- Sit in a comfortable position. Have the spine straight and feel tall. Close your eyes and gaze slightly above the level of the horizon. Don’t strain the eyes, but feel as if you concentrate your energy through them.
- Prepare yourself. Inhale as you bring the shoulders forward and then raise them up toward your ears. Exhale and let them circle rearward and relax down away from the neck. Feel your arms and shoulders limp. Your neck feels long and relaxed. Chin is level with the floor.
- Inhale through the nose. Make sure your belly is soft. Feel the belly expanding as you inhale. Let the expansion move upward into the chest. Imagine that the love or joy of your heart is expanding, as your body grows with the breath.
- Exhale through the nose. Notice the collar-bones lowering slightly. Feel your ribcage relaxing. Complete the exhalation by drawing the navel toward the spine to remove all of the old air in the lungs.
- Count mentally at first to make sure the duration of inhalation and exhalation are equal.
- Keep your mind on this task. Just go through a mental list of checks to make sure your shoulders have not crept up, or that your belly is still relaxed etc. Stay with it until it all comes more naturally.
- Relax. Make sure your not forcing the breath. Let it be long and smooth. Use as little energy as possible. It may help to imagine the exhalation removing stress and worry, the inhalation filling you with peace and calmness.
- Now move more deeply into a relaxed state. After doing several rounds (try 6 to 12), release control of the breathing. Concentrate on the feeling of the breath. Train yourself to stay relaxed with a soft belly and tall posture. Allow your body to breath as it feels to. You can do this as long as you like. The more you concentrate through your gaze, and on the feeling of your breath (without controlling it), the less your body will breathe and the more peace you will feel. Patience, Gratitude, and Joy are very important. If you can’t feel these, then just do your best.
- Try giving yourself “mini breaks” throughout your day. Even in your office chair just take three to five minutes to “breath.” Give yourself this gift. You and your companions deserve it!
- Options that can help:
- Think of God or a great Saint and feel that He/She is breathing through you.
- Or concentrate on Peace. And feel it leaking into you from all around.
- Or concentrate on Love. Feel it in your heart, slowly expanding outward in all directions, blessing all in its path.
- Be creative, but careful not to get too “busy”. Keep it simple if you want to go deep.
“As the breath flows, so flows the mind.” Paramhansa Yogananda
