Newbie meditation question

[cl0udmaker]

Happy New Year everyone. I’ve been meditating on and off for for a year or so. For the last two months, I started to be more serious about it (inspired by all great experiences on this forum). I’ve been rigorously meditating 30 mins in the morning and 30 mins in the evening. The last week or so half way through my meditation my breath started to naturally become longer and deeper during second half of my meditation. When this started to happen, I noticed tingling sensation on my head and arms. It freaked me the first few times and I immediately opened my eyes. During my little freak out moment, it seemed that I did’t hear my breath anymore as I was inhaling/exhaling even though I could see my belly moving. My body had a bit of a motion delay as well. After a few minutes with open eyes, my breath returned to a normal rate. I also noticed chills in my body afterwards and a light hands muscle shaking for a few minutes. Nothing alarming but strange sensation nevertheless. I wonder if that’s because I took myself out of meditation by opening my eyes and forcing to return the breath to normal breath. 
I have not experienced anything like this before during my meditation sessions (hence a bit of a freak out moment)...Is this normal? Or am I doing something wrong? Thank you so much for any insight or advice. 

[purerogue]

Nothing wrong and completely normal..

[Eph75]

First stage of meditation is reaching access concentration. When you do the breath typically gets very shallow and then parts of the body can get numb, tingle and other things. For me my fingers typically feel like they're numb and point in strange directions. The breath can get so shallow that you feel like taking a deep breath, but don't. Ther may be invoulentary "gasps" for air, don't pay attention to it. Just stay with it, don't bother too much about what happens, it will disrupt your concentration and prevent you from moving on to deeper states where even more fun stuff happens. 

Edited January 7, 2020 by Eph75

[cl0udmaker]

Thank you eph75 and purerogue. I will stay the course then! 

[Nahm]

Meditation is the un-serious, the un-rigorous. The trouble you’re experiencing, is in your approach, your perspective on meditation. You’re vibrationally creating what you are thinking & believing. Think about it this way...are you going to realize inner peace by being serious enough, rigorous enough? Take it “seriously” -that you do meditate every morning & again in the afternoon, but the practice itself is letting go. 

A thousand times, thinking will try to hijack the practice with worries & concerns, a thousand & one times - you let thoughts go. 

Allow the meditative state to carry over into your living. Not the other way around.

[Aaron p]

@cl0udmaker i love feeling the cold tingling energy in my hands, back of my throat, bottom of my spine. It feels lush like someone's dropping little drops of liquid nitrogen on the back of my tongue. Although I can never get the energy to run smoothly up my spine via visualisation. Bit shite but sure, I'll get it someday

[LfcCharlie4]

As @Nahm said effort is needed until it is naturally dropped. 
 

The highest awakenings are those of absolute effortlessness with life, kind of like a 24/7 meditation in which you totally embrace each miracle (each moment) of life with complete acceptance no matter what arises. Natural Pure Awareness meditation can help “bring forward” your awareness from the background to foreground of your life

[cl0udmaker]

oh wow @Nahm beautifully said. Makes total sense. I agree with you, I'm definitely trying too hard and, hence, taking meditation too seriously. I'll try your suggestion. 

@Aaron p the sensations took me by surprise...I've never experienced anything like this during my other guided "meditations".

@LfcCharlie4 thanks for the tips. Action for me is just to relax, let go and be effortlessly...