Notice how your breathing becomes shallow and rapid when you're agitated and slows down when you're calm and relaxed? Observe your breath now. Is it shallow or deep? Now observe how your mental state corresponds with your breathing. More than 2,000 years ago, Indians identified the connection between breath and life as mystical. They called it "prana," which means life force in Sanskrit and is the Chinese equivalent of chi. That is why---the ancient ones said---we realize our oneness with the universe when we become one with our breath.
Pranayama, Yogic Breathing Exercises
Before you sit down to meditate on your breath, ease yourself into it with yogic breathing exercises called pranayama, that is, inhaling and exhaling prana (life force) with awareness. In Buddhism, this process is called mindfulness.
Citing India's ancient text the "Hathayoga," B.K.S. Iyengar, a leading exponent of yoga said, "The mind is the king of the senses, and the breath is the king of the mind." Observe the melodious sound of prana as it enters and exits the body in an unbroken rhythm, demonstrated by Iyengar in a YouTube.com video.
Select a Meditation Course
When you are comfortable breathing in and out with awareness, choose the type of that works best for you. There are numerous U.S. organizations that conduct guided breath meditation workshops and retreats. The Bhavana Society of Sri Lankan Buddhist monk Bhante Henepola Gunaratana (author of "Mindfulness in Plain English") offers meditation retreats in the Theravada Buddhist tradition in West Virginia (bhavanasociety.org); and the Deer Park Monastery in California teaches the practice of mindfulness and conscious breathing in the tradition of Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh (deerparkmonastery.org).
Vipassana Meditation
Vipassana meditation retreats are rigorous, and many people find it extremely difficult in the beginning. The technique, as taught by S.N. Goenka in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin, is taught in 14 states in the U.S. (dhamma.org). The course requires adhering to a specific code of moral conduct for the duration of the 10-day retreat (which includes silence), accompanied by close to eight hours a day of observing the flow of breath under the guidance of an instructor.
According to the website: "By the fourth day the mind is calmer and more focused, better able to undertake the practice of Vipassana itself: observing sensations throughout the body, understanding their nature, and developing equanimity by learning not to react to them."
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