bodyguard taking out an assailant... well, it's hard not to pause for a quick "WTF?"

3) Any particular reason for hand placement on legs? I was taught to hold them at about shoulder level, elbows bent... and after trying out both, I find I breathe much more easily with hands up.