

There are many different ways to meditate. Meditation can defined as a mental state of relaxation where the mind is focused on one thing, in this case breathing. Below I include 3 yoga breathing techniques to try. I have suggested 3-5 minutes to start but know that if that is too long for you as you begin that is okay! You may find that 1-2 minutes initially is all that you can do. Continue to practice and increase the duration as you go.
Current research suggests multiple health benefits from meditation such as:
- Improved happiness
- Decrease in feelings of fear, sadness and other negative emotions
- Decrease in the hormone leptin which signals hunger leading to weight loss
- Decrease in chronic inflammation
- Decreased pain
- Improved exercise tolerance
- Possible reduction in memory loss from aging
- Improved self awareness
- Improved patience
- Improved tolerance
- Decrease sympathetic (fight or flight response) in the body leading to:
- Decreased blood pressure
- Decreased heart rate
- Decreased anxiety
- Decreased stress
- Decreased cortisol levels
Three Techniques:
- Mindful Breathing
- Abdominal Breathing
- Retention Breathing
Mindful Breathing:
This is the act of simply noticing your breath.
How to:
- Sit in a comfortable seat with your legs crossed in front of you.
- You can use a cushion, bolster, block or simply on the floor or in a chair. Its most important for you to be relaxed and comfortable
- Make sure you keep an upright spine
- Pause here and take a moment to center and calm yourself and begin to relax
- Once you feel relaxed take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your nose slowly
- Repeat this for 3-5 minutes paying attention to both inhalation and exhalation
- Try to focus just on the breathing. When you find your mind start to wander (which is completely normal), return your focus back to your breathing.
Abdominal Breathing:
This type of breathing is also known as natural or diaphragmatic breathing.
How to:
- Sit in a comfortable seat with your legs crossed in front of you. You can use a cushion, bolster, block or simply on the floor.
- Make sure you keep an upright spine.
- Place one hand on your abdomen and one hand on your chest wall
- Pause here and take a moment to center and calm yourself, relax.
- Once you feel relax take a deep breath through your nose.
- Bring the air in first expanding the chest and ribs followed by the back and through abdomen and pelvis.
- On the exhale, release the air in reverse order, first from the abdomen and ending with the upper chest.
- Attempt to keep your focus on the breathing.
- Redirect your wandering mind to the breathing
- Repeat this for 3-5 minutes.
Retention Breathing
How to:
- Sit in a comfortable seat with your legs crossed in front of you.
- You can use a cushion, bolster, block or simply on the floor.
- Pause here and take a moment to center and calm yourself, relax.
- Make sure you keep an upright spine.
- Take a deep breath in through your nose completely filling the lungs and hold it.
- Slowly you are going to release the air in three phases.
- Let 1/3 of the air out and pause.
- Let another 1/3 of the air out and pause.
- Release the final 1/3 of air out and pause.
- Attempt to keep your focus on the breathing.
- Redirect your wandering mind to the breathing.
- Repeat this for 3-5 minutes.
Note: Another position that can be used is laying down flat on your back
Photo credit
@halliekellerphotography