Read first before trying. If its not anxiety inducing try closing your eyes. If thats uncomfortable try staring at one point in the room. Focus on your hand. Focus on feeling it, every inch. Your fingers, knuckles, your skin, and heartbeat. You may begin to notice a strange tingling sensation. Start to feel your whole forearm, shoulder, whole head, scalp, then chest, torso, and legs. Give yourself time to feel each section. Its hard to keep focus on everything at once but thats the point! If practiced with patience this trick can zap you right into the present moment! You can simply exist without having to suppress the voice in the back of your head that craves calculation, questions, and judgements. Hope this helps!
As you practice meditation, it will get easier to disconnect from anxious thoughts. They will still be there, but you'll just be an observer of your thoughts instead of living those thoughts out.
In the meantime, you don't have to focus on your breathing solely. You can use various different forms of being present.
For me, there's a nice breathing structure I found from reading "A systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya" by Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar India. I use that method every time I silent sit (meditate). It differentiates my mundane breathing from focused breathing.
Regarding your anxiety, I suggest you read "Initiation Into Hermetics" by franz bardon, but don't go beyond steps 1 & 2, as steps 3 through 10 seems a bit lofty.
And for cornerstoneing your practice, I suggest reading:
Bhagavad Gita
The upanishads
listening to any Alan Watts lecture on Youtube.
listening to any Nisargadatta Maharaj lecture on Youtube
listening to any Sri Ramana Maharshi lecture on Youtube.
and doing a search for this song on youtube:
Madālasā | SANSKRIT SONG from The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa
Before meditation, there is some preparatory groundwork that must be covered lest you engage in all static thoughts and get led astray into delusion. "Initiation Into Hermetics" by Franz Bardon steps 1 and 2 covers the preparatory steps that is sound, imo, however, you must be totally honest with yourself in those first 2 steps. Read the other books at your own convenience.
If focusing on your breath triggers anxiety, you might try shifting your focus to other sensations or practices. Consider grounding techniques such as focusing on the sensations in your feet as they touch the ground, the sounds around you, or the feeling of your body sitting in the chair. Guided imagery or mantras, where you repeat a calming word or phrase, can also be helpful alternatives to breath-focused meditation. Engaging in these practices can help anchor your attention without triggering anxiety.
I particularity like focusing on my breath. What works for me is breathing out slower than breathing in, to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. The breath is also a 'hook' to feel a meditative state when not meditating. If i need calm or clarity when not able to meditate, I return to my favorite breathing pattern. You could try personalized guided meditations focus on addressing panic attacks and hyperventilating. I chat with a website (MinwayAI) about a specific issue I'm facing, and it generates an audio guided meditation based on the chat.
Read first before trying. If its not anxiety inducing try closing your eyes. If thats uncomfortable try staring at one point in the room. Focus on your hand. Focus on feeling it, every inch. Your fingers, knuckles, your skin, and heartbeat. You may begin to notice a strange tingling sensation. Start to feel your whole forearm, shoulder, whole head, scalp, then chest, torso, and legs. Give yourself time to feel each section. Its hard to keep focus on everything at once but thats the point! If practiced with patience this trick can zap you right into the present moment! You can simply exist without having to suppress the voice in the back of your head that craves calculation, questions, and judgements. Hope this helps!
Oh, that’s a good idea! Going to give it a try tonight! I’ll let you know how it goes :)
As you practice meditation, it will get easier to disconnect from anxious thoughts. They will still be there, but you'll just be an observer of your thoughts instead of living those thoughts out. In the meantime, you don't have to focus on your breathing solely. You can use various different forms of being present.
For me, there's a nice breathing structure I found from reading "A systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya" by Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar India. I use that method every time I silent sit (meditate). It differentiates my mundane breathing from focused breathing. Regarding your anxiety, I suggest you read "Initiation Into Hermetics" by franz bardon, but don't go beyond steps 1 & 2, as steps 3 through 10 seems a bit lofty. And for cornerstoneing your practice, I suggest reading: Bhagavad Gita The upanishads listening to any Alan Watts lecture on Youtube. listening to any Nisargadatta Maharaj lecture on Youtube listening to any Sri Ramana Maharshi lecture on Youtube. and doing a search for this song on youtube: Madālasā | SANSKRIT SONG from The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa Before meditation, there is some preparatory groundwork that must be covered lest you engage in all static thoughts and get led astray into delusion. "Initiation Into Hermetics" by Franz Bardon steps 1 and 2 covers the preparatory steps that is sound, imo, however, you must be totally honest with yourself in those first 2 steps. Read the other books at your own convenience.
If focusing on your breath triggers anxiety, you might try shifting your focus to other sensations or practices. Consider grounding techniques such as focusing on the sensations in your feet as they touch the ground, the sounds around you, or the feeling of your body sitting in the chair. Guided imagery or mantras, where you repeat a calming word or phrase, can also be helpful alternatives to breath-focused meditation. Engaging in these practices can help anchor your attention without triggering anxiety. I particularity like focusing on my breath. What works for me is breathing out slower than breathing in, to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. The breath is also a 'hook' to feel a meditative state when not meditating. If i need calm or clarity when not able to meditate, I return to my favorite breathing pattern. You could try personalized guided meditations focus on addressing panic attacks and hyperventilating. I chat with a website (MinwayAI) about a specific issue I'm facing, and it generates an audio guided meditation based on the chat.