Your breath – your free miracle weapon for self-healing.

Mindful Breathing

The present moment is the ultimate (yet elusive) goal of any meditation practice. So what is the best way to stay present, that is, in the here and now? The breath. Here’s why the breath is such a powerful meditation tool, how to breathe with proper mindfulness, and the benefits of regular practice.

What do prominent meditators say about the breath?

As a leading authority in the field, Buddha himself recognized and emphasized the importance of the breath, once saying, “The yogi breathes in by paying attention to the whole body; the yogi breathes out by paying attention to the whole body.” The “Awakened One” taught attention to the breath as a basic (and essential) meditation technique.

In the classic guide, “Wherever You Go, There You Are,” internationally acclaimed meditation author Jon Kabat-Zinn #jonkabatzinn writes about breathing, “The breath is the current of life that connects body and mind…. it’s helpful to have a focus for attention, an anchor line that holds you in the present moment and guides you back when the mind wanders; the breath serves that purpose.”

Vietnamese Zen master and book author Thich Nhat Hanh #thichnhathanh once said that in order to see our mind through (and gain insight), we must first quiet it. When we use the breath for this purpose, deep introspection is just the beginning.

Why is the breath such an effective meditative tool?

While we spend our lives partially on autopilot, distracted, shut down, at the mercy of our superficial 70,000-thoughts-a-day mind – the breath is always there, nourishing our life force every moment of every day. Yet instead of harnessing its ever-present power, we ignore it.

In meditation, however, we observe the breath. We tune into it. We become one with it. When we focus our full attention on the breath, a strange thing happens: we find that our busy conscious mind fades into the background and our powerful (yet much quieter) subconscious mind takes over. And instead of mindlessly reacting to the world around us, the breath allows us to observe things from a much calmer, much deeper place. In this way, the breath serves as a powerful gateway to the present moment.

How do we use the breath in meditation?

The goal is to stay with the breath as well and as long as possible. So in our meditation practice, when we notice our mind “thinking,” we simply acknowledge the content as “just another thought” (and let go of that thought), and we kindly, gently, and patiently turn our attention back to the breath.

And we do our best not to judge where the mind digresses to, or to get angry about how often it digresses. Whether we catch ourselves daydreaming, worrying, repeating memories, making to-do lists, or whatever, with infinite patience and understanding, we gently let go of the thought(s) and bring our attention back to the natural rhythm and flow of the breath. Again and again. And if half of your meditation session passes without you being aware of the thinking mind, that’s not a problem – that’s part of the process. Just return to the breath.

Benefits of breath meditation

Can the breath help clear the mind of anxiety and depression?
The truth is that everyone has difficult thoughts and feelings. It’s a part of being human. Instead of trying to banish negativity from the mind (which is a useless endeavor), meditation teaches us to deal with things a little differently. How does it work? In meditation, we learn to recognize negative thoughts like any other thought – and to treat them as such.

So when a negative thought arises in our mind, we don’t need to identify with it. We simply let it go and refocus our attention on the present (with the breath serving as the most powerful gateway). Once all thoughts become equally important and equally unimportant, we become immune to the constant “push and pull” of the mind (including negative things like anxiety and depression), and we achieve a state of consciousness perfectly suited to dealing with life’s many ups and downs.

What other benefits does mindful breathing bring?
Using the breath in meditation can increase feelings of happiness, relieve insomnia, enhance creativity, increase longevity, accelerate weight loss. The breath can help us master the subconscious mind, strengthen immunity, defeat addiction, relieve anxiety, reduce depression, increase concentration, strengthen intuition, and dramatically improve the brain – just to name a few benefits.