| There are a number of breathing techniques you can use to make life vivid and more enjoyable. The first exercise is very simple. As you breathe in, you say to yourself, "Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in."
And as you breathe out, say, "Breathing out, I know that I am breathing out." Just that. You recognize your in-breath as an in-breath and out-breath as an out-breath. You don't even need to recite the whole sentence; you can use just
two words: "In" and "Out." This technique can help you keep your mind on your breath. As you practice, your breath will become peaceful and gentle. This is not a difficult exercise. In just a few minutes you can realize the fruit of meditation.
There are so many exercises we can do to help us breathe consciously. Besides the simple "In-Out" exercise, we can recite these four lines silently as we breathe in and out:
"Breathing in, I calm my body." Reciting this line is like drinking a glass of cool lemonade on a hot day - you feel the coolness permeate your body. When I breathe in and recite this line, I actually feel my breath calming my body and mind. "Breathing out, I smile." You know a smile can relax hundreds of muscles in your face. Wearing a smile on your face is a sign that you are master of yourself. "Dwelling in the present moment." While I sit here, I don't think of anything else. I sit here, and I know exactly where I am. "I know this is a wonderful moment." It is a joy to sit, stable and at ease, and return to our breathing, our smiling, our true nature. Our appointment with life is in the present moment. If we do not have peace and joy right now, when will we have peace and joy - tomorrow, or after tomorrow? As we follow our breathing, we can say, simply, "Calming,Smiling,Present moment, Wonderful moment." This exercise is not just for beginners. Many of us who have practiced meditation and conscious breathing for forty or fifty years continue to practice this same way, because this kind of exercise is so important and so easy.
According to the method of conscious breathing, when we breathe in and out, we stop thinking, because saying "In" and "Out" are only words to help us concentrate on our breathing. If we keep breathing in and out this way for a few minutes, we become
quite refreshed. We recover ourselves, and we can encounter the beautiful thing around us in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here. If we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.
...On Conscious Breathing, from "Peace Is Every Step" by Thich Nhat Hanh |
||||
