Learn to Meditate Easily with 5 Breaths
Most of us don’t really pay much attention to our breathing unless we are having trouble with it. On average, adults take between 12 - 20 breaths per minutes.
When we’re stressed or anxious, our breathing becomes more shallow and our rate increases, which can lead to numerous health problems. A study of over 15,000 people found that a faster breathing rate was a significant indicator of more medical issues for people than if they were able to breath at a “normal” rate.
Taking the time to practice slowing our breathing rate has many health benefits, but it’s also very challenging for people. The idea of sitting and paying attention to the breath (i.e., meditating) actually causes stress for some, which completely defeats the purpose.
In this post, I would like to encourage you to do two things:
Know how many breaths you take in one minute.
Set a timer for 60 seconds and count your breaths. If you have time (and willingness) do this a total of 3 times so that you have some reliable data, then take the average of your 3 times. If not, just use your first number.
Your observation of the breath is going to alter your breathing somewhat, meaning that the more you are paying attention to it, the more likely it is that your breathing will slow down somewhat. Don’t worry about this.
Practice slowing your breathing down intentionally for one minute.
Set a timer for 60 seconds again and try to breath in for 4 - 5 seconds and then breath out for 5 - 6 seconds. Keep repeating this process for one minute and notice how many times you breath in/out before your timer goes off.
Then, notice how you feel after the timer went off. In most cases, you are likely to feel more relaxed after you’ve slowed your breathing so deliberately and guess what … you were just meditating!
Creating a meditation habit for one minute a day is as simple as completing step number 2 each day. If you do this before or after a habit that already exists, (e.g. after brushing your teeth, while waiting for your coffee or tea, etc) it’s much easier to be successful.
Let yourself keep track of how many breaths you take during your daily minute of practice (4-5 breaths in, 5- 6 breaths out). This serves two purposes:
Counting your long in-breath and even longer out-breath gives you something to focus on while you’re sitting and your mind wants to wander, and
You’ll no longer need a timer because 5 breaths will equal one minute (plus a bit more if you’re breathing very slowly).
Meditation is challenging for a lot of people and it can become one more thing we’re “supposed to” do because we know it’s good for us. If we stick with it, it does feel good when it’s done, and sometimes even while it’s happening (just like exercise!)
If you’ve been trying to get into.a meditation habit to help decrease your stress, learn to be more present, practice more body awareness, or any other healthful reason, consider adding 5 breaths to your day.
It really is easy when you know it’s only one minute. You can do anything for one minute!
Final Note:
Beware of the trap I fell into before starting my one minute practice.
I thought one minute was too easy and surely I could do 5 minutes without a problem. WRONG! Five minutes was too long and I didn’t want to do it.
Enjoy the minute each day and let yourself be successful.
