The Art of Simple Mediation and Conscious Breathing for All of Us

What is Meditation? The Age Old Question

As you may know just by finding this post alone, there are 80 million references on meditation online alone. There are online web resources, books, magazines and people all offering information on what meditation is and how to do it. Finally science and medicine is catching up on the incredible health benefits of meditation. 

But how does one go about exploring what meditation is without getting overwhelmed? The first step is to ask yourself why it is you are interested in meditation. 

• Is it to learn how to relax?
• Is it for spiritual purposes?
• Is it for a specific mental technique, e.g. improved memory, clarity, focus?
• Curiosity?

The simplest way to describe meditation is to think of it as taking control of your own mental thoughts. The mind can have billions of thoughts racing through it. Many of them we are completely unaware of how they even ended up in there, but they do. Also many times these thoughts are more like noise, or useless chatter that simply is wasting internal energy we can use for otherwise beneficial purposes.

Mediation has been shown both experientially and scientifically to have many benefits. It has been used since the beginning of our known human history by many cultures for various reasons. One of the most popular reasons include: 

--to reduce stress, 

--promote good health,

--provide mental focus, 

--improve sleep, 

--increase self and other awareness, 

--awaken mindfulness 

--for those on a spiritual quest, it can aid in the enlightenment process.

Once you know why, then you can start eliminating what does not apply to you. So if you would like to use meditation to reduce stress only, then you don’t want to go to a web link on Zen Buddhist meditation. You may want to just look at the health resources for more information that suits you. 

Next, now you want to decide how much time you should spend meditating and what technique to use. This depends on the reason you are meditating. Meditation can be extremely challenging because in most cases it requires disciplining your thoughts. You don’t have to be a guru, philosopher, yogi, sage or mystic to utilize meditation. All you need is the desire to learn about it and explore it. Anyone and everyone can engage in meditation.

I would venture to say that your best bet for beginning meditation is the simplest. You can always elaborate on it whenever you are ready by changing technique and time you dedicate to meditating. There is no need to judge yourself or others about mediation, engaging in it with an open mind is the most beneficial way to go about it.

In case you feel don't have to sit and mediate, try walking meditation or practicing awareness of what you are doing whenever you can. Try it while you're washing up when you get up. As you are riding an elevator, as you are shopping for food or even online. You can actually be creative and make this an integral part of your schedule. I even do it when I change the little box...ok that may not be your ideal but you choose when you'd like to try it. This are simply variations of mediation because you come back to yourself and that goes a long way.

Once you want to engage more in medication, you can try it for longer times, or in certain positions/postures that may enhance your experience. You will find that the more you try it, the more you want to do it. The resistance is very normal at first, so be aware and don't give up because it s a natural part of the process.  

Warnings About Meditation are They Valid?

Many people with their own agendas, whether they be ignorance or religious control warn against meditation. You may have heard from some that meditation can be dangerous. Yes, dangerous. But this is because it is feared and misunderstood by many seemingly otherwise intelligent persons—or maybe not so intelligent. 

Some persons will warn that meditation will make the person vulnerable and susceptible to all kinds of spiritual or mental dangers. By clearing ones mind, one can leave oneself to woo woo  spirit possession or even insanity. This is extremely unlikely and unsubstantiated. Do the research, trust your instinct and be informed. You likely conclude the benefits of meditation wildly outweigh any so-called “warnings”. Just remember you can control or manage your thoughts but it takes patience, time, discipline, and the right technique that works for you.

Simple Technique, Try 30 Seconds

There are many, many types of meditation but just for starters you can find research on meditation which suits you. One of the very important components of meditation is breathing (as in Pranayama—conscious breath awareness techniques). So if you simply find a way of incorporating some quiet time, say 1 to 5 minutes where you can sit and be undisturbed. In fact I would personally suggest 30 seconds to start. 

You can begin by simply counting you in breaths and out breaths. Every time a thought comes rushing or wondering through, and they most certainly will, simply resume counting. Some people incorporate a word or phrase, what some call mantras that aid in their meditation. Simply using the word “in” when inhaling and “out” when exhaling can prove incredibly doable for a beginner. The absolutely most important thing to remember about meditation is: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. It does become easier with practice and the best part is that there is no wrong way of doing it. Even if someone disagrees, they probably have some personal agenda in discouraging others. Believe in your ability to master this in your timing. The benefits are so worth it.

Breathing and Pranayama

Breathing is essential. But I figured you knew that by now. But being AWARE of your breathing can do wonders for you over all health. That is what PRANAYAMA is all about. 

When we don’t pay attention to our breathing we tend to develop poor habits and therefore suffer from the effects of bad habits. For instance many people only utilize the top third of their lungs. This leaves us with much less oxygen in our bodies and less carbon dioxide leaving our bodies. This can lead to unexpected effects like fatigue, anxiety attacks, increase heart beat in an attempt to increase the oxygen input and even palpitations. This I know from personal experience and what led me to exploring breathing more consciously.

PRANAYAMA is the art and practice of conscious breath control. This is practiced for various reasons including meditation, stress management, general health, as part of yoga practice and for spiritual centered-ness.

It is a really good idea to practice pranayama anytime we remember to do so. It has an incredible way of making us more mindful and self-aware. Please use this section as a reminder to practice the simple form of pranayama we began with last time—belly-breathing.

~Sit or lie down comfortably. First just notice your breath without trying to control it. You will realize that with inhalation your belly lifts and rises while your rib cage expands. 

~Now consciously breathe in directly into your belly deeply but softly filling your lungs. Without holding your breath, gently releasing your breath back out. 

Do this as often as you can but it helps to do it on the regular basis as in when you first awaken or before bed. Start with a 1 to 5 minutes and work our way up when you are ready.

And here is our constant reminder of what your breath tells you on the regular basis:

Feeling relaxed, like when you are sleeping, your exhalation is twice as long as your inhalation.

Anger, your breathing is shallow. Imagine how little oxygen your brain is getting during this time.

Feeling frightened or anxious you tend to hold your breath. 

Find Much More Here

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~Always with Love, Light and Common Sense Manners~

Diana Navarro, M.S.
On a Quest to Bring Common Sense Manners Back!
www.Thisisdiana.com