Sweden Retreat 2019 File 16 Day 6 Group B (20:28-25:09)
Yogi: I become very tense whenever I watch my breath during the sit.
Sayadaw: The breath is not suitable for you. The mind doesn’t find it natural to rest on it; the mind has to strain to pay attention to it. You don’t have to use the breath.
Use an object that is already there for you, maybe the touching sensation or sound; where you don’t have to do anything to it because it’s already there.
With the breath, we find ourselves controlling the breath after some time and that’s already one tension and we’re trying to be aware of it and that becomes too much work.
Whatever you choose should be an object you can know without focusing, something that comes easily. When it is no longer obvious, you can change to any other object.