Breath Meditation

Mindfulness of Breath is one of the core practices of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction.

Intention

This meditation invites:

  • Cultivating a non-judgemental awareness;
  • Cultivating self-compassion;
  • Bringing awareness to our natural mind, and how it likes to wander;
  • Developing insight into our thinking and emotions;
 

Meditation instruction

  1. You may find it helpful to set a timer for the length of the meditation. 
  2. Finding a place where you can meditate without interruption. Let people you live with know what you are doing, or at least that you don’t want to be disturbed. 
  3. Settling into a meditation posture you can maintain for twenty or so minutes. 
  4. Check that you are comfortable and feel that you can adjust your posture at any time.
  5. Checking in to where you are now, the sounds and sensations of the room around you.
  6. If you like, closing your eyes. 
  7. Checking in with how your body is right now. Noting any discomfort and if you can adjust posture to reduce it then do so.
  8. Checking in with your thoughts and emotions, noting the internal weather.
  9. Then, coming to the core of the practice, bring your attention to your breath. Feel the sensations of your breath, in your nose, in your throught, in your chest. Feel the movement of the body as you breathe, in the chest, in the abdomen. 
  10. Then choosing how you would like to follow the breath. You can focus on one part of it, say the sensations in the nose or the movement of the chest. Or you can focus on the breath as a whole.
  11. Stay with the attention on the breath, without forcing. 
  12. When attention drifts, as it will, often quite quickly, then the next part of the practice begins:
  13. Notice where your attention has drifted to.
  14. Acknowledge that your mind is doing what is natural.
  15. Pause for a few moments and notice what it is that has drawn your attention.
  16. Thank your mind (it may sound odd at first).
  17. Then gently return your attention to your breath.
  18. Go back to step 11, and continue.
  19. You will inevitably lose focus many times in the practice, even if you are a skilled meditator. Remember, how you deal with the drifting attention is very much part of the meditation. 
 
Some guidelines:
  • People often think that meditation is about stopping or controlling thoughts. In mindfulness practice it is about coming into a different relationship with thoughts. 
 
Try this practice daily if you can. The experience will evolve over time. If you can, you might want to reflect on this with a meditation teacher. As with any meditation, there is no immediate expectation of change, and if you struggle with the practice that is normal. Guided meditations can be helpful. 

Some guided meditations

Breath meditation by Ken Lunn