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.
Introduction
Introduction
'Focusing on breathing' presented here is a made-easy meditation practice for training 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 the last moment of your life. The 'breathing buddy' is always with you night and day, throughout your life.
You can focus on your breathing in a variety of ways. Try the following methods with your eyes closed till you get well used to them.
Even children can understand and practice this meditation.
It can be practiced 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 two to three minutes, and evaluate their impact. I found that using a timer eliminates impatience and enhances the experience.
A Note
If your mind wanders during meditation, don't think your meditation failed. It is normal for even a trained mind to get some distracting thoughts. A beginner periodically gets some distracting thoughts. As soon as you realize that you are focusing on a distracting thought, quietly refocus on the coolness in the nose during the inhalation or the ever-present belly movement. No one to blame and nothing to regret for the distracting thoughts entering the mind. You will see even in your initial trials that you get far fewer thoughts than you would without meditation. Despite some random distracting thoughts, you will experience a significant calm.
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.
This meditation practice is free from rules, clichés, teachers, organizations, dogmas, and apps.
It aims to become an internet coach to make the dream of daily meditation a reality for every aspiring person.
Modes of 'Meditating on Breathing and Body'
Modes of 'Meditating on Breathing and Body'
We can meditate on breathing in many modes. The following are some proven modes from my experience.
Feeling mode
Counting mode
Tip mode
Segment mode
Staring mode
911 mode
Resonance breathing
Other options
Let us learn and practice each of them.
FEELING MODE
FEELING MODE
In this mode, you focus your attention on the natural cycles — inhalations and exhalations. Let us do it in small steps.
Practice all the steps with your eyes closed for better focus.
* 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 would 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. Ignore the exhalations for now.
* Belly movement, placing a hand
Place a hand on your belly and focus on its slight expansion during inhalations and contraction during exhalations.
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 practice feeling the belly movement and its muscular sensations.
* Belly movement without placing a hand
Focus on the ever-changing movement and sensations as it expands and contracts without placing a hand.
PRACTICE: Open the Timer, set it for 5 or more minutes, and practice feeling the belly movement without placing a hand.
* Combination
Feel either the coolness in the nose or the belly movement and sensations. Let your attention switch freely between the coolness in the nose and the belly sensations. Your attention can also cycle in a pattern:
Coolness in the nose, followed by
Belly expansion, followed by
Belly contraction, followed by
Back to 1 - "Coolness in the nose" ...and so on....
PRACTICE: Open the Timer, set it for 5 or more minutes, and practice the combination mode.
* Upgrades to focus on the Breath and the Body
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 be able to sit comfortably for up to an hour.
The importance of sitting erect for healthy breathing is explained on this page.
PRACTICE: Open the Timer, set it to 5 or more minutes, and practice the combination mode sitting erect on a chair.
Hands and fingers positions
Rest your hands comfortably on your legs. Adopt one of these options to set the hands and fingers:
(1) 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
(2) 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 each other.
Try both options and adopt what feels better.
Keep your hands and fingers this way throughout the practice.
Breath and Body sensations
Initially, let your attention switch freely between the following sensations. Later, after you develop the habit, you can follow a sequence of focusing on all the following.
Coolness in the nose during inhalation
Belly expansion
Belly contraction
Pressure sensation from your hands resting on your legs
Thumb and little fingers touching sensation and the stretch sensation in the other three fingers, or
Contact sensations in the laced fingers
Pressure sensation of your body on the seat of the chair
If wearing shoes, feel the pressure of the soles of your feet in them. If not wearing shoes, feel the pressure of your soles on the floor.
PRACTICE: Open the Timer, set it for 8 to 15 minutes, and practice the combination including all the above upgrades.
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 jaws will be automatically released, and it also generates one more sensation for the mind to focus on.
PRACTICE: Open the Timer, set it for 8 to 15 minutes, and practice the combination including all the above upgrades.
Hug yourself
Tuck the palm of your left hand inside your right armpit. Let your left arm wrap around your chest. Hold your left upper arm with your right palm, with your lower right arm resting on your lower left arm. This posture feels like you are hugging yourself.
PRACTICE: Open the Timer, set it for 8 to 15 minutes, and practice the combination including all the above upgrades.
If your attention gets diverted to a stray thought, immediately refocus on one or more of the above body sensations. Do this promptly, every time you get diverted, to develop this new habit.
Read the article "Thoughts are like...Many ways of managing stressful thoughts."
Two goals to aim for
Two goals to aim for
First goal - "Total 20 minutes of practice"
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 the usual daily activities. The goal is to total 20 MINUTES EVERY DAY.
Phase 2: Practice for 20 minutes in ONE SESSION EVERY DAY.
Second goal - "Breath awareness 30 to 40 times a 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 focused on at a time are counted as one. Make this easy by introducing breath awareness into every repetitive activity: falling asleep, when sleep is disturbed, on waking up in the morning, every time you walk at home or outside, upon sitting or leaving a seat/chair/sofa, waiting anywhere: at stoplights, stopsigns, in a line or at the microwave, listening to someone, watching TV, picking up or putting down your phone, etc. The goal for all such occurrences is 30 or more.
What will you gain by achieving the two goals?
What will you gain by achieving the two goals?
Most such practitioners have reported that breath comes to mind whenever they need to focus or calm themselves. Their stress is released automatically. They do not accumulate stress.
You can expect many Mind, Body, and Relationship Benefits.
If you take a close-up picture of just your face now and every month thereafter, you will see a gradual change in your face. I have seen such a change in teens and adults over the last 25 years. Check out a few pictures on this page.
Track your daily practice - 'Minutes' and 'Frequency'
Track your daily practice - 'Minutes' and 'Frequency'
Download the "Meditation practice - Log sheet". Save it to your device and rename it. Enter the daily data on your practice to motivate you towards the two goals. Email me if you have questions or need help.
How many months to achieve the two goals?
How many months to achieve the two goals?
It's up to you! You are the only person who can 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 navigation system who sugest a practical route based on experience. You can also create your personal goals and routes to reach them.
Some inspiring quotes
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 MODE
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, 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.
TIP MODE
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.
SEGMENT MODE
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.
STARING MODE
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.
911 MODE
911 MODE
You can practice this mode with your eyes closed or open.
Breathe in through the nose 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 till you gain some relief from the acute mental or physical stress.
Then, practice any other mode for a longer period. Continue until the acute stress becomes manageable.
Repeat the sandwich practice as many times as needed.
Watch '911 mode' on Youtube.
MORE OPTIONS
MORE OPTIONS
Over many years, some practitioners, including me, experimented with other modes. Click the above title for their details.
Click the above link
Click the above title.
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'
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.
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