Mindfulness of Breath

THE PRACTICE:

This practice is best done in the seated position or you can do it lying down if you prefer

Sit in a comfortable chair and ensure adequate back support if needed or use a meditation cushion if you have one

Make sure your feet are flat on the floor with legs uncrossed
Your back, neck and head should be upright but relaxed and comfortably balanced
Hands comfortably placed on your thighs
Once you are seated and have adjusted your body position try and stay as still as possible, this helps still the mind

Bring a clear intention to fully engage in the pratice. Leave all other concerns to the side for ten minutes
Remember not to try too hard, just gently observe
It can be helpful to stabilise the attention by counting the breath either from 1 to 5 or 1 to 10. You can repeat the cycle as many times as feels helpful to settle the mind
Count one at the end of the inbreath and just before the outbreath so that your attention can be with the outbreath as it releases
The purpose behind counting is to replace the many distractable involuntary thoughts with one intentional thought
Another technique is silently noting ‘in’ with the inbreath and ‘out’ with the outbreath