The idea of being aware of the breath in meditation has been around for thousands of years. The energy of breath work itself when consciously done and aware can help harmonize our being.
While there are many explanations and directions to perform a breathing meditation, the following can be performed with diligence for 10 to 15 minutes a day, morning or evening:
Sit on the floor or a chair with your hands folded gently on your lap with your palms down and on your knees. As you sit, imagine that you become one with earth below you and begin to connect with you.
Inhale and exhale deeply at first to feel yourself connect with the earth. As you continue your breathing, notice how the air flows in and out of your nose. Notice how it flows through your nose, down your throat, and through the lungs. You don’t need to force your breathing in order to reach this awareness.
As you are breathing, become aware of how your body is reacting to each inhale and exhale of your breath. Do you feel yourself relaxing more? Do you feel any openings or blockages energetically?
You might begin to experience a sense of energy deep inside you that you’ve never felt before. You might become aware of your stomach rising and falling with each inhalation and exhalation. You might find yourself becoming more aware of your body as a whole.
When you are ready to stop this brief meditation, keep in-tuned with your energy and the awareness of your breath. Feel how your breathing is affecting the cells of your body and up and down your spine. After you do this for a little bit start broadening your sensation of what you’re feeling to your body as a whole. Just be and just feel yourself as you are. Feel and sense everything until its time to stop.
Once you stop, open your eyes slowly and as you do, just become aware of yourself. Aware of how your body is reacting to each breath. Feel yourself becoming a living, breathing, human animal. Feel how different you have become, and if not, imagine how much more different you can be.
With this breathing exercise, not only are you able to take time out from your day, and from the world around you, but you are also taking time out for yourself. Not only will you be able to center yourself and relax, but you can also move on to the next task at hand or perhaps rest for a while.
