-photo credit to me! Michelle Zimmer
For my first week of meditation I started with a technique that I know and have used in the past, breath focused meditation. The breath is such an amazing tool for grounding and concentration and I often us this method during yoga. I have practiced Vinyasa yoga for the better part of my life and have found this method to be effective to concentrate my energy during yoga and work through tough poses. The breath can anchor and ground you like no other force, so naturally I thought this would be a good starting place and set me up for success in the future.
Simple breath meditation requires two simple ingredients.
1. A relaxing position – sitting, laying down… whatever works for you!
2. Focus on the breath
The second step can occur in a couple ways. I chose to inhale to the count of 5 seconds and exhale for the count of 7. In the research, exhaling longer than inhaling has been linked to decreases in stress and anxiety. The exhale causes a deceleration within heart beat intervals through activation of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and engagement of the vagus nerve. To learn more about this phenomena I have linked an article from psychology today which breaks down the science quite nicely.
I completed this meditation 3 times this week at different points during the day, morning, afternoon and evening. Some people enjoy meditating first thing in the morning, however I am far too tired in the morning for this to be effective, so I was quite distracted. I found the best time for me to meditate is in the evening, after I have completed something physical (such as yoga). I find that practicing mediation after physical activity helps me stay focused and alert during the session.
Another factor that personally helps me have an effective meditation session is if I meditate outdoors. I was lucky enough this weekend to go camping, which allowed me to meditate in a beautiful setting. When I am outdoors, I naturally feel more relaxed and focused, however this may not be the case for everyone.
Breath focused meditation offered me a good starting point on my meditation journey. It is a simple but very effective method that I will continue to use throughout my life. However, next week I will move on to a different meditation tactic and use resources on the web to aid in my discovery.
When you own your breath, nobody can steal your peace.
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