Technalink has been part of a movement in business to bring the benefits of spiritual practices, like meditation, into the professional environment. Fortunately, learning how to meditate, while a slow road, is something that anyone, anywhere, can learn if the desire to do so is sincere. One of the first and most important things that a person can do when thinking of learning how to meditate is to understand the power of their first, most accessible meditation tool, and that is their breath.
Breathing Is Often Overlooked
It’s a well-trodden cliché in entertainment that meditation is about breathing, but such clichés appear in media for a reason, and in this case, there is a heavy, fundamental element of truth to the importance of breathing in meditation. Where most entertainment gets it wrong, however, is in portraying breathing as a meditative technique for training and self-improvement.
The real strength of breathing is that it is one of the easiest and accessible ways to hone in on the state of mindfulness, and that is why it is so incredibly valuable in learning how to meditate.
Focusing On Now
Meditation, contrary to popular culture interpretations, is not really about achieving a higher, enlightened state of consciousness that allows you to view the world in ways normal people don’t. The primary benefit of meditation is achieving a state of mindfulness, which is simply being aware of and focused on the present moment. To many, this might seem like something barely worth considering, as quite a few people believe focusing on the present is an easy thing to do.
However, for people who actually stop and consider what mindfulness and an awareness of the here and now truly are, it quickly becomes apparent that this is a tricky thing to achieve. The ability to not get lost in thoughts, to daydream, but to focus only on what is happening now and observe it, requires a sense of control and self-awareness of the inner life that few people naturally cultivate.
Breathing Is The First Step
Your breath is always with you, and most of the time, you’re not even aware of it. However, it is an integral part of your survival process, and because it is something you “take with you” wherever you go, that makes it an easy way to focus on the present. When you are focused on your breath, you are taking a step toward mindfulness. Its pervasiveness in your body and your life in general means that it is always there to fix your concentration on.
In this way, you have a tool that you can always fall back on to focus your attention on what is happening now, rather than what you are worrying about from the past, or the future, or a part of the present that isn’t currently in the vicinity with you. A crucial step in getting your thoughts under control is finding something other than your thoughts to focus on, and your breath is always there.
A Feedback Loop
Another important element of breath is its ability to help you manage stress and control your own body. When you are feeling stressed or in a stressful situation, your fight-or-flight response engages, and one of the behaviors this triggers is rapid breathing to take in more oxygen and prepare for intense physical activity.
However, this is a two-way street. While stress or anxiety can lead to faster breathing, taking control of your breath and allowing it to slow to something deeper, more measured, and controlled can affect your body and move it out of a stressed state and into something more relaxed. Of course, there’s also the option of using additional tools, such as stones or prayer beads.
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