Four Establishments of Mindfulness Contemplative Practice Answers 8

Question: Why do I feel my breath becoming shorter and slower as soon as I settle down? When my mind is not yet calm at the beginning, my breath feels relatively long. After settling down, letting the body breathe on its own, I observe that the breath cannot reach the dantian; yet if I control the breath, deliberately making the inhalation longer, I can no longer settle down. 

Answer: When the mind settles down, it focuses on the breath, and at this point one may involuntarily control the breath somewhat, or pay more attention to it, so the breath feels shorter and slower. Only after freely entering meditative concentration (samādhi) and the mind becoming calm will the breath become long. When the breath is short during natural breathing, it indicates that the circulation of the body's qi channels is not yet smooth, and one's skill in sitting meditation and cultivating concentration is insufficient, so one needs to strengthen sitting meditation and cultivation of concentration. When there is no meditative power or it is very weak, controlling the breath may cause the mind to become scattered, and the mind can no longer be calm. Controlled breathing is not natural breathing, not a normal state of breathing; only uncontrolled breathing is the normal state. However, in order to adjust the body and let the qi channels circulate smoothly, one may deliberately and rather attentively practice deep breathing exercises, letting the breath penetrate and open up the five viscera and six bowels, which incidentally can also deepen meditative concentration.