Experience a calmer day through breathing meditation
Photo by Hans Vivek on Unsplash
I tell many of my patients to meditate. 10 years of more or less regular meditation practice have made me a calmer, less anxious person. These days I often surprised myself when I realise, I have coped well in that particular situation. I didn’t lose my shit. I stayed in control of my mind. Wouldn’t anyone want a piece of that? Don’t we all need a little bit more peace in our day? I want to share with people how it works. So, it seems only appropriate that this is my first blog post.
Our mind is a very busy place indeed; the Buddhists don’t call it the monkey mind for nothing. Don’t be discouraged, you can do this to. When I mention to people that I have a regular meditation practice, sometimes they look at me with in disbelief, saying they could never just sit there and do nothing and maybe something along the lines that it might be just boring and they like doing stuff. I like doing stuff too and in meditation I most certainly don’t just sit there and do nothing. What I do during this time changes how I experience the rest of my day!
To calm our mind, we need to rediscover our breath. Consciously! We do this in meditation when we focus on our breath single pointedly. You may wonder, what does that even mean? You’ll find out soon enough! To start, find a quiet place, where you can be without interruption for the timeframe of your meditation. Start with 5 min and then slowly work your way up to 15 over the course of the next few weeks, or even months. Do what feels comfortable. But always turn off your phone! The world will do just fine without you being available for the next 5 to 15 min.
Once you’ve got your quiet place sorted, find a comfortable position; you may either sit on a chair with both feet firmly on the ground or cross-legged on a cushion. Sitting on a cushion won’t make you a better meditator and it won’t make you look any cooler either, since meditation is something you do on your own, for yourself. Nobody will know if you get painfully uncomfortable sitting on a cushion on. It is much more important to sit with a straight back to help your mind stay focused and alert.
You may also decide to hold your hands in the traditional meditation posture; both hands facing up, your right hand on top of the left and thumbs slightly touching. I sometimes just close my eyes but if you few sleepy you may wish to keep them slightly open to allow in some light. Now you are ready to meditate!
Breathe! Focus on your breath. Become aware of the cold air moving up your nostrils and the warm air moving back out. Whenever your mind wanders off, just remember your breath and try to focus on it and nothing else. Congratulations, now you’re meditating! It’s that simple.
If you’re anything like I was when I first started out, at this point you probably ask: Simple!?! Is your back uncomfortable? Are you thinking about your to-do list for the day, what to cook for dinner? Does it seem like your mind is spinning out of control? Your mind just appears to be busier because you stopped all distractions. But this is actually what it’s always like. Do not engage in anything that comes up. Just watch and let it pass. If you’re still remembering your breath again and again, and take your mind back to it, you are meditating. And in that moment, where you’re just experiencing breath, you have achieved single pointed focus, if even for a split second. Your mind will start feeling calmer after a while. Hold on to this feeling and take it with you into your day.