My previous blog reflected on the basic steps of starting a meditation practice. It’s very normal to struggle with a wandering mind during meditation time. Today I will talk about developing concentration. Without concentration it is impossible to meditate and a helpful technique to support concentration is to focus on the breath.
Focus on the breath
While a relatively simple suggestion, keeping your attention on the breath can be challenging. Attention is easily captured by a distraction, making you forget that you’re supposed to be paying attention to the breath. However, when you understand breathing physically, mentally and spiritually, then you will be able to use it to clear your mind very quickly.
We all take breathing for granted. Everything breathes; taking in the new and removing the old. When you breathe in, you are taking both air and invisible energy into the body. When you breathe out, you remove carbon dioxide and toxins from your body.
You can also use the breath to release old emotions and pain from your body. Everything including the universe is breathing. This movement of expansion and contraction is what keeps everything alive and in a state of balance and harmony. Therefore it is important to love and respect ourselves by paying attention and appreciating our breathing.
Focus on your abdomen
Start by focusing on your abdomen. The energy point just below the navel is called the ‘dangeon’. This is the most central point of our energy system and where our Qi energy is stored. We can imagine it as our battery.
Start to breathe in deeply through your nose, letting your abdomen rise as it fills with air. Breathe out slowly through your nose, letting your abdomen fall. Continue to breathe deeply in and out focusing on the ‘dangeon’ and on your breath.
You can count silently how long it takes you to breathe in. Then count how long it takes you to breathe out. If your breath in is shorter than your breath out, then try to lengthen it until they are both equal. For example, if your breath out is shorter, try and lengthen it to match the in breath. Once your breathing is even, continue to breathe in and out for ten minutes.
Focus on your dangeon
When thoughts come, don’t entertain them. Let them come and go without getting engaged. When you notice you are engaging with a thought or emotion, don’t worry about it – just gently return to the breath and focus on your dangeon.
After some time you should feel your mind quieten. You might also start to feel a deep sense of stillness and peace.
Breathing this way, while focusing on the dangeon, helps to correct the flow of Qi energy in the body, helping it to circulate in the right direction. This stills the mind and allows us to make a connection to our original mind or spirit.
Self-reflection
When we start to feel calm and peaceful, through breathing and focusing on the breath, then we are ready to use our mind in the right way.
This is the best time to reflect on our day or on our recent actions and intentions. This is a process that can be very natural.
When a thought comes, let your mind explore the situation from all angles, taking into account each person’s side of the story. If you see you did something wrong, you were disrespectful or unkind to others, then make a plan to rectify your actions. The more we do this, the better relationships we can build and the more positive energy we spread around us.
Chanting classes
Good breathing technique can also be developed in chanting and Qi classes. Some of the training steps work directly with the breath, using it to receive and circulate energy in the body, as well as open deep energy blockages.
Chanting helps us to calm the mind and tune to the unique vibration of Qi, so we can start to receive energy and clear the mind. This vibration creates inner happiness and opens our heart, so we naturally want to share what we have with others. Chanting also strengthens the abdomen or ‘dangeon’, which is very important for both our health and vitality.
You can find out more about chanting and Qi classes here.
