Many meditations involve focusing on the breath. We offer two variations of brea thing techniques.

This is perhaps the easiest way to begin meditating and you ma y never need to look further. Begin with the Breath Awareness Meditation and whe n you find that you are able to follow the breath for periods of time, you can t ry the Stillness in the Breath meditation. Posture: It is preferable to sit while doing these breath meditations. Sitting u p is more conducive to meditation as the mind is more likely to remain alert. Si t upright with the spine as straight as possible while remaining comfortable. Do n t strain in any way to make the spine straight. It s important to be comfortable s o that you can relax completely. Breath Awareness Meditation Listen to our Breath Awareness Meditation or read instructions below: Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Take a few moments to simply be . Notice whate ver is being experienced in the moment sounds, physical sensations, thoughts, fe elings without trying to do anything about it. Continue like this a little while , allowing yourself to settle down. Now bring the attention to the breath. Simply notice the breath as it moves in a nd out as the body inhales and exhales. Notice how the breath moves in and out a utomatically, effortlessly. Don t try to manipulate it in any way. Notice all the details of the experience of breathing the feeling of the air moving in and out of the nose, the way the body moves as it breathes, etc. The mind will wander away from the breath that s fine, it doesn t matter. That s a par t of the meditation! When you notice that you are no longer observing the breath , easily bring your attention back to it. Let all of your experiences thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations come and go in the background of your awareness of the breath. Notice how all of your experien ces thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, awareness of sounds and smells come a utomatically and effortlessly like the breath. In time, you can become aware of the tendencies of your mind. You will see how i t resists certain experiences and tries to hold onto others. The natural settlin g down of the mind allows you to notice these underlying tendencies and creates the possibility to let them go. If you experience a resistance to what is occurr ing, an attempt to change what is happening, a tendency to hold on to some exper ience let it go. Stillness in the Breath Meditation Listen to our Stillness in the Breath Meditation or read instructions below. This is a variation on the Breath Awareness Meditation that you can try if you f ind you are able to watch the breath for periods of time. Start as above and whe n you are settled into the process of observing the breath, become aware of the point at which the breath turns the corner from the inhalation to the exhalation , and from the exhalation to the inhalation. Notice what is there. It is not a t hing it is a gap between the breaths, nevertheless there can be awareness of it. It is a kind of still point . Continue to bring your attention to that still point, bringing your attention ba ck to the gaps in the breath whenever it has wandered away. As you continue prac ticing this meditation, you may find that the stillness is no longer experienced as discrete gaps between the breaths, but is a more continuous experience. This cultivates the awareness of the stillness that is present in the midst of activ ity, and can create a profound experience of peace. - See more at: http://www.meditationoasis.com/how-to-meditate/simple-meditations

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