Meditative Breathing

Let's begin...

• Sit comfortably in a chair or on the floor. ​
• Close your eyes and focus on the breath. ​
• Notice the sensations at the tip of your nose, or over the lips as the breath passes in and out. ​
• Or pay close attention to the rising and falling of the chest. ​
• Or observe the movement of the belly as the breath comes and goes, ​
• Tune into the subtle details of each breath. ​
• Don't control the breath. Don't breathe in any certain way. Don't "do" anything with the breath. Just be an observer. ​
• Notice that your mind wanders constantly. Pay attention to the constant mental chatter, the internal self-talk, the judging, comparing, associating, remembering, projecting, fantasizing, etc. Notice how busy the mind is, replaying the past, imagining the future. This is the nature of the mind. Don't fight with it. Simply notice it and keep returning your attention to the breath. ​
• Stay in the present moment, simply looking, listening, and feeling inwardly. Put all of your attention on this breath... and this one... and this one. ​
• Do nothing else. Experience each in-breath and each out-breath fully, directly, completely, moment to moment. ​
• Each time you notice that you are thinking or talking to yourself, that your mind has wandered, or that you have "spaced out," simply return your awareness to the next inhale... the next exhale. ​
• Contemplative Prayer - To keep my mind on my breath, I like to repeat a phrase with every exhale to help center my heart and mind. “Be still & know that I am God.” Or “Transform me by the renewing of my mind. With every inhale & exhale I quietly release the phrase inside of me. I oftentimes shorten the phrase down as I breathe through this practice – “Be still” or “Transform me”.​
• Practice this for 5 minutes, once or twice each day. Be patient. Don't underestimate the power of this technique. Once you have the ability to focus for 5 minutes, increase to 10 minutes. The results are subtle and cumulative, yet profound, and tremendously rewarding