If you struggle with concentrating on your breathng during meditation, it maybe a good idea to do a simple, short, yet effective breathing exercise beforehand.
Not only does it allow you to become familiar with hearing the sound of your breath, but it will also ease you into your meditation practce. I really like the Relax breathing technique on the Calm app. You can begin this technique for only 2 minutes, and then increase it for longer depending on how you feel. The have more than one kind of breathing exercise on their app, but this one has quickly become my favourite due to its short inhales and longer exhales.
During my 8 week Mindfulness MBSR course with The London Mindful, I also learnt about 3 step breathing exercises. These ones can be done during the day, when you feel overwhelmed or stressed and are only 2 minutes long.
Iknow that the simple though of focusing on your breathing can seem m ildly intimidating and scary at first, but it really is a great tool to learn, especially if you tend to notice that you have shallow breathing when you become anxious about something. All of these mindful tools, allow us to learn more about ourselves and help ourselves more when we face any kind of difficulty.
After all, our breath is our true anchor and it reminds us to stay in the present moment when we bring our attention to it. So, next time you sit down to meditate, try a short breathing exercise before or after your meditation practice. Tune in to how relaxed you feel after doing it.
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Jem Girl at the Piano 