Breathing Meditation - How To Use Breathing to Meditate

Many people start their journey into meditating by using a breathing meditation.

After all, it sounds easy to do and that's very true.

The simplest breathing meditations can be practiced literally any time, any place. And no-one need know you're meditating unless you decide to tell them.

So how can you practice this technique anywhere?

Just take a few seconds to notice your breaths. Feel the air as it flows through your nostrils, down your airway and into your lungs. Gently filling your lungs with vital oxygen from the air all around you.

Once your lungs have filled then - if it's appropriate - hold your breath. Maybe only for a split second. Maybe for a bit longer - like a second or two.

Then breathe out. Again, pay attention to how the air feels as it travels back up your airway and leaves through your mouth or nostrils.

If you repeat this process a handful of times, you'll almost certainly feel calmer and more relaxed.

Of course, you can make a breathing meditation more complicated than this. Although deep down, at its essence, you'll still be breathing in and out.

For a more structured session, find a quiet place. Maybe it's a room in your home. Or a seat in your garden or a local park. Turn off your cell phone and the television. If you've got noisy children or animals, move away from them if that's an option. This won't take long - 10 to 30 minutes is usual.

You can then perform your breathing meditation in much the same way as above. But because of the quiet location you've chosen, chances are that you'll start to notice things around you that were hiding from you in plain sight before. These "things" may be sounds - bird song, distant traffic noise, bees buzzing around gathering honey, water babbling in a brook if you're lucky enough to be in that kind of location. Or they could be aromas (hopefully pleasant ones!).

If you've closed your eyes for your breathing meditation, you may notice that colors are more vibrant when you open your eyes again.

Don't worry if you don't notice any of these things the first few times you practice this technique. We're all different and some people will notice all kinds of items almost immediately whilst others take several sessions. Be content regardless of this. And rest assured that you've "done" the technique correctly so long as you've breathed in and out.