Right Concentration begins with our breath. These breath concentration exercises offer simple ways to help us focus.

We can practice concentration with a number of objects and items. We can use a mantra, or focus our gaze on a particular icon or statue. Candles work, too. Often, when you’re new to meditation, having some place to focus can really help you learn to bring your mind back again and again. The easiest, though, is arguably the breath. Using the breath incorporates your body, which, for me at least, provides a more grounding experience. Here are a few breath concentration exercises you may want to try:

Break It Down

Even breathing sometimes feels overwhelming. (This is one of those times, no?) If that’s you, too, just break it down even further. In a post last month, I mentioned focusing just on the in-breath, or just on the out-breath. Breaking it down to this smaller little chunk of focus gives you opportunities to keep coming back to it. Sometimes the whole breath over and over just sends your mind into a flurry of connected thoughts. So, try focusing just on the breath in. If you wander, come back on the next inhale.

Count the Breath

Need something else to keep you grounded and paying attention? Try counting your breath. Lama Surya Das suggests counting from one to ten. Inhale, count one. Exhale, count two. All the way up to ten, and then start over. I admit, I’d never tried this before, but the other day my mind was an absolute flurry, and I did this exercise and found it really did help. Just focus on counting the breath, getting to ten. See if you can keep your focus all the way up to ten, and then try again, either way. Inhale, one. Exhale, two.

Awareness of Breath

If you feel ready to move away from counting, you may want to try this one. Here, we focus on the breath without breaking it down or counting it; we just let it come, and let it go. The trick to this one is to focus your concentration on this one, little sensation: the feeling of the air leaving your nostrils and touching your upper lip. It is very subtle. Sometimes, I find it more helpful to focus on the feeling of air inside my nostrils as I inhale in and exhale out. Either way, you want to place all of your attention on this physical sensation. Don’t analyze it or think thoughts about it. Don’t turn it into a story. Just allow it to be your one-pointedness of mind.

Walking Meditation

Some people focus better when breath connects with movement. I am absolutely one of these people. I love yoga and walking meditation because they both help me link breath with body in a way that uniquely clears out my head. If you feel jittery or the anxiety is bouncing around inside your body, get up, walk outside, and practice there. In walking meditation, mindfully place one foot in front of the other, noticing the feel of your foot as it rolls forward, and lifts up. Then continue with the other foot. Walking meditation isn’t fast, but it isn’t painfully slow, either. Start with a natural slow walk, and then perhaps slow it down just a touch below that. Watch the rhythm of your breath. Breathe in, lift your foot. Breathe out, set it down and roll it forward. Stay with the synchronicity of movement and breath.

You might not need any of these practices right now. You may be best served by a nap, or chocolate. Trust that your inner wisdom knows what you need most. But if you feel that a little focus and meditation might actually offer some reprieve from the chaos, some groundedness in this groundlessness, I hope one of the exercises above benefits you.

Much love to you all.

This post belongs to my series on practicing the Eightfold Path. Read all my posts on Right Concentration here.