Sudden fast breathing, slight shaking, urge to blink rapidly

Abble Dok, modified 3 Years ago at 7/10/20 9:33 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 7/10/20 9:31 AM

Sudden fast breathing, slight shaking, urge to blink rapidly

Posts: 4 Join Date: 7/10/20 Recent Posts
Hello
I was just meditating and first was concentrating on the breath and body in vipassana style. After a full body scan, I started noting everything that came into consciousness and pushed towards doing it harder. Then I started shaking (not big shakes) and breathing shallow breaths quite fast, as well as feeling my eyelids "blinking"/moving (they didn't open fully cause I closed them). This lasted for about 5-10 seconds then everything sorta mellowed out back to how it was before except I was thinking about what I just experienced and just tried to keep noting everything happening. I also felt a stronger awareness of the vibrations/sensations of my hands as well as them being pretty warm. Is this a kriya? Also, I'm wondering which insight stage this is - is this the three characteristics / arising & passing? This was an hour long meditation and I have been meditating for three years with only the past months doing more consistent longer practices.
Thank you
Z , modified 3 Years ago at 7/10/20 10:27 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 7/10/20 10:26 AM

RE: Sudden fast breathing, slight shaking, urge to blink rapidly (Answer)

Posts: 201 Join Date: 3/16/18 Recent Posts
Hi Mani, welcome to DhO.

Involuntary movements, shaking and kriyas are, like you say, features of the Three Characteristics stage. Vibratory phenomena can also appear at this stage in a gross form, accelerating as a meditator enters the Arising & Passing Away stage.

If you'd like, you could describe your past practice in more detail, this may help others who want to weigh in.
Ben Sulsky, modified 3 Years ago at 7/10/20 11:27 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 7/10/20 11:27 AM

RE: Sudden fast breathing, slight shaking, urge to blink rapidly

Posts: 170 Join Date: 11/5/19 Recent Posts
Mani,

Your description is pretty textbook for late 3Cs / early A&P territory imo.  

Emphatically cannot know with any degree of confidence over the internets; but that's my take.
Abble Dok, modified 3 Years ago at 7/10/20 9:01 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 7/10/20 9:01 PM

RE: Sudden fast breathing, slight shaking, urge to blink rapidly

Posts: 4 Join Date: 7/10/20 Recent Posts
Ok it does seem to match with the nana's description. I've had a similar experience before about a month ago in an hour and half practice where suddenly start shaking but feel happy/rapture at the same time. It's hard to keep equanimity when in these weird parts.

My past experience with meditation was mostly doing 10 minutes daily of breath concentration practices and sometimes body scanning - I didn't know about proper technique or distinctions between insight and concentration meditation as I have recently gotten into reading about.

There is another interesting experience that I've had with meditation which was about two years ago where I first focused on the breath and then did body scanning - focusing on releasing tensions and how the body sensations feel. This time I felt super relaxed and into it. And then afterwards I felt this bliss in everything like everything was perfect while walking around or listening to music. I remember listening to this song and it sounded super clear to me. This effect went away the next day though. I'm not sure what happened then but I distinctly remember it being a strange experience. Not sure if it's reaching a concentration/samadhi jhana since i thought those only can be experienced during meditation and not after? Or if it was an arising or passing event but I don't want to misdiagnose it... Would be interested to hear what people think about that.
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Helen Pohl, modified 3 Years ago at 8/10/20 10:57 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 8/10/20 10:57 AM

RE: Sudden fast breathing, slight shaking, urge to blink rapidly

Posts: 101 Join Date: 8/10/20 Recent Posts
Hello,

I am having similar experiences. Is it OK to continue this thread or should I start a new one?
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Daniel M Ingram, modified 3 Years ago at 8/10/20 1:19 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 8/10/20 1:19 PM

RE: Sudden fast breathing, slight shaking, urge to blink rapidly

Posts: 3268 Join Date: 4/20/09 Recent Posts
Fine to continue the thread. Yes, I agree, 3C and A&P stuff: classic.
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Helen Pohl, modified 3 Years ago at 8/10/20 2:17 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 8/10/20 2:17 PM

RE: Sudden fast breathing, slight shaking, urge to blink rapidly

Posts: 101 Join Date: 8/10/20 Recent Posts
Thank you.

For background-if anyone is interested-I'll say I began meditating a little over four years ago, to help with anxiety that threatened to take over my life. Have never had a teacher other than the internet. I meditate on average 1h/day.

I've for the most part just followed the breath and didn't even understand what insight practice meant until recently, so I left that alone "for later".  

Once early in my practice I had a short experience of not knowing the difference between me and the car horn I heard on the street outside-if the sound was in here or out there. 

Since then a few occasions when I got a sort of sinking feeling, like the floor fell out from under me and a sense of everything intensifying(pulse went up, strong tingling etc. No idea of duration, maybe 5-10min?) 

Then two weeks ago I came home after a night shift, went to bed, slept poorly for a few hours, woke up so dizzy I couldn't even move my head and my eyes going like windshield wipers >_< This runs in the family and has been happening to me since childhood.

I stayed awake for a few hours until meditation time and despite feeling terrible had something like the OP's experience occur.
Strong tingles in the extremities, face and base of the spine, heavy heartbeat, fast breathing and it just went on and on. 
I've tried to find out a little since and am wondering if this was some sort of jhana experience? Or just faffing around with a bit of piti?

On that same night the tingles came back while I was trying to fall asleep which can be difficult after night work. So I lay there, feeling awful while at the same time this energy ran through me and I had Cuando, Cuando, Cuando looping in my brain.
Happened again a few days later-minus the evergreen.

These tingles don't seem to leave me alone, they're there all the time when I meditate, before I've even completed the short breathing excercise I usually begin with. It's like having an expectant puppy at my side, begging for treats. I just give up using the breath for a focus and switch to the buzz/tingles. Two times the ensuing experience has changed from being like driving a small car too fast on winding country roads into something more like the Autobahn, cruise control on. 

I truly don't know what to make of this, what do I do with it? If anything? I have no one to ask and it's sort of bothering me, not knowing. emoticon

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