Why it is not good to focus on breathing during meditation

Simon Borg-Olivier, exercise-based physiotherapist and long-term practitioner of posture, movement and breathing, says that it is not a good idea to focus on the breath while practising meditation. Concentrating on, or even observing, your breathing can cause hyperventilation, which causes a reduction in blood flow to the brain and the rest of the body. Simon speaks about the actual meditative state as being akin to the 'flow state' or the athlete's 'zone state', in which there is enhanced blood flow yet heart rate is low, and the nervous system remains calm. He believes that one of the best approaches to enter the meditative state is to focus on lengthening the body in all directions while concentrating on staying as relaxed as possible. Edited transcript: "Let me tell you about the common myths of breathing and meditation and the relationship between them; and the most common problems people face when trying to integrate breathing and meditation. A real meditative state is a place where it feels like you're not breathing at all. So many people make mistakes with breathing while meditating that can affect their physical body, affect their joints, give you back pain, neck pain etc., and affect their physiological body. In other words, reducing energy and causing stress affects their mental body by causing a lack of blood flow to the brain. When you're breathing for meditation, the trick is to forget the breath and allow yourself to breathe in the same way that you are in the deepest, most regenerative sleep. To be able to meditate in a stationary posture, it is essential to choose a comfortable position. Good postures for static meditation include standing with your knees slightly bent, sitting or a bolster. These postures are generally much better for most people than sitting in a lotus position, if that is not comfortable for you, or being in any position that is not comfortable. Move the top of the hips back, ribs back to lengthen the back of the body. Then relax your pelvic floor, and relax the abdomen. Check that you can breathe naturally. Inhale low into the pelvic floor, low into the abdomen, and exhale passively. Do not force your out-breath. Do not breathe deeply into the chest. What you want is the breath to be invisibly inaudible to anyone else, even to yourself eventually. But you will also want to make sure that the breathing is not so much. Many people try to follow their breath, and for most people, this can be a mistake. Suppose you try to observe your breath right now, as many people think they should be doing in many meditative practices. In that case, you'll notice as soon as you start observing your breath, you begin to breathe more, and the more you breathe, the less blood will flow to your brain, the less oxygen goes to your cells, the more your nervous system starts to become overstimulated. What you want for a meditative state is to improve blood flow throughout the body to increase communication and a sense of oneness in your body. You want to have more blood come to your brain, more oxygen come to your cells, and for your nervous system to go calm. Rather than trying to breathe more in your practice, rather than trying to observe your breath, I suggest you lengthen and relax and breathe naturally. Focus on extending the body in all directions while concentrating on staying as relaxed as possible. You'll get a much better result. Try it!" ***** If you would like to learn more about the therapeutic applications of posture, movement breathing, and mental control, please go to www.simonborgolivier.com and at www.yogasynergy.com for safe, accessible and effective ways to practice at your level