Mindful Breathing and Sitting as a Meditation

Mindful breathing and sitting (meditation) helps to relax and focus the mind. Just 5 minutes a day can make you feel more refreshed and energetic.

Here are some guidelines for practicing mindful breathing and sitting:

1)Make a special time and place for “non–doing”.
2)Adopt an alert and relaxed body posture.
3)Look dispassionately at the reactions and habits of your mind.
4)Bring your attention to your breathing by counting silently “1” on inhalation and “2” on exhalation, “3” on inhalation, etc. When you reach number “10”, return to number “1”. (If you go beyond the number 10, then you know your mind has wandered).
5)When your mind wanders, name what it wanders to and come back to the breathing.
Once you have practiced focusing on your breathing, you can use sensation, sound or watching thoughts as your point of concentration.

You cannot prevent stressful situations in life, but you can control your reactions to them. Practicing mindfulness can help in controlling your reactions .