Mindfulness of Breathing

Your main homework this week is to practice the Mindfulness of Breathing

Find a place where you can sit comfortably and keep it as welcoming and uncluttered as possible.

Plan the best times for you to meditate – the same time every day is easiest to remember, but whatever works for you is good.

Go for it!  Try to do a little bit every day - just sit down in your space every day and see what happens. 20 minutes is ideal, but even just a few minutes doing nothing but paying attention to the body and the breathing every day will make a difference.

Make a note of what comes up for you as you begin to create this new habit. We’ll have some time to check in on this next week.

Optional Reading - chapters 1 and 2 of Change Your Mind. 

Mindfulness of Breathing
This is a meditation practice where we use the breath as the object of attention to which we return every time we notice that the mind has wandered. It’s important to note that the practice involves noticing that the mind has been wandering and bringing it back to the breath. Distractedness is an inevitable part of the process of meditating and not a sign of failure!  Your mind has a natural tendency to wander, So there’s no point in being harsh with yourself.

STAGE 1:  Counting after the out-breath
letting go, relaxing, moving downward, calming
in breath OUT BREATH (count one),   in breath OUT BREATH (count two), etc.
Really notice the qualities of the out-breath. Notice the sense of letting go, the downward movement in the body, the feeling of relaxation as your body releases, and perhaps even a sense of mental calming.  Bring as much patience into the process as possible. It’s normal for a lot of thoughts to arise, and from time to time you’ll completely forget you’re supposed to be following your breath. Distraction is a normal part of the meditation process.

STAGE 2: Counting before the in-breath
expanding, opening up, rising, energizing
(count one) IN BREATH out breath, (count two) IN BREATH out breath
Really notice the sensations of the in-breath, in particular. Notice the upward movement, the sense of expansion, the sense of energy that accompanies the inhalation, and perhaps even a sense of alertness and mental brightness.


STAGE 3: Dropping the counting
Following the sensations of the breathing as a continuous, unbroken process that washes over the entire body.  Pay particular attention to the transitions from an in-breath to an out-breath, since those are the places where you’re most likely to become distracted.  See if you can notice the breathing as a continuous process — not as a series of in-breaths and out-breaths, but as a never-ending stream of sensation connected with the movements of the body, and the sensations of the air flowing into and out of the body.  We pay attention equally to the in- and out-breaths blends these two qualities, of alertness and calmness to help us develop a calm, energetic awareness. When our mind is like this it is very “pliable.” In other words our mind has become a very powerful tool.

STAGE 4: Focusing on the sensations at the rims of the nostrils
In the fourth and final stage of this practice, begin to narrow the focus of your awareness, so that you’re focusing more and more on the sensations where the breath first passes over the rims of the nostrils. You may even notice the sensations where the breath passes over the upper lip. But if any of these sensations are hard to find, just notice the breath at the first place you can feel it as it enters and leaves the body.

In the fourth stage what we do with our pliable minds, is to develop one-pointed awareness. This isn’t a forced concentration, but rather a natural absorption that is based on interest and even fascination.  This involves encouraging the mind to move to a more subtle level of perception by deliberately paying attention to very delicate sensations connected with the breath. By doing this we help produce a much deeper level of calmness in the mind. This means that we really have to let go of unnecessary thinking so that we can become absorbed in these subtle physical sensations.



This particular version of the Mindfulness of Breathing is mainly aimed to calm and focus the mind, and is therefore what is known as a samatha (Sanskrit, shamatha), or calming practice.  This practice works mainly through us withdrawing our attention from distracting thoughts and redirecting our attention to the physical sensations of the breath. By doing so, we are putting less energy into the emotional states of restlessness, anxiety, craving, ill will, etc that drive those thoughts. Over time the mind becomes calmer and our emotional states become more balanced and positive, and our experience becomes more positive.