The Breath

The importance of breath

How to breathe in meditation

Breath and mind are interconnected. If we are stressed, relaxed, bored, happy, laughing, we are always breathing in different ways.

There are 3 basic breaths:

1. The primary breath, breathing with the chest, what we especially are doing in stressful situations
2. The secondary breath, breathing with the diaphragm
3. The third breath, breathing with the abdomen, what we only do, when we are deeply relaxed, i.E. in dreamless, deep-sleep-state, if we are unconscious, hypnotized, or as a newborn baby.

Why is the breath so special

1. Breath is life
2. Because it is influenced by our inner state, and because we can influence our inner state with the breath
3. Because it is the only body function we are able to influence with our will
4. It is regulating other body functions, i.E. heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormones
5. If we learn how to breathe in a way, that is calming for our body, also our mind will calm down
6. It is the perfect anchor for our attention. It is easy to notice, permanently there, and it can bind our concentration
7. Holding the breath, or entering a state of not breathing (it is ok, don’t be scared, if your breath is stopping for a while in meditation), your concentration is rising, your body awareness

Recommendations for breathing in meditation

1. Use the calming, stress-reducing, and soothing, abdominal breath. Inhaling relax the belly outwards, exhaling contract the abdomen, bring the belly a bit behind the ribcage
2. Don’t force your breath, you do not need to inhale more than usual
3. You want to minimize the amount of air you are inhaling over the time of the meditation to calm the body and the mind even further
4. Do alternate nostril breathing before your meditation, to calm down further, to raise body awareness, and to open up the breathing organs