Meditating on Breath and Body Sensations
Meditating on Breath and Body Sensations
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This page is being revised. Please bear with me.
This meditation practice aims to help an aspiring person like you meditate every day without taking time away from your essential activities. I use this page as a step-by-step guide to teach in-person and online. It is free from rules, dogmas, clichés, teachers, organizations, and apps.
Please read the following in the order presented before you practice.
Why Meditate - Reports by Practitioners
Why Meditate - Reports by Practitioners
Practitioners of this simple meditation on breath and body sensations have reported benefits reaching far beyond relaxation—relief from stress, anxiety, sleep problems, anger, compulsive thoughts, and addictions, to improved concentration, relationships, confidence, and willpower.
Some have also described help with challenges such as phobias, grief, migraines, public speaking, and weight management. These are personal experiences, not medical claims—but they offer intriguing possibilities worth exploring. More
Introduction
Listen to the Introduction in my voice
This made-easy meditation on breath and body sensations calms the mind, relaxes the body, and improves relationships. It trains the mind to be more aware of what is happening now. It helps manage your thoughts better. Your breath and body sensations are your lifelong companions. You can focus on them anytime, anywhere: while sitting, standing, walking, working, or doing daily chores without taking time off.
'Focusing on breath and body sensations' presented here is a made-easy meditation practice to train the mind to focus on what is happening NOW, rather than what happened in the past or may happen in the future.
You started breathing the moment you were born and will continue until your last breath. This invisible 'breathing buddy' is with you 24/7.
Similarly, you always have bodily sensations like stiffness, pain, itchiness, numbness, and more.
You can focus on your breathing and bodily sensations in a variety of ways.
Even children can understand and practice this simple meditation.
Try the following options with your eyes closed till you get used to them.
You can practice during your daily activities, sitting, standing, walking, doing chores, or working at your desk.
It calms the mind, relaxes the body, and improves relationships.
Try each of the following practices for a few minutes, and evaluate their impact. I found that using a timer eliminates impatience and enhances the experience.
The following are not rules. They are suggestions based on the insights I gained from my 25 years of practicing meditation and teaching over 2000 people, from 4-year-old children to people in their nineties, from a variety of cultures and religions.
I get a lot of Distracting Thoughts!
No worries. If you get a distracting thought, don't think your meditation failed. We do get random thoughts all the time, as we never trained our minds to maintain focus. As soon as you realize that you are paying attention to a distracting thought, promptly refocus on a breath or bodily sensation, as explained on this page.
Far fewer thoughts
Even in your initial trials, you will see that you get far fewer thoughts than you would without meditation.
You will experience a significant calm when you meditate as suggested, despite distracting thoughts.
Options for 'Meditating on Breath and Body Sensations'
Options for 'Meditating on Breath and Body Sensations'
The following are some proven options.
Feeling the sensations in the Nose and Body (Feeling mode)
Counting Breaths in the Mind (Counting mode)
Counting Breaths on Finger Tips (Tip mode)
Counting Breaths on Finger Segments (Segment mode)
Focusing the eyes (Staring mode)
Long Exhales for Quick Relief (911 mode)
Resonance breathing to maximize heart rate variability (HRV)
More options
Let us learn and briefly practice each option. Check how you feel before and after each brief practice.
Feeling the Nose and Body Sensations — 'FEELING MODE'
In this mode, you intentionally focus your attention on the natural inhalations and exhalations happening in your body all the time. Let us do this in small steps.
Practice these steps with your eyes closed for better impact.
Coolness in the nose
Belly movement - placing a hand
Belly movement - without placing a hand
Combination (coolness in the nose and belly movement)
Upgrades to enlarge the focus by including the body sensations - sit erect on a chair, hand and finger position, tongue in contact with the roof of the mouth
* Coolness in the nose *
Feel the natural, slightly cool sensation in the nose during every inhalation and the relatively warm or neutral sensation during exhalation.
If you do not feel the coolness, try the following: Take a deep breath through your nose and blow it out through pursed lips as if blowing through an imaginary straw held between your lips. Repeat about 10 times. Most probably, you will then feel the coolness.
Practice
Open the Timer, set it to 2 or more minutes, and feel the coolness in your nose during every inhalation. If you have difficulty setting and using the timer app, please visit this help page.
* Belly movement, placing a hand *
Wrap your left or right forehand around your belly with the fingertips at one side of your trunk and the elbow on the other side of your trunk.
Focus on the slight expansion of your belly during inhalation and contraction during exhalation. Your forehand also moves as it is in contact with the belly.
Check whether your belly expands or contracts during inhalations. If it expands, it's fine. If your belly contracts and your chest expands during inhalation, you have an important correction to make. Read this note generated by ChatGPT on the importance of belly/abdominal breathing and the importance of sitting in an erect posture for healthy breathing.
Practice
Open the Timer, set it to 3 or more minutes, and feel the belly movement by placing a hand. Visit this help page to set up and use the timer.
* Belly movement without placing a hand *
Focus on the ever-changing movement and sensations in the belly as it expands and contracts without placing a hand.
Practice
Open the Timer, set it to 5 or more minutes, and feel the belly movement and sensation without placing a hand.
* Combination (coolness in the nose and belly movement) *
Let your attention cycle in the following sequence
(1) Coolness in the nose and belly expansion, followed by
(2) Belly contraction
"Coolness in the nose and belly expansion (1) again, on and on.
Practice
Open the Timer, set it to 8 or more minutes, and practice the above combination.
* Upgrades to enlarging the focus by including the body sensations *
You can upgrade your meditation by expanding your focus to both breath and body sensations whenever possible.
Sit erect on a chair
Adjust the seat height so that your hips are 1 to 2 inches higher than your knees. If necessary, place a cushion on the chair.
Move forward and sit at the front edge of the chair. Let your feet rest flat on the floor, shoulder-width apart. Adjust their placement to keep your back comfortably erect and stable.
Keep your head up without drooping forward or to the side.
Adjust all these positions to sit comfortably for up to an hour.
The importance of sitting erect for healthy breathing is explained on this page.
Hand and finger positions
Rest your hands comfortably on your legs. Adopt one of these options to set the hands and fingers:
Place your hands on your legs, palms up. Let the tip of the thumb be in gentle contact with the tip of the index finger, and the other three fingers stretched out and touching each other.
OR
Rest your hands on your legs, palms up. Lace the fingers of both hands together with the palms facing each other and the tips of the thumbs touching.
OR
Hug yourself: Wrap your left arm around your chest, tucking your left palm inside your right armpit. Hold your left upper arm with your right palm. This posture feels like hugging yourself.
Keep your tongue in contact with the roof of the mouth
Keep your tongue in contact with the roof of your mouth. Let it be in this position during meditation and even other times. The tension in your jaw muscles will be automatically released. It also generates one more sensation for the mind to focus on.
Focusing on the Breath and Body sensations
Focus on the sensation at each location of the body in the following sequence.
At each location, watch three breaths, then move to the next location.
Coolness in the nose during inhalation - 3 breaths
Tongue in touch with the roof of the mouth - 3 breaths
Belly expansion during inhalation - 3 breaths
Belly contraction during exhalation - 3 breaths
Sensations in your left and right forearms resting on the respective legs, and thumb and index fingers touching sensation and the stretch sensation in the other three fingers - 3 breaths
or
Sensations in the laced fingers - 3 breaths
or
Hugging sensations - 3 breaths
Pressure of your left and right butt and thigh on the chair -3 breaths
Pressure of the soles of your feet in your shoes or the floor -3 breaths
PRACTICE
Open the Timer, set it to 12 or more minutes, and practice with all the above upgrades.
If your attention gets diverted to a stray thought, immediately refocus on one or more of the above breath or body sensations. Do this promptly, every time you get diverted, to develop this new habit of maximizing your time focusing on breath and body sensations.
Read the article "Thoughts are like — Many ways of managing stressful thoughts."
At the end of practice
Using your left hand, gently contact/massge all parts of your body from the top of your head to the fingers and toes. Repeat the same with your right hand.
Two goals to aim for
"Total time practiced" = 20 minutes per day, every day.
Phase 1: Add up the minutes practiced in 'Feeling mode' using one or more of the above options, from waking up till falling asleep while carrying out your usual daily activities. The goal is a total of 20 minutes every day.
Phase 2: Practice for 20 minutes in a single session every day.
"Feeling the Breath or Body sensations" - 40 or more times per day, every day
Intentionally focus on the coolness in your nose during inhalation, or any bodily sensation, while engaged in your daily activities. One or more breaths or body sensations are counted as one unit.
Make this easy and work in auto mode by coupling focusing on one or more breaths with every repetitive activity. For example -
falling asleep, when sleep is disturbed, the moment you wake up in the morning,
every time you walk at home or outside
upon sitting or leaving a seat/chair/sofa
waiting anywhere: at stoplights, stop signs, in a line, or the microwave
listening to someone speaking
watching TV
picking up or putting down your phone
Every time you touch the mouse while working on the computer
Doing chores like cooking, cleaning, laundry, gardening
While in the shower
Brushing teeth, shaving, dressing up
Every time you notice a traffic sign while driving
Every time you notice a mailbox while driving or walking
Every time you touch a faucet
And many others ..... Add your ideas
The goal for all focusing on one or more breaths at a time is 40 or more.
What will you gain by achieving the two goals?
Most practitioners have reported that breath sensation comes to their mind whenever they need to focus or calm themselves. Their stress decreased automatically. They did not accumulate stress. The reports from practitioners speak to the potential benefits one may experience.
Mind, Body, and Relationship Benefits.
Change in your face
Before you practice this meditation, take a close-up picture of just your face, from the top of your head to the bottom of your chin. Practice as suggested and make it a part of your daily routine, happening automatically. Once a month, take a new picture. You will see a gradual change in your face, towards a pleasant smiling face in 4 to 6 months. I have seen such a change in many teens and adults over 25 years. Check out this page for the reports and the four faces of teen practitioners.
Track your daily practice until you reach your two goals
"What is not defined cannot be measured. What is not measured cannot be improved. What is not improved always deteriorates."
Developing this meditation into a practice that starts from the moment you wake up in bed till you the moment you lie down and go to sleep is a challenge for anyone. The following is an aid to make this dream a reality.
Open the Google Sheet "Meditation practice - Log sheet". Click 'File' and click 'Make a copy'. Save the copied file into your drive and rename it. Enter the daily data on your practice
Page 1: Total time of practice on a date in all modes
Page 2: Total number of times focused on one or more breaths while engaged in routine daily activities on a date.
Email me if you have any questions.
How many months can I take to achieve the two goals?
It's up to you! You are the only person licensed to sit in the driver's seat of your life with the steering wheel in your hands and a foot on the gas pedal or brake.
People like me are like the GPS, who suggest one proven route to help you achieve your goals based on their experience. You can also create your own goals and explore the routes to reach them.
Some inspiring quotes
"Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly. I don't aim at perfection. I try to be progressively less stupid (or progressively smarter)."
Every morning, we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.
I added 2 and 2 and got 4, but I want 5. Can I get 5 by repeatedly adding 2 and 2? Never. I have to either replace one of the '2''s with a '3' (2+3=5) or bring in a new number "1" (2+2+1=5) to get my desired number 5. In generic terms, "Stupidity is repeating the same actions while expecting a different result."
Counting Breaths In The Mind — 'COUNTING MODE'
In this mode, we count the natural breaths as they happen.
Repeat counting
Step 1: During the first inhale, feel the natural cool sensation in the nose. During the exhale, slowly repeat the word 'One' throughout the exhale. It may go like — 'One', 'One', 'One' ... so on.
There is no rule for how many times to repeat. The number of repetitions will depend on the length of the natural exhale. When you practice for an extended time, your breathing rate will be lower, and exhalations will be longer.
Step 2: During the next inhale, feel the cool sensation. During the exhale, slowly repeat the word 'Two' throughout the exhale. It may go like — 'Two', 'Two', 'Two', ...so on.
Step 3: During the next inhale, feel the cool sensation. During the exhale, slowly repeat the word 'Three' throughout the exhale. It may go like — 'Three', 'Three', 'Three', ...so on.
Repeat the above three steps as long as you like, starting every time with 'One' and ending with 'Three'.
Tips
There is no minimum or maximum time for practice. You decide how long you want to practice and set the timer accordingly.
It is important to allow natural breathing to happen. Don't make any effort to change the inhalations or the exhalations. Let the breaths be slow or fast, deep or shallow. They may change on their own.
During the practice sessions, count the numbers out, making a sound. At other times, count silently in your mind. If it's practical, you can count using your lips without making a sound.
You will feel calm within two minutes of practicing while sitting on a chair in your habitual posture.
Counting Breaths On Finger Tips — 'TIP MODE'
Start with any one hand, say the left hand. Touch the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger. Count three breaths as explained above. Repeat this practice at each of the next three fingertips. When you get to the thumb, place the tip of the index finger at the base of the thumb and count three breaths.
Then switch to the right hand and repeat all the steps. Practice switching hands as long as you like.
In this mode, you will breathe 3 breaths per finger i.e., 15 breaths on each hand.
'Counting mode of meditation' on Youtube.
'Counting breaths meditation using the Finger tips' on Youtube.
Counting Breaths on Finger Segments — 'SEGMENT MODE'
Start with any one hand, say the left hand. Note that every finger has two cross lines dividing it into three segments. Place the tip of the thumb at the top segment of the little finger and count three breaths as explained above. Move the thumb down to the middle segment of the same finger and count three breaths. Move down to the bottom segment and count three breaths. Release the little finger.
Repeat the same steps on the next three fingers.
When you get to the thumb, place the tip of the index finger on its segments and repeat the steps.
Then, switch to the right hand and repeat the steps. Practice switching hands as long as you like.
In this mode, you will count 3+3+3 breaths at each finger.
'Counting mode of meditation' on Youtube.
'Segment mode of meditation' on Youtube.
Focusing the Eyes — 'STARING MODE'
Keep staring at a small mark on the wall or part of an object, at eye level or lower, that is easy to focus on.
At the same time, practice any of the above modes.
Focusing the eyes focuses the mind and reduces stress.
Watch 'Staring mode' on Youtube.
Long Exhales For Quick Relief — '911 MODE'
You can practice this mode with your eyes closed or open.
Breathe in quickly through the nose or mouth to a count of four: 1-2-3-4.
Partly close your lips as if you are holding a straw between them.
Blow through the partly closed lips to a count of six: 1-2-3-4-5-6.
Repeat about 10 times or until you gain some relief from the acute mental or physical stress.
Then, practice a favorite mode of yours for a longer period until the acute stress becomes manageable.
Repeat the sandwich practice as many times as needed.
Watch '911 mode' on YouTube.
More Options
Over many years, some practitioners, including me, experimented with other modes. Click the title above for their details.
Counting Breaths Meditation BROCHURE PDF
Click the above link
Webinar on 'Counting breaths meditation' - 1 hour
Click the above title.
Resonance breathing (aka 'Coherence breathing')
In this mode, we regulate the breathing to make a deep impact on the body and mind. Click the above title for the details.
History of 'Counting breaths meditation'
‘Counting breaths’ is an ancient technique taught by the Buddha 2500 years ago. I made two adaptations of the ancient technique to help a broader population.
One is using the fingers like prayer beads. Keeping the count on the fingers leashes the mind better than counting breaths in the mind.
The second is to practice lying in bed at night and immediately upon waking up. This adaptation makes it ‘excuse-free’. The bedtime practice improves sleep from day one. Whoever tries it gets better sleep and gets hooked on it. They can't help practicing at bedtime.
These adaptations made it accessible to people of all ages, cultures, and religions.
The breathing practices presented here are not related to Yogic breathing practices. Yogic breathing requires us to conform to the guidelines. We have to learn them from a trained teacher to avert potential harm from wrong practice.
In contrast, counting breaths as suggested above doesn't prescribe a pattern for breathing. One exception is the 911 mode.
We watch the breaths like watching the waves in the ocean, sitting on the beach. We don't try to change the breaths.
This meditation is safe, whatever way you do it.
Even children can learn in a short time. They love it and benefit from it.
Questions? Contact me.
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