5 Breaths a Day: An Easy Guide To Beginning Meditation
For Those Who Don’t Have Time To Meditate
Of course you don’t have time to meditate. From the moment the alarm forces you out of bed you’re on the go. You’ve gotta eat, shower, take care of yourself or your family, then rush off to work. And there’s traffic.
At work, your mind is going in a thousand directions. You jump from one task to the other. Bills loom on the horizon that you’ll never get fully on top of. Messages chime throughout the day and you sneak your brief entertainments by glancing at your phone or clicking on your open browser tabs. You endure traffic again. Once you get home, there’s still more chores to do until you unwind in front of the computer or TV, if you even have that much time. Then you finally climb back into bed exhausted with tomorrow looming at the end of the sleep you won’t get enough of. And you forgot about the car payment again. Or maybe it’s the light bill.
You’ve heard about the benefits of meditation. Maybe you’ve tried it but found it too hard to sit still. Even something as simple as counting your breaths is interrupted by the distractions that keep bubbling up to the surface. You get discouraged and say that maybe one day, you’ll try again. Maybe you’ll take a class or read about it online. But right now, you’re just too busy.
Instead of blocking out time to sit still, try this instead. At some part of your day, no matter what you are doing, try to take 5 full breaths. This isn’t difficult. You’ve been breathing your entire life. At least, I hope you have. If not, you should get that checked out soon. You don’t have to stop what you’re doing to take these 5 breaths. In fact, keep doing it, and now with even closer attention.
Take a breath in through your nose. Breathe slow. Don’t force it in. Instead, draw the breath from your diaphragm so your stomach expands. Your breath should be so soft that it is silent. While focusing on this, let your thoughts quiet down and become aware of what is outside of your mind. Do you recognize any scents as the air passes through your nostrils? How many distinct sounds can you hear? What are you holding or touching right now? Is it warm or cold? Is the air around you still or is there a slight breeze tickling the hair on your skin?
How does the fabric of your clothes feel on your body? Is it heavy or light? If you are standing or sitting, become aware of your feet pressing into the floor or your thighs pressing into the chair. Are you tired? Of course, who isn’t? Are you holding tension in your shoulders or arms? Let them relax. They will bunch up again soon.
What is your intention at that moment? Is it to refill your coffee? To check your messages? Where are you in the project you’re working on? Are you annoyed by it or is it so easy that it’s a waste of your time? Are you happy with your job? What’s that like?
Now breathe out while maintaining this awareness. Are random thoughts starting to invade your mind again? Don’t worry, it happens. You will have plenty of time to deal with those after, so don’t hold on to them. Gently bring your focus back to the air passing in and out of your body. Have you noticed that you’re feeling calmer? That you’ve become more aware? Great! Now gently bring your attention back to your breath. You’re almost done.
After counting 5 full breaths in and out, feel free to get lost in thought again. Concern yourself with what is still ahead of you for that day or about what happened in the past that you wish you could change. Let your stress resume and carry it with you until you climb back into bed. Did you remember what bill you were supposed to pay? Don’t worry, you’ll be reminded of it soon enough. They haven’t forgotten.
However, before you do all that, take a moment to congratulate yourself. You just meditated.
Now try to do the same thing tomorrow, even if it’s just 5 breaths.
Your meditation practice has begun.
Was this helpful? Have you begun a meditation practice? How has meditation helped you? Let me know in the comments
