You already know how to breathe

“As long as you are breathing, there is more right with you than there is wrong.”  

~Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living

So many times, people have told us they would be interested in meditation, and the next thing they say usually follows a “but” and goes something like this:

“I just don’t think I could sit still that long.”

“I don’t have that much patience.”

“I just don’t have the time!”

“I tried to meditate and it just doesn’t work for me.”

“I’m just not good at it.”

My simple answer is yes to all these things, and: you already know how to breathe, which is one of the most natural and simplest starting points for meditation practice. Even having an awareness of this can be the perfect place to begin learning more. In fact, breathing is a pretty complicated process, and yet for the most part, it is happening automatically and without our being conscious of it happening. If you’re fortunate to have good health, you probably don’t spend a lot of time thinking about your next breath. It just happens on its own. The quote from Jon Kabat-Zinn always serves as such a friendly reminder, and a reason for much gratitude and celebration: there is an awful lot “right” happening to keep us breathing, and it happens for the most part without our even being aware it is happening.

This seems like an opportunity in the making, not to mention the breath is free, portable, and an ultimately practical focus for meditation practice.

The average person at rest takes about 16 breaths per minute. This means we breathe about 960 breaths an hour, or 23,040 breaths each day. Let’s say 16 hours of that day are waking hours: we have roughly 15,360 opportunities to practice noticing what’s going on with us in the here-and- now using our internal barometer and timekeeper of breath, with no meditation cushion or fancy techniques required!

First things first: there are many different styles and techniques to practice meditation, so to be clear, the type of meditation we teach is based on a specific style called vipassana, or “insight” meditation.  The breath is one focus for the meditation practice, for paying attention and noticing just what is happening in the moment. Sometimes the breath is a difficult anchor, due to respiratory illness or injury, and there are many different ways to practice meditation in which the breath is not the focus. As with any practice, and truly as a key component of learning meditation, it’s important to remember this is truly adaptable to many circumstances so we need not worry if the breath doesn’t always work as a focal point.

We can notice when we’re stressed by simply paying attention to our breath. We can even hack our nervous system by being aware of when we are stressed and choosing to consciously “take a deep breath” and slow things down, engaging our parasympathetic nervous system (the part responsible for resting and digesting) and activating the vagus nerve, a nerve that connects our brain with the heart, lungs and digestive tract. Like a brake for our nervous system, taking some deep, intentional breaths can help to bring the parasympathetic nervous system “online”, which triggers the release of hormones that slow our heart rate and breathing, allowing us to relax.

The other cool thing about the fact that we’re all expert breathers is that we can start to notice a few other things about the breath, like it only ever happens in the present moment. Each cycle of breath is itself unique from any other. It’s refreshing, and always fresh. And there are so many options for exploring the breath and the work it does to keep our body functioning in any given moment. The breath perfuses not just the lungs, but the entire body, right down to the tips of our fingers and toes. The breath is part of what is often called the “8th sense” or interoception, which is our way of knowing what is going on with the inside of our body. By tapping in to respiration, we can notice what’s going on for us internally, any given moment.

The breath also serves as a reminder of impermanence. So often, we get caught up in thinking that considers everything as static and unchanging, when in fact, nothing holds that kind of staying power. The breath is as fleeting as the wind, and yet we don’t expect the wind to stay constant. Indeed, our internal windscape, the ebb and flow of our breath, is a truth that can be observed, and measured and cannot be held onto (yes, we could practice holding our breath, but that can’t last for more than 22 minutes or so, and not without a lot of effort). The transient nature of breathing serves as an analogy to everything else in life: it is constantly changing, always new, and being constructed and deconstructed (inhaled and exhaled) with each passing moment. How long is the present moment? Some say it is about 2-3 seconds, roughly the same as the time it takes to complete one cycle of breath consisting of one in-breath and one out-breath. This automatic, completely free-of-charge, and automatically installed feature of being alive is a natural way of returning to your senses, of marking the present, and best of all- something you’re already probably expert at.

So try this if you’re not sure about meditation. Set a timer for three minutes. Close your eyes if it helps, but you could certainly do this with the eyes open, standing or sitting, it doesn’t matter. If you’re pressed for time, you could even try this while you’re waiting in line at the grocery store, or for your Lyft to arrive. Begin by notice the sensations of breathing, the way the air moves through your body: the way the chest rises and falls, how the rib cage expands and contracts, the flow of air as it moves in and out of your body. It won’t be any time at all before the mind interrupts with some kind of thought, and if so, let it, while choosing to keep your attention on your breath. This isn’t a test of any kind. Just notice what it feels like to pay attention, perhaps even allowing a bit of gratitude in for this life-giving process. Notice what happens as you take these moments to slow down and gauge your inner weather.  And perhaps even the calming effect slow, conscious breathing has on your entire being.

You already know how to breathe, and now you have an increased awareness of this free and powerful tool, a cornerstone of mediation practice all over the world, and a common, life-sustaining process for countless living beings on this planet. So go ahead: take a breath, notice you are breathing, steady your attention on the breath, repeat. Welcome to meditation!