Breathing for Mindful Meditation

Using your breath as focus point of concentration is a great tool to achieve mindful meditation. This act of concentration helps us stay present in the moment it’s an excellent form of meditation and can also alleviate restlessness and anxiety.

“Mind-body practices almost always begin with the breath. The breath is always with us, but how often are we aware of it? Day in and day out, we are carried along on the gentle rhythm of inhalation and exhalation. When we need a moment of calm, we can return to the breath.

The breath brings us directly into the present moment. We cannot breathe in the past or in the future, we can only breathe NOW, in this present moment.”- Left Brain Buddha

Breathing plays a key function in meditation because it’s one of the only life maintenance functions that we can choose to have control over. Additionally, having something simple like breathing to focus on helps us clearing the mind which keeps us in the present moment.

“The meditation has four progressive stages leading to a highly enjoyable level of concentration. Starting with five minutes per stage is a good period of practice.

1. In the first stage, you use counting to stay focused on the breath. After being out-breath you count one, then you breathe in and out and count two, and so on up to ten, and then you start again from one.
2. In the second stage you subtly shift where you breathe, counting before the in-breath, anticipating the breath that is coming, but still counting from one to ten, and then starting again at one.
3. In the third stage, you drop the counting and just watch the breath as it comes in and goes out.
4. In the final stage, the focus of concentration narrows and sharpens, so you pay attention to the subtle sensation on the tip of the nose where the breath first enters and last leaves the body.”-The Buddhist Centre

Mindful meditation can be very challenging as the mind can be quite restless making it difficult to let go of lingering thoughts and focus solely on the breath. Using a breathing resistance exerciser like Expand-A-Lung can make it easier to stay present as the added challenge of inspiratory and expiratory resistance makes it easier to focus on the breath.