2 very simple but very powerful meditation techniques

So this will be my first post here at ats. I enjoy ats because of the wide range of viewpoints found here and because i learn about things i wouldn't otherwise have been exposed to. But i see here as well as in almost everyone i meet a serious lack of peace and serenity. So i want to share a couple practices that have brought me a profound peace no matter how crazy the outer environment may be. These 2 techniques came to me naturally when i was younger and felt a desire to just relax very deeply. It wasnt until many years later that i started to read about meditation and found out these techniques had names and had been around for a very long time. But i want to keep this thread as short and to the point as possible so im not going to discuss the history of these techniques but ill tell you the name if you want to research them yourself.

The first technique i am actually practicing as i write this. You can practice this technique while your on the computer, watching t.v., or even on the toilet. Its called Ujjayi Pranayama. This is a way of breathing that will dramatically calm your mind, and dramatically improve your health. Its very simple and easy but it takes practice to get really good at it and that is why so few really take it up. So what you want to do is breath like you would if you were trying to fog up a window or check your breath in your hand. That HAAAAAAAAA sound is what your going for. Try this a few times with your mouth open and try it inhaling also. Youll notice how there is a slight restricting of the muscle in your throat. Once youve got the feel for it close your mouth and continue making the sound.

What you want to do is to slow down and lengthen the inhalation and exhalation and the 2 pauses in between. So while making the HAAAAAAAA sound inhale as long and slow as you can then pause for a few seconds, exhale as long and slow as you can and pause for a few seconds and repeat.

Also you want to inhale as much air as you can without straining yourself and exhale as much air as you can without straining yourself. Now what i found in the beginning when i first started practicing this was that i could only inhale for about 5-10 seconds before i felt winded and needed to quickly take another breath. So i tried to figure out what was a comfortable length for the inhalation, pause, exhalation and pause so that i could practice without feeling out of breath. I think in the very beginning it was something like -inhale for a count of 5 pause for 2 exhale for 5 and pause for 2. Everyone is different so experiment with this until you find the right length for you.

Also i found that it was easier to inhale SLOWLY for 5 sec. and right at the point where i felt like i needed to end the inhalation i would quickly breath in as much air as i could and fill my lungs, hold for a few seconds and then SLOWLY exhale for 5 sec then quickly breath out all the air until the lungs are empty and hold for a few seconds.

That's really all there is to it. Now as you practice more and more the length of each part of the breath will naturally grow longer. I started practicing this when i was about 15 and i became obsessed with it. I would practice every free moment i had and because i practiced so much after about 3 months it went from 5,2,5,2 to 25,25,25,25. Now there's no strain involved with this. You only hold the breath as long as its comfortable. But after 3 or so months of regular practice i found that i would naturally inhale for a very long time and then just stop. The lungs would be completely filled and there's just no need to exhale for quite awhile and in that pause theres a very deep silence and peace. And then after sometime you feel the need to exhale so you slowly and smoothly exhale all the air and then another pause.

Now the rate of improvement depends on how often you practice. I was probably practicing 4-8 hrs a day for the first 3 months and you can do the same if you practice whenever you get a chance. If you watch 2 hrs of t.v. a day then you have no excuse to not practice at least 2 hrs a day. If your on the computer for a few hours you have no excuse. People always say they're too busy but that's never really the case it either comes down to a lack of motivation and or forgetfulness. You have to really try to remember to practice in the beginning. After a few weeks or months though it becomes habit and more than habit it becomes the most enjoyable thing you could do and so you practice as much as you can.

Now in the beginning it will mostly be mechanical and just about getting used to this new way of breathing, getting your body used to it and getting your mind used to it. But as you start improving not only will the length and the smoothness of the breath improve but your focus and concentration will improve also. So while your inhaling you are more focused on just the act and feel of inhaling and there are not so many random wandering thoughts going on at the same time. There is just the inhaling. Then, there is just the pause, then just the exhaling, and just the pause. As your concentration gets better its not just the thoughts that stop but you become so focused that you dont notice the sounds around you and as it goes deeper you literally can have your eyes open but not see anything because so much of your attention is on your breath that there is none left for the senses. And when your focus is this strong so that there is nothing in your field of attention but the act of inhaling and suddenly the inhaling stops..........well, all thats left is the field of attention itself without any objects. The pure subject......the pure consciousness. Please dont say that this is nonsense or that its too difficult. Its very easy, and possible for anyone, but you have to really give it a shot and do the work. (Its taken me close to an hour to type this and ive been practicing the whole time.)

There's more i want to say on this but i want to keep it short. Hopefully some of you are interested and if so i can go into more detail and answer any questions you may have. Now i will continue with one other very easy technique but first im going to go and practice it and i will try to post it later tonight.

Now the second technique is also very simple and easy but can bring you the deepest level of relaxation possible for the human body if you really put in the time and effort. I think there are several different names out there but i would just call it body awareness.

All you do is focus your attention on each part of your body one at a time and let the muscles relax. Now in the beginning the mind is so wild and unfocused that i found it easier to move from one part of the body to the next very quickly before the mind had a chance to wander away to some random and useless thought. So lets say you start with your right foot. In the very beginning i wouldn't worry too much about trying to relax as i would just trying to feel that part for a moment and then move on.

So to start you would simply try to feel your right foot for a moment which means that you have put your attention there. Then before your mind gets distracted move up to your shin, then back to your calf, then up to your knee, then to the front of the thigh, then the back of the thigh, then the hip, and then the right cheek, then move down to the other foot and repeat. So you do the whole body in this way breaking it down into small parts like the shoulder, bicep,tricep,top of the forearm, bottom of the forearm, Back of the hand, palm of the hand. Now like i said in the beginning you will probably need to move very quickly, like 1 sec per part in order to keep your mind focused because it will wander off. And when it does wander off dont be bothered, just calmly bring it back. Now another trick that may help if you have trouble feeling a certain body part is to mentally say the name of that part and then focus your attention there and really feel that part of the body for a moment. So just like i wrote it out above you would say the names in your mind: "bottom of foot....top of foot....etc.

Now you want to practice this in whatever position is most comfortable for you. Lying down or reclining in a chair is actually a very good position. No need for lotus posture here. Now you will fall asleep in the beginning and thats okay. You will sleep for 10 min or so and then youll wake up and continue practicing. Then you may fall asleep again and wake up and continue practicing. Once you get better at it though this will almost never happen. Now one of the most important things in this practice is to hold absolutely still. Take the first minute or two to adjust yourself and get comfortable but after that you have to freeze completely......no wiggling your toes or fingers. Pay close attention! you may be surprised at how difficult it is to simply hold still. This is really a technique in itself.

Now in the beginning for the first few weeks or so when you practice holding completely still youll probably experience some involuntary twitching and even spasms of various muscles. This isnt painful at all but i just wanted to let you know to expect it. This wont happen anymore after the first few weeks. I used to always think that this was tension being released, but i once read that its caused by the fact that your body is so used to moving in some way at all times that when you hold it perfectly still the habit is so deep that muscles will just start twitching involuntary. That could be the cause of the twitching/spasms but there is no doubt that vast amounts of stored up tension in the muscles, even down to the bones are released by this practice.

So this is how you start out with this practice but as you get better at it you will naturally slow down and spend more time on each body part and you will learn how to actually relax that part. Now i don't completely understand what is taking place in the body during this practice but there are 2 things going on simultaneously that may sound like they are contradictory but somehow theyre not. When you focus on a part of the body there is actually an increase of energy in that area and a greater relaxation. Energy follows attention. If you want proof just try it for yourself. At first if your only focusing on an area for a few seconds you wont really notice this but as you get better at concentration and can hold your attention on area for several minutes without getting distracted that body part will seem to vibrate quite powerfully but at the same time it will feel lighter, less dense and extremely relaxed. As your concentration gets even stronger it feels like the density of that area becomes so light it actually disappears. Its a very strange but incredibly blissful experience. You may even get a taste of this in the very early days of practice although you wont be able to go that far regularly until youve put in the time and effort. Again this is not hard, you just have to really dedicate yourself to a regular schedule of practice and give it your best effort.

reply to post by emeris


Start out with just 10 min at a time twice a day. As you get better at it youll start to enjoy it more and more and before you know it 3 hrs will go by before you feel like getting up. There are all kinds of positive effects you will get from both of these techniques but i dont want to go on forever. So maybe someone will be interested in trying these techniques and will get some benefit from them. They have really been of benefit to me so i wanted to share them and put them out there for anyone willing to give it a try. im happy to answer any questions.

reply to post by emeris


Excellent techniques! I also use both of them in conjunction with energy circulation/visualization exercises, in effect, breathing in positive energy and breathing out pain/negative energy. The combination of focus on the breath and energy movement is basic chi kung, and can bring about some great changes in your body and mind.

I have had some incredible experiences through simple meditation and I truly believe it is one of the keys to finding yourself and working out your own inner issues. Thank you very much for detailing your own methods for all the rest here.

Thanks for sharing both these techniques,,i'll definitely try them out

I have used the HAAA before, and found it amazing for going into meditation without losing my breath!

Another one that is supposed to help with going into the 'trance' state is putting the tip of your tongue to the top of your mouth while you breath. (not sure why, but might as well give it a go!)

Thank you for sharing

reply to post by kmstar


Yeah this is khechari mudra. If you lengthen your tongue by stretching you can actually get the tongue back behind the uvula and up into the nasal passages. Some people even cut the frenulum under the tongue in order to lengthen it but this is dangerous and usually unnecessary if you simply stretch it out everyday for a few months. But even if you can get the tongue up there it doesnt really have any effect until you can get into the breathless state where your breath stops naturally for quite awhile.

reply to post by Coopdog


Yes if you are interested in Kundalini Yoga/Cosmic Orbit/Spinal Breathing/Kriya Yoga type practices these are very complimentary techniques. Any technique that brings control of breath/energy can lead to the highest stage. While ive studied and practiced several of these ive always found these 2 simple techniques to be the most powerful and effective for me. Ive found that the simpler the technique the better. All these strange secret techniques may be interesting to learn about but they seem to complicate something that is actually very simple....the simplest. And like i said these techniques came to me almost instinctually whereas all the others i had to go out and look for.

reply to post by emeris


An addendum to my first post, (too late to edit) is that this can indeed lead to Kundalini which blew me away when it came into my life. I thought I was having a psychotic break with reality as peace/love/joy energy overtook my usually sullen mindset. In the last year I am finding a new sort of balance with it after dampening it down with hard alcohol for quite a while.

So at any rate a warning about kundalini might be good to include as chi psychosis is a real phenomenon.

Now I am clean and sober and have even written a book detailing the simple techniques I used to get me there and how it changed my entire life practically overnight. Meditation is a powerful tool, and fixing yourself is a natural offshoot of it all. Yoga is a powerful tool also, but like you inferred, many wonderful and very simple techniques are to be found buried under too many overcomplicated words and practices.

The point is, that you don't have to be a mystic or yogi to greatly enhance your mind and body. A few minutes every night dedicated to this before bedtime will get you there. I was practicing kundalini work with no thought to the end game, as I figured that it was reserved for those mystics and yogis and not for the average practitioner, and BAM there it was. I am still trying to find balance with it all now that I have dropped the alcohol and cleaned myself up some. It can be very interesting to say the least.

reply to post by emeris


double tap post, I apologize

reply to post by Coopdog


Yes i also had a similar experience about 5 years ago. Its a feeling of love thats so pure it burns up all the hardness and negativity in you. I also instantly gave up many vices and addictions because of this.

Just found this thread and its pure gold! Definetely gonna start practising those methods! Star and a flag to you sir!

I have one question about that first inhaling exercise? So do I inhale with my nose and exhale with my mouth? And does that HAAAAA exhaling mean that I exhale from my chest. Like not normal "light" exhaling but like it comes from deep down my chest?

reply to post by RhinestoneCowboy


Always inhale and exhale through the nose. At first you will have to breath quite forcibly but as you get used to breathing this way it becomes more gentle and subtle. What happens is you are learning to constrict the glottis in the throat which is an opening the air passes through. So you narrow the opening with the muscles in your throat so that the air passes through more slowly and smoothly. As you get better at this there wont be any sound produced you will simply feel the glottis closed as if the opening were the size of a pinhole and air passes through extremely slow and smooth. But if you feel out of breath or dizzy you need to adjust the time and forcefulness until it becomes comfortable. Also you should be doing a complete breath where you fill the belly and then the chest. Once the chest has been filled and you start the pause after inhalation i like to gently push the air down into the belly which expands the lower much wider part of the lungs and will dramatically increase your lung capacity. You can also try practicing inhalation and exhalation separately until your good enough to do a complete breath. So try inhaling making the sound and try to make it as slow and long a breath as you can. Remember slow and long is what your going for here. The HAAAA sound is just a technique for learning how to restrict the glottis and also to have something to keep your attention. As you get better at restricting the glottis and the breath gets slower and longer and smoother the sound will become more and more subtle as it does it will no longer be audible to people around you but you will be able to just barely hear it, and as the breath continues to slow down it wont make any sound at all. In fact it will be so slow and subtle it wont feel like your breathing at all.(you wont feel winded in fact you will feel like every cell in your body is saturated in oxygen and more importantly.... BLISS) But like i said in the beginning you will probably have to breath quite forcibly and quickly in order to not get winded or dizzy. Don't worry. If you practice frequently everyday in just a few months you will be lost in the bliss breathing once every 90-120 sec. and if you keep practicing it will stretch out to levels i wont even mention because it will seem impossible until you actually experience it yourself. Practice as if you were training to become the best in the world and you will progress very quickly. This is the oldest technique of meditation and will take you swiftly to the goal if you really practice. Again, i have been practicing as i type and you can practice as you read.

reply to post by emeris


I have been practising mindful based stress reduction for the past few months. What you are describing here, is known as a body scan. It's quite easy as an introduction for beginners.



I have been using the audio books of Jon Kabat-zinn.

I have always been a bit skeptical about things like meditation, but it is now widely accepted in the medical and science professions. My local hospital runs mindful based stressed reduction (mbsr). Courses. It's basically mindful meditation, but demystified.

Im very confused now. Sorry if I seem to be fool but I dont want to start practising this wrong.

In the first post you said like this: "So what you want to do is breath like you would if you were trying to fog up a window or check your breath in your hand. That HAAAAAAAAA sound is what your going for."

Then you said that both, then inhaling and exhaling are done with nose only. How can I make this HAAA sounds if my mouth is closed all the time? I have read some exhaling/inhaling tips and they advised that you inhale through nose and exhale through mouth.

So is it really that this exercise is done mouth closed?

I found a great link for this exercise. I just dont get that HAA sound and "check you breath" thing cause who checks his breath mouth closed?!?!

yogawiz.com

reply to post by RhinestoneCowboy


Yes definitely mouth closed. I only meant to take a couple breaths with the mouth open so that you get an idea of the type of breathing im talking about. Try it first with your mouth open just for a few breaths and then close your mouth and continue to breath in the same way through the nose. The sound will be more of a hissing sound. Just do the best you can to start and the quality will improve automatically.

I looked at the link and the only problem i find with it is that like most people they suggest a ratio of 1:2. This means that the exhalation should be twice as long as the inhalation. I dont find this to be very natural for me. For me the inhalation and exhalation are naturally the same length. Also most sites talking about Ujjayi dont include kumbhaka which is breath retention, the pause after inhalation(puraka) and exhalation(rechaka). Also i never find anyone who stretches the breath past maybe 10 sec for each part. So they will breath in for 10 sec. and breath out for 10 sec. and thats it. This is why theyre only getting the most basic benefits like the ones mentioned on the link. The real Ujjayi has 4 parts (inhalation,pause,exhalation,pause) Start with 5,5,5,5 then move to 10,10,10,10 but dont stop there. Thats only the very beginning. Wait until you reach 60,60,60,60 thats when you start to see the real benefits of this technique. Once i found out that this was a common technique i started reading every link i could find on it but was disappointed to find noone really practicing anything but the lowest stage. Im not the best at explaining things and even if i were it can still be difficult to understand even if i were there in person to show you. So please ask as many questions as you need to really understand the proper technique. I only posted this so that others can benefit from it and that means they need to understand clearly. So if it takes 1000 posts it will be time well spent.

reply to post by kmstar


The tip of the tongue on the roof of the mouth completes the "micro cosmic orbit". Think of it as a switch.. Cool exercise.. hold your arm out.. keep your mouth closed and tongue on the roof of your mouth.. have someone push arm down and feel the resistance.. Try it again but this time with out touching your tongue to the roof of the mouth..

Internal martial arts use this and other alignments to increase connection, power, root, etc..

reply to post by HooHaa


Do you know that the soft palate is actually just a thin piece of skin and that above it is the hollow nasal cavity. If you can get your tongue back behind the uvula it will go up into the nasal cavity and touch the area just beneath the pineal gland. When you reach a very deep state of meditation a juice called Amrita or Soma drips down from the pinel gland onto the tongue. You can basically think of this as pure '___'. Its much more than that but thats a good enough comparison. This is the real Soma talked about in the Vedas. Ive heard that some people think Soma is actually phychedelic mushrooms and while I have a deep respect and reverence for the sacred mushroom this is not the real Soma.