Anapana: How Cesar Milan’s Way for training dogs works for Human too!

A lesson in Respiration Awareness, called “Anapanasati” (ie: ‘anapana’ means respiration, and ‘sati’ means awareness).

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If you’ve ever watched The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Milan, Cesar teaches us one of the most valuable techniques for training dogs: Concentration of the Mind. This lesson is so invaluable that I want to examine its efficacy for humans.

I think we can all agree that dogs are scatter-brained. In fact, dog minds chart the animal kingdom list for being most unfocused. They aren’t as ‘calculating’ as a monkey’s mind, but as a whole they are extremely wavering.

As a comparison, human minds are a good mixture of half monkey and half dog.



Haha, let’s face it! We’re calculating, control-freaks who can’t stop thinking and who are completely scatter-brained jumping from one thought to another.

But we have the choice to choose to train our minds differently so there is more peace.


Enter Cesar Milan and his dog-training show, The Dog Whisperer. Cesar has millions of fans who are astounded at how simple he is able to control even the most ferocious dogs! Besides the fact that Cesar “knows dogs”, he also has a very pure and calm mind (energy). This calm mind allows him to be very clear with animals; transmitting a very clear message.

->>>> Read More of this Mental Concentration Blog ->>>>

Training a Dog to Focus:
Cesar Milan first trains a dog to focus by teaching a pet owner how to walk a dog. Done properly, walking a dog is like doggie meditation.

Most people allow their pets to walk ahead on the leash without any ‘supervision’. If you notice when you do this, the dog’s mind is extremely scattered. It sniffs a flower, pees on a tree, barks at a car, yanks on the leash in many directions, all within the same minute!

So to fix this imbalance, Cesar teaches a dog owner to begin by walking the dog for 45 minutes a day with a very short leash. The dog is asked to stay closely by the side of the leg of the owner. The more imbalanced the dog’s mind, the closer the dog has to be to the owner. When the dog looses focus, a quick tug on the leash brings the mind back into focus on the owner’s leg.

The dog learns that it cannot move forward until the leg of the owner moves forward. Over time, the eye of the dog trains itself to focus deeply on the leg of the owner so it knows when to move. This cuts out between 60 to 80% of unwanted mental activity over time. The rest is up to the awareness of the owner.




An Imbalanced Dog means an Imbalanced Owner
A dog learns from its owner how to act and how to behave. And 9 times out of 10, the dog has a problem because the human owner has an emotional or mental imbalance that causes the owner to forget who the leader is.

This imbalance comes in the form of not disciplining the dog, not providing the right amount of loving attention to the dog, not exercising the dog, and not showing the dog who’s boss. And these issues are always due to an imbalance in the human, such as a past traumatic event, a lack of life-improvement skills (showing low confidence, laziness, depression), and not being in tune to what animals (and humans) need around them.



If a major past event is to blame in one’s lack of leadership, Cesar will give a few pointers in how a person should begin to treat their dog. Cesar will help a person to bring out their past traumatic event, so they can heal it, move in to the present moment (the way animals live), and begin being calm and assertive with their pets.

Oftentimes I visit friend’s homes with dogs that are out of control. When I begin to teach the dogs and owners a new form of training to release the imbalance, the owners of the dogs tell me, “Oh, don’t do that, he’s fine. Leave him alone, I like him like that.”

What? Let me get this straight: You like your “broken” dog, you aren’t interested in fixing it, and you get angry at it when it ruins something in your house?

Like father, like son…. In each of these cases, the owner has a certain degree of ‘suffering’ going on in their life that can be traced to a lack of mental peace via some imbalance. The dogs become a mirror of our positive and negative qualities. Like it or not, this works the same for horses and our children.

So it may be funny that the dog chews the bottom of the couch or is overly-affectionate or can’t stop barking at new visitors to the house, but these are all signs of an imbalanced mind, which is ultimately a form of suffering. We must get clear on what we want: either an obedient pet or one that you'll be constantly reprimanding.

Long-term improvement of a human mental pattern can’t come from Cesar Milan, as he has a dog-business to run. So it must be a conscious decision in the dog owner to do some form of personal development for themselves, so they can resolve their imbalances, and take back their lives in peaceful and positive ways.



Enter Anapana: a Mind Concentration exercise for Humans.

About Anapana
Anapana, or “the awareness of respiration”, was a technique taught in northern India and Nepal 2500 years ago and is still applicable today. It was a technique taught as a precursor to the Vipassana Meditation.

In order to teach people how to stop their minds from dancing around 6 thoughts at once, people were taught how to focus their minds on a single point, so it would concentrate and quiet down within minutes. In time, the awareness muscle of the mind strengthens as the incessant-thinking muscle of the mind relaxes.


(Picture in Hindi and English at a Pagoda/ Temple in Mumbai, India)

Anapana is a technique that’s still taught today all around the world. And it’s so effective in calming and concentrating a mind that it’s taught to children around the world in classrooms via one-day Anapana Children’s Courses. In these courses, children will practice Anapana breathing for 5 to 8 hours in one day until they master this effective technique.

Excerpt from the International Meditation Center’s website by Mother Sayamagyi:

“(Purification) meditation consists of two steps: Calmness of mind (Anapana) and insight (Vipassana). The student ….is helped to develop calmness and concentration by encouraging him to focus his attention on a spot at the base of the nose. In this way he can be aware of the in-breath and the out-breath. When the mind is given only one object it gradually becomes calm and steady.

Respiration mindfulness (Anapana) has several advantages:

- The breath is natural and common to all human beings.

- The breath is available at all times to focus the attention on it.

- Mindfulness of the breath is a technique that can be practiced by members of any religion, or a person of no religion.

There is no reason why a good student in meditation should not be able to secure a concentrated mind in a few days of training. Little by little all conscious awareness of breathing stops. The student becomes mindful only of a small point of light and warmth. At this point the mind becomes one pointed and clear and unwavering.”


How to Practice Anapana: A Quiet Mind
So how does Anapana work, so we humans can learn how to still our minds? Well, instead of putting a leash on your neck and tugging it everytime your mind wanders, you’ll want to sit in a relaxed position and practice the following exercises below.


Exercise I- Beginners:
Try to do Anapana for 20 to 60 minutes a day without doing anything else. Just do anapana while sitting somewhere quietly. Do the beginner version for a few days to a few weeks until you feel very confident and mentally strong with it. See Figure below.

Sit and become aware of the breath as it goes in through the nostrils and as it goes out through the nostrils. Do not alter the breath. Just observe it. Observe how it feels passing through the nasal pathways at the entrance of the nostrils and up into the nasal pathways- and back out. Observe it. Become a witness to the breath. Do not alter your breath. If it’s hard, it’s hard. If it’s soft, it’s soft. Just observe it, and notice how it relaxes over time.

Maintain awareness on the area featured in the drawing below: Below the nostrils, entrance of the nostrils, and in the nasal passagway. Observe the feelings in this area. Don't alter your breath unless you constantly 'forget' to be aware of this area (ie: you're lost in thought). This is not a time for thinking.

Exercise II- Intermediates:
Now move on to doing 20 to 60 minutes a day of Intermediate Level Anapana. Tighten down the area of concentration, so the mind has less chance to wander. Also do this just before going to bed for 5 minutes as well as when you wake up. Do this and only this. Try to make your mind as peaceful and quiet as possible. You may have to breath a few hard breaths to get your awareness/ attention back on your nostrils. See Figure below. Maintain awareness on the area in the Triangle: The entrance to the nostrils and the mustache area. Just notice breath and sensation in this limited area.

Exercise III- Advanced:
Don’t let the word ‘advanced’ fool you. This just means you’re now getting really good at respiration awareness. You are consistently doing it daily, and you’re mind is ready for a deeper level. You could get to this level in a few days or in a few weeks or in a few months.

Now, begin doing Anapana throughout the day as you go about your day. Maintain awareness on "the area below the nostrils above the upper lip". Do it while in the middle of a conversation to keep you from getting too attached to someone’s words. Do it while driving. Do it while shopping. And do it for 20 to 60 minutes a day sitting still (in a true meditation pose) as well as before going to bed and waking up in the morning. This is the form of Anapana that Buddha taught 2500 years back for high level meditators. You don’t alter your breath, you don’t recite a mantra. Just observe the breath at the entrance of the nostrils. Just be aware of the sensations it gives at the entrance of the nostrils. Always remain aware of your breath. Notice how it changes according to your emotions. Don’t think so hard anymore either. Just relax at all times. Drop your thoughts. Notice how with more awareness on the point, your mind stays more balanced and calm- and so do you! See Figure. Over time you will begin to feel “electric” sensations, like itching, on this spot. That’s Very Good progress!

Michael Jackson's nose gives us an easy visual as to where we want to maintain our awareness. Close your eyes, sit in a meditative posture, and focus on this point for as long as you can (20 minutes or more per day is a good amount). During the day, try to be aware of this point throughout everything you do. Workouts are a great time to keep focused on our Point and our body rather than letting the mind wander. Try it out!

Exercise IV- Advanced con’t:
You’ve begun to truly understand respiration awareness at a deeper level. The body loves attention. Anytime the body is weak or in pain is because it has lost the attention of the mind. Along with universe energy, the mind is what loves and feeds this body.

For this exercise, begin to not only place your awareness under the nose on a point, but now you can place your awareness on different parts of the body’s skin surface for a few seconds at a time.

Place your awareness on a piece of your right arm. Your right shoulder blade. Your abdomen. Your inner left thigh. Your left knee. The back of your right ankle. The back of your neck. Along with awareness of the breath (Anapana), just scan your body now and again throughout the day.

Notice how wherever you place your attention, this portion of the body relaxed deeply and all tension dissolves.

This exercise is the beginning to a very deep meditation technique called Vipassana. I cannot teach you this further; you must contact a designated worldwide Vipassana meditation center to take a 10-day course to fully immerse yourself in how the meditation works. But up until now, you will have mastered Anapana, which will bring great peace and focus to your mind.

Conclusions
For links to worldwide Vipassana centers, you may email me. I will be honest and say that this technique is not for everyone. But give it a try; get your feet wet with respiration awareness and bringing focus to the mind. See if you like it. This will strengthen your ability to ‘observe’ more and react less at life’s challenges. It is like training a muscle.

(This picture was taken after 3 days of Anapana and 6 days of Vipassana meditation)

Again, training a human mind works exactly like Cesar Milan training his dogs.

There are many other techniques out there that to help calm a mind. I am providing this one technique, as its effectiveness is superior to many others "on the market", and it has stood the test of time.


To your peaceful and calm mind! It's just an 'observed' breath away.

Jan+
Houston, TX
Walkabout Liberation
The John Positive Company
Email: juanpositivo at live . com


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Houston Vipassana Group Sittings (to practice Anapana or Vipassana)


Additional Anapana Article Links:
Anapana in the MahasatipatthanaSutta. This gives a viewpoint of Anapana that’s a little more ‘large-scale’ and beginner than the advanced form in this document.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/ariyadhamma/bl115.html
Answers from the Vipassana Research Institute
http://www.vridhamma.org/Goenkaji-Answers-Children.aspx
Wikipedia on Anapana-sati
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anapanasati
Concentration for Dogs
http://www.cesarsway.com/
Dog Sessions with Cesar Milan
http://www.sessionswithcesar.com/
How to Practice Anapana (this may have techniques different than this article)
http://www.meditationexpert.com/blog/2010/03/how-to-practice-anapana-pointers/

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~Show me the Breath of God in all things~