The breath is considered the most important part of meditation.
Concentrating on the breath provides us with mental focus and awareness of the body. Sometimes Buddhist practitioners will also concentrate on the abdomen, to feel the rise and fall of the breath from within.
So here are some breathing practices to guide you in your meditation.
photo by Sara. Nel on flickr
The breath
DO breathe through your nose.
DO relax your stomach and breathe with your diaphragm.
DO try to breath deeply, filling your lungs.
DON’T breathe with your mouth.
DON’T take shallow breaths that only move your chest.
DON’T force your breath into a rhythm that feels unnatural.
Breathing through your nose
Concentrate on your breath as it enters and exits your nostrils. On the inhale, pay attention to the cold feeling of the air inside your nose. On the exhale, notice the warm breath against your upper lip.
One practice that works well for me is to concentrate on one nostril at a time. As I inhale, I focus on the left side of my nose, so it feels like I’m drawing breath only through my left nostril. On the exhale, I move my attention to the right side, breathing out through my right nostril. In on the left, out on the right. I repeat this about 5 or 10 times, then switch sides: breathing in on the right, breathing out on the left.
Counting breaths
When I first tried counting my breath, I found it discouraging. Then I tried a different method.
I was breathing in on one and exhaling on one, but now I breathe in on one and exhale on two. Cycling faster through the numbers helps me concentrate only on the word and not extraneous thoughts.
Inhaling on the odd numbers (one, three, five, seven, nine) and exhaling on the even (two, four, six, eight, ten), count to ten and then start over from one. See how long you can concentrate on just the number before your mind wanders. But don’t be discouraged when it does! The first step is to notice your mind wandering – then gently bring it back to the breath and start counting again.
Focusing on the abdomen
If the breath seems too slight to focus on, try instead to concentrate on the movement of your stomach. You don’t want to take shallow breaths that only make your chest rise and fall – you want to take breaths from the belly. Relax your muscles and breath with your diaphragm. Focus your mind on the spot just below your navel, and pay attention to how it rises and falls.
It’s essential to wear loose-fitting clothing for this exercise; you can’t concentrate on the movement of your abdomen when its movement is impeded by a tight waistband.
You can try all of these exercises or just a few. Let me know what works for you and what doesn’t by leaving a comment on the site, or emailing me at livingdharmanow at gmail dot com!
livingdharmanow 
Mar 23, 2011 @ 06:18:28
Simple breathing meditation is my favorite kind! I haven’t gotten into counting numbers, but I find that simply witnessing my breath flowing in and out like you said has given me amazing results.
Sometimes, when I really get into it, I don’t even focus on that. It’s like my mind just goes blank, and though it usually only lasts for a few seconds, it’s pure bliss.
I can’t say enough amazing things about meditation!
Mar 23, 2011 @ 23:54:34
Glad to see your enthusiasm, Fred! 🙂
There are these periods of time, like you mentioned, where my mind actually does go blank for several seconds…and it’s a wonderful feeling. I’m hoping to get to the point where that happens more frequently.
Thanks for reading!
Mar 24, 2011 @ 02:03:47
Yup. 🙂
I wonder – would you say that when the mind goes completely blank, permanently, that you have then achieved enlightenment?
I’ve heard that definition before, but since you’re Buddhist I think you would have some insight into it.
Mar 27, 2011 @ 01:13:36
Hmmm. I think it depends a little bit on what school of Buddhists you talk to.
Typically, Buddhism emphasizes mindfulness over empty-mindedness (with the exception of Zen), saying that it’s okay to let thoughts arise, but you have to learn to observe these thoughts without growing attached to them or making judgments about them. And even at the Zen center that I visited, the instructor told us that one of the first things Buddha said after he achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree was “We all have it,” which is supposed to mean that all humans already have the capacity to achieve enlightenment, we just have to find it within ourselves. And apparently, several famous Zen teachers have said that if a person is capable of emptying their mind, even just for a moment, then they reach the same level as the Buddha…not literally, but more abstract – potentially.
I recently had the pleasure of meditating with a man who specializes in vipassana (insight) meditation, and he definitely stressed the importance of mindfulness – not erasing thought during meditation, but observing it impartially and not letting it control you.
I think, if I had to choose between these two schools, I’d rather go with mindfulness/vipassana meditation! It seems like a way of thinking that can be incorporated into an everyday lifestyle (bringing mindfulness into the present to live fully) unlike meditating to achieve a totally still mind, which would require much greater devotion and time.