Finding a Point of Focus: The Breath
The breath, one of your most potent and portable tools in your arsenal for wellness. Breathing practices represent one of the 8 limbs of yoga, as prescribed in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. The sanskrit term for this practice is pranayama.
One could devote a lifetime to the study of this one limb of yoga. Here, we’ll look at a simple and subtle breathing practice, breath awareness. Not technically a pranayama practice, but an essential foundation to build upon your practice. Pranayama requires you to have an awareness of the breath in order to then control it. One cannot exist without the other.
For purposes of this post, we will use breath awareness as a form of meditation, a simple and subtle form of meditation. If we want to get really technical, breath awareness is really a primer for meditation. We use the breath as a focal point, a point of concentration. In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras this would equate to the 6th limb of yoga, dharana where we pick a point of focus and concentrate on it. This point of focus could be an image or an object; something in nature like a tree; a mantra which could be a word, phrase or sound said aloud or silently; movement like tai chi; and simple acts like cooking and washing dishes.
The practice of dharana builds the foundation for the next step or stage of meditation, the 7th limb of yoga, dhyana. And, if we are really lucky, eventually, perhaps a glimmer into the elusive 8th limb of yoga samadhi, something very few achieve during a lifetime. But that by no means, lessens the benefits of practicing dharana. Building focus and concentration are important life tools.
Note: I should point out that so far what I’ve talked about is from a yogic lens. There are many different types and forms of meditation, as I alluded to earlier. Vipassana is one of the most popular forms of meditation in the West.
Here, we’re going to keep it simple and leave out the stupid. I have a distaste for the term K.I.S.S. or Keep It Simple Stupid. I love the principle, but not the implication (insert smiley-face emoji). The breath will be our point of focus. We’re going to forget about what’s happening anatomically, what the lungs and diaphragm are doing. We’re going to ignore what’s happening physiologically, the process of breathing in oxygen and breathing out carbon dioxide. We’re simply going to focus our awareness on the flow and feel of the breath.
So take a moment. Ideally find some place quiet where you won’t be disturbed. But also note, that this practice can be done anywhere, even places that are noisy and full of distractions. For now though, try and find a place where you won’t be interrupted and that’s quiet. We’re going to try this practice for 5 minutes. Place your phone on DND (Do Not Disturb) so that you won’t be interrupted by calls or notifications. If you are doing this at home and there are other people around, let them know YOU will be on DND for 5 - 10 minutes. Set a timer for 5 minutes on your phone. Give yourself 10 minutes for this practice, 5 minutes of meditation and a buffer before and after meditation, one before to settle into your space and one after to take note of how you feel, and perhaps write down what you notice. Some like to keep a meditation journal to write down the time, place and duration. Others like to write about how they felt during or after their meditation experience, calm, annoyed, focused, distracted, etc. Perhaps an insight into a question or a problem you have enters into your meditation, or maybe an idea arrives? This is your practice and your experience. It doesn’t mean that you are a bad meditator. There’s no such thing.
Now we’ll focus on the how. Be comfortable. You can do this seated in a chair or on the floor, whichever is more comfortable for you. If you are seated. Sit tall, spine erect, not slouched. Align your ears with your shoulders and hips. If you are seated in a chair and your feet don’t touch the floor, place a pillow or cushion under your feet so that your feet aren’t dangling. You could even do this practice laying down. I often do this practice in bed, either first thing in the morning and/or before sleep. The biggest danger is falling asleep, which I often do when practicing this before going to sleep (which is like a bonus side-effect). The key is being comfortable. If you are seated on the floor and you start to notice that your back hurts from sitting like that your point of focus is going to be that your back hurts, not on your breath. So remove the obstacle of discomfort (more on that subject in another blog).
Practice:
Once you feel comfortable, you can either close your eyes or keep your eyes open with your gaze soft. Start to follow your breath as you slowly breathe in and out through the nose.
Observe the beginning of the in-breath as it enters the nose. Observe the out-breath as it leaves the nose.
Take note of the length of the inhale. Take note of the length of the exhale. Is one longer than the other or are they even? Just take note without inserting judgement. You are simply observing.
Notice the temperature of the air as the air enters the nostrils. Notice the temperature of the air as the air leaves the nostrils.
Follow the full length of the inhalation and exhalation: the air coming in through the nostrils, filling the lungs with air, and then the lungs emptying as the breath leaves the nostrils.
Where do you feel the breath in your body? Observe the subtle movement of the body on the inhalation and the exhalation.
If a distraction or thought arises, take note, and then bring your awareness back to the breath. Keep doing this again and again as thoughts or distractions arise.
When you are done your meditation, take some time to sit quietly and reflect upon your experience and then jot down anything that you want to note if you are keeping a journal.
One final thought, if thoughts or distractions arise, and they will, it does not mean that you are a bad meditator. Again, there’s no such thing. In fact, by making the very observation that your mind has wandered means that you noticed it happening. You had an awareness.
The best part of this practice is that it’s free and doesn’t even require special equipment. So try it out and let me know what you think.
Peace be with you,
Christine Lisa
Or, you could try washing the dishes? Here’s a funny (and very true) clip on mindfulness from The Big Bang Theory. https://youtu.be/he5fyJqWwpI
