Teaching and explaining forms of breath meditation, believe it or not, can consume many chapters in a book. This is my first post on mediation and this is a blog, not a book, so I will stick to the basics.

A meditation cushion and pillow are ideal so if you want to get serious about meditation, I would suggest you pick up a set. You could try www.dharmacrafts.com. You’ll at least need a soft area to sit, perhaps some pillows on the carpet and on top of that, a harder pillow, just large enough on which to sit and six to eight inches tall would be ideal. The idea is to put your but on the harder taller pillow while sitting cross-legged or in the lotus position. Because your but is up on a taller pillow, your knees should be below your hips. See the image which also indicates various hand positions. If you cannot get your feet up onto your legs, that’s OK, just do the best you can. Keeping your hips higher than your knees though is important to maintaining a proper, comfortable position. When we keep our hips above our knees and our shoulders back, not rounded forward yet not forced back too far, our body will better support itself and it will be much easier to maintain an erect posture. If you cannot sit cross-legged, get into a kneeling position, straddling the cushion of where your but will be. Then from there, bend your knees until your but is on the pillow. Your feet will be just to the sides of the pillow upon which you are sitting, just below the sides of your but.

You have the proper cushions and you know how to sit. Now you’ll need a quiet place… this is important. Setting a timer or pleasant sounding alarm clock for a predetermined time of completion is a good idea so you don’t sit and wonder what time it is and if you’ve been sitting too long or not long enough, as this wondering can interfere with your ability to concentrate. Now you’re sitting on your cushions, in a good a solid lotus or cross-legged posture with hips higher than your knees and you shoulder back. Now what?

Close yours and pay attention to the breath either at the tip of your nostrils or through the rising and falling of the abdomen. If you find it easier to pay attention to the breath as it enters and exits the nostrils, then focus on the breath there. You’ll notice not only inhalations and exhalations but also a space in between. Be aware of that space as well. If you connect more to the breath through the rising and falling of the abdomen, then pay attention to the breath in this way and again, also be aware of the gap between the rising and falling of the abdomen. This is all you have to do. Simply be aware of the breath. Do not try to manipulate or control the breath. As you are paying attention to this breath, you’ll notice that some breaths are short, some are long, some are abrupt and some are smooth. Do not try to alter the breath, just be with it as it is. All you need to do is to be aware of the breath either at the tip of the nostrils as you inhale and exhale or be aware of the breath through the rising and falling of the abdomen as you inhale and exhale.

Your mind will inevitably wander. This is normal, there is no need to beat yourself up about it. Simply know that the mind has wandered and bring it back to the breath. You will need to continuously return to the breath as the mind will continue to wander. The more you practice breath meditation, the more focused the mind will become and the less it will wander. You may notice progress very quickly or very slowly. Whatever your progress, that’s OK, that’s just the way it is. If you are aware that your mind wanders, that in itself is awareness of the way it is, which is wisdom. If you choose to beat yourself up because you can’t stay focused for very long, that is ignorance of the way it is. This ignorance is foolish and not helpful. All you need to do is to be aware of the breath and be aware when the mind wanders from the breath and bring the attention back to the breath.

This process of focusing on the breath calms the body and mind. Our thought process will naturally slow down, allowing us a chance to be with this moment without our thoughts carrying on with regrets of the past and fears of the future or how we don’t like ourselves today. We certainly cannot think these thoughts if we are focused on the breath. The more we can sustain that focus in meditation, the more peace we will experience during meditation. As we begin to notice how the mind wanders from one thought to the next during meditation, we begin to realize just how much our minds run on and on with thoughts that serve no useful purpose and we begin to experience what it is like to have all of those thoughts cease, as we concentrate on the breath. We can take what we learn in sitting mediation and apply it when we are not meditating. As our minds wander off at any point throughout our day, thinking of regrets, fears and other thoughts that are not conducive to our happiness and peace, we can bring ourselves back to the present moment so that we can be aware of the way it is now which will allow us to fully appreciate and experience life as it is. Life can be challenging enough at times in this moment, we do not need to bring in the past, future and whatever other thoughts that we conjure up that make being happy and peaceful in this moment difficult.

This is a very basic and brief meditation instruction, but should be more than enough to begin meditating. If you are new at meditation, then keeping it simple is good. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to ask in the comment forum.