Richard Taylor |

Sep
26
2007

The term mindfulness comes from Eastern religious traditions like Zen Buddhism.  Training in mindfulness skills can have many benefits for people suffering from anxiety and depression. Mindfulness involves bringing one's attention to the internal and external experiences occuring in the present moment, and is often approached through different meditation exercises.  We will discuss mindfulness in more detail as we go however this week you are going to learn a simple, quick and easy breathing exercise.  Practice this exercise during the course of the day taking time out betweeen the things that you are doing:
1. Get comfortable lying or sitting, or you can do this exercise while walking slowly. If you are sitting keep your back straight and relax the shoulders, letting them drop.
2. Close your eyes and focus on breathing and pay attention to the feeling of breathing in and out.
3. Feel your belly rise and expand, and fall, as you breathe in and out respectively - 'Ride the waves of your own breathing'.
4. When your mind wanders simply notice what took away your attention and then gently bring your mind back to your breathing.  Do not get discouraged if your mind wanders.  David Brazier noted in his book 'Zen Therapy', 'Mindfulness of breathing is one of the simplest and most profound forms of meditation and everybody can benefit from it'. The breathing exercise can be accompanied by a simple meditation exercise by Zen Master Nhat Hanh which was noted by David Brazier 'Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile. Breathing in, I dwell in the present moment. Breathing out, I know it is a wonderful moment'.  Take longer out-breaths and comfortably rest at the bottom before breathing in again.  Make the exercise soft and flowing and let any intruding thoughts pass 'like waves in the sea' as you return your attention to breathing. 
In the next session we will discuss this exercise further.

Posted by Richard Taylor in Mindfulness. Comments

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