How to do breath meditation
Breath meditation is one of the great meditation practices. It has stood the test of time, having been used for literally thousands of years. In this article Master Sri Avinash shares what you need in order to master this simple but effective meditation technique.
What is breath meditation?
In breath meditation you focus your attention and awareness on the breath. It’s one of the best meditation techniques, because the breath is always with you.
If you love roses and you focus on roses as a form of meditation to bring you to the present moment, what happens if someone screams at you and there are no roses around? Do you run to the florist shop straight away to calm yourself down?
Whereas the breath is always with you. When someone upsets you, you can focus on your breath straight away—slowly breathe in, slowly breathe out. By focusing that way, your mind doesn’t go off into your thoughts.
That’s called mastering the mind—when you don’t allow your mind to take you away into your thoughts. When the mind takes you away, that’s like the tail wagging the dog.
When you’re able to concentrate on your breath and then just remain there as long as you like—while you’re washing the dishes, while you’re sitting on the toilet, while you’re walking, while you’re eating—whatever you’re doing, that means the dog is wagging the tail. You should aim to achieve that, because that’s what happiness is.
But it takes practice.
How breath meditation works
When the energy within us is still and calm, the frequency of our vibration increases and we experience happiness.
When the energy within us is moving and very emotional, the vibration in our being gets more dense, so we feel heavier. We may not actually be aware that our vibration has a higher or lower frequency, but we can feel heavy or we can feel light—we know the difference.
So meditation techniques are used to still the energy within us so that our vibration increases quickly and we experience happiness.
That’s why after meditation we feel relaxed, light and peaceful. The overall vibration in our being has increased, and we can sense that.
Now, when the energy within us is choppy and moving, it is due to thoughts. Thoughts trigger emotions and our energy loses the stillness that is true happiness.
Breath meditation works because if you concentrate on the breath, no thoughts can enter in that same moment. As soon as you lose concentration on the breath, you will think. And then when you focus again, thoughts will stop.
Meditation techniques are based on the truth that when we focus on one thing, like the breath, then thoughts can’t enter and the energy within you becomes still.
Do you have to close your eyes to meditate on the breath?
It doesn’t matter if your eyes are closed, open, or half closed, because that has nothing to do with your inner awareness or concentration.
If your eyes are open and you surrender where your eyes go, so you’re not focussing on any one thing outside, you will find that you can still focus on your breath.
When you understand how it works and how to focus your attention, keeping the eyes open is fine.
But if you don’t know how it works, when your eyes are open you start to focus on other things and then you lose focus on your breath. First you focus on the mango, then the tree, then that person, then before you know it you’re thinking.
In other words, if you don’t know how to focus your attention, you start thinking straight away. But if you keep your focus on the breath while eyes are open, just letting your eyes go wherever they go, you cannot think.
Breath meditation in 8 steps
Follow these 8 steps for breath meditation while sitting. You can sit with crossed legs or in a chair, and you can practice anywhere—at home, on the train, waiting at the bus stop, in a park etc. If you are practicing breath meditation with open eyes, it helps to keep your gaze down at a 45 degree angle.
1. Make yourself relaxed, keeping your back straight.
2. Breathe naturally, how you normally breathe.
3. Keep your body still, like a statue, but staying relaxed.
4. When your body is completely still, notice the natural rise and fall of your chest area with each breath.
5. After a minute, shift your focus, your attention, to each in-breath and each out-breath:
- When you breathe in, feel the air slowly filling your lungs.
- When you breathe out, feel the air slowly leave your lungs.
That’s all you’re focussing on, nothing else. Don’t let one breath escape your attention, your awareness.
6. It’s important to have a sense of knowing at the same time as you are focussing:
- Each time you breathe in, know that you are breathing in, in that moment.
- Each time you breathe out, know that you’re breathing out, in that moment.
7. After some time, you will notice that it’s very easy for your mind to wander off into thoughts, and then you lose that one-pointed awareness of the in-breath and the out-breath. Whenever that happens, immediately bring your attention back to the breath again, and refocus on each breath.
8. Be alert with your focus, and stay relaxed.
If you practice breath meditation in this way for even five minutes, you will feel a sense of peace, a sense of calmness within you.
Breath meditation is that simple
You don’t have to do anything magical or spectacular. You don’t have to look for special secrets. When your attention and awareness is focussed on one point—on the breath—you just can’t think.
If you go off into your thoughts a few times, then you just have to remember, “Oh, I’ve got to refocus again.”
Practice with quality. Don’t sit there thinking about shopping or about your next Facebook post. If you’re thinking and you’re not focussed on the breath, then you’re not going to have peace.
If you do just five minutes of quality breath meditation and you feel so calm and peaceful, imagine how you will feel if you do half an hour of that.
Summary
So, when we focus on one thing, like the breath, then thoughts can’t enter and the energy within us becomes still. It is this stillness that is really happiness.
There are many great meditation techniques, but breath meditation is one of the most commonly practiced, just purely because the breath is always with us.
When we master this skill of one-pointed concentration, and practice for long durations, we will literally be free from emotional suffering.
Related Video
Only a Master can explain what meditation is and how to meditate properly, in such a simple and easy-to-use way that makes every person feel like they finally “get it.” This is exactly what Master Sri Avinash achieves in his brilliant explanation of the meditation state and his commentary on how to meditate perfectly.
In this video, Sri Avinash uses the example of breath meditation and walks through the technique step-by-step.
He covers the why and how of meditation as a tool to end our own suffering, empowering us to realise that our happiness is in our own hands.
Sri Avinash’s wisdom is quite simply phenomenal and any person, whether they are a total beginner or very advanced, would benefit from watching this insightful and instructional video.
