I know there are some similar topics on this, but I couldn't find anything that was directed towards my situation.
So I've been doing a lot of anapana-sati meditation lately (~3-4 hours a day) and now that i've been keeping to that schedule consistently I'm constantly experiencing pressure/tension from my '3rd eye' area down to my top row of teeth. This happens while in meditation and often throughout the day just from gaining momentary awareness/concentration. I've been experiencing this now for about a week or so, maybe a little longer.
About my practice: I focus on the sensations of the breath passing on the underside of my nostrils and above the upperlip. I don't feel as if I'm "forcing" the concentration or doing anything different from my previous practice that would cause this tension/pressure. I'm approaching the point where I'm just beginning to see some nimittas that are for sporadic, almost like a strobe light at high frequency. They'll only last for a split second as I get distracted from the breath haha. The pressur ein my head just feels like at my forehead someone is pumping air into my third eye as if to expand it. It's kind of the same for my nose area but more like sinus pressure, but all the way down to the bridge between my nose and mouth. My top row of teeth feels like I have braces again and they were just adjusted lol.
Not sure if information helps, but I feel as if this tension/pressure is getting in the way of allowing myself to fully relax into the breath and I'm starting to develop the slightest aversion to it that I think it's creating a hindrance. The aim of my practice is towards developing the first jhana.
Any advice? Sorry if this is too vague, I can happily be more specific. The pressure in my third eye is making it hard for me to write/think clearly...
It happens for me when I focus on my breath at my nostril opening. It goes away if I can shift to following the stomach moving in and out. The trick is to keep my attention from going back into my head. You could try sitting in a chair with your feet flat on the floor and imagine the breath moving in and out the K1 acupuncture point on the balls of the feet. It is a grounding technique. K1 is called the bubbling spring and it is a strong yin point.
frankk comment:
Jhana constipation takes time to work out no matter if you practice meditation correctly or not, but at least if you do the 16 steps of breath meditation correctly as the Buddha taught, especially step 3 developing sensitivity to breath sensation throughout the entire physical body, instead of focusing tightly and "one pointedly" in the nostril area (to the exclusion of the rest of the body), it won't exacerbate the problem with toothaches, neck aches, headaches, having your eyes hurting and crossed over from trying to stare at a breath nimitta, etc.
For example, user Kamran answers nicely by referring to B. Thanissaro's breath meditation instructions taught according to the Buddha's words in the suttas.
Ajahn Lee's method 2 (below) discusses relieving pressure in the head (headaches/tension) by moving your focus from the nostrils to the abdomen. Focusing on the nose causes headaches and tension for some people.
Thanissaro Bikhu's online talks ( http://dhammatalks.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) also mention dealing with head pressure by using body scans to spread your awareness through the whole body in order to create a centered, but broad focus.
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