Being Present

Two foundational or basic practices are often taught in an introduction to mindfulness meditation course. The first is a body scan, and the second is mindfulness of breathing. There are many guided examples of both of these.

I like to start with mindfulness of breath as calming the breath turns down our fight or flight stress system, calming arousal, and up-tightness. It is also available to us at any time. Simply checking in with breathing sensations can bring us into contact with the present moment and remind us to pause before responding to whatever is happening.

Taking 10 minutes daily to sit with our breath has long-term effects on the mind and body. Many brain studies have shown that the brain changes with mindfulness meditation practice. For those of a more scientific bent, several articles discuss the effects of meditation on the brain. They present compelling evidence for how mindfulness meditation works to change the brain.

The following steps guide how to start a basic mindfulness of breath practice.

Find a place to sit comfortably where you are unlikely to be interrupted. Select a location that allows you to sit upright, yet you can relax.

Set a timer if you can for 10 minutes. This way, you don’t have to worry about keeping time and can focus on the practice.

You may keep your eyes open with a soft, easy gaze down about 2 feet in front of you. Or you may close your eyes. If you begin to get drowsy, you may wish to open your eyes with a soft gaze in front.

Take three deep breaths, all the way in and out. This sets the stage for settling into your practice and brings attention and focus to the intention to sit in meditation.

Let your breathing return to normal—simple, easy breathing. There is no need to change your breath or make it different.

Bring your attention and focus to the sensations of breathing in your belly. Notice the rise and fall of your breath on each inhale and exhale. You can rest your palms on your belly to bring you into direct contact with the sensations of the rising and falling of the breath.

As the belly rises with the inhale of a breath, whisper “rise” in the back 5% of your brain. As the stomach falls with the exhale of a breath, whisper “fall” in the back of your brain. Keep following each breath with a whisper of “rise” or “fall.”

Keep attention on the sensations of breathing in the belly. As the mind wanders – because that is what minds do – simply notice it has left the object of meditation, the rise and fall of the belly with the breath. Then gently, without judgment, return attention to the rise and fall of the breath.

Remembering that mindfulness meditation practices train the brain in concentration and attention, be kind to yourself as the mind wanders. It is not used to staying steady with focus on one thing. The brain needs guidance, just like a puppy needs guidance to piddle on the newspaper, not the carpet. Keep guiding attention back.

Once the timer has rung, open your eyes and sit for a breath or two to let your meditation experience settle before returning to the day’s activities.

I recommend engaging in this practice for a few weeks before moving on to anything else. As I discuss in foundational practices, this helps establish a good foundation for practice and helps create the habit of practice. After a few weeks of developing your confidence that you can hold your attention on your breath and notice more quickly when attention wanders, you might try the next step of development, Essential Practice II.