One of the most basic meditation you can do is to simply focus on your breathing. It may look simple but it is also of great power. breathing is a very particular activity of our body and controlling it can bring some unexpected rewards.
To start, let me explain what makes the breath so special. the body can produce two types of actions, the voluntary and the involuntary. If you don’t consciously tell your body to do it, a volontary action will not take place. For example, we can think of running, lifting a finger or playing a musical instrument. The involuntary actions are body functions that take place without the need of consciously thinking about it. They are functions made to keep you alive live the igestive system and your breathing.
Sure you don’t need to consciously think about it in order to breath. But it’s also a fact that by thinking about your breathing, you will modify its rythm. So that’s why we say that breathing is involuntary and voluntary at the same time. It is the bridge between the voluntary and involuntary actions of the body. In some spiritual traditions, they also see breathing as the link between the body and the spirit.
The breath has the power to modify the actions of other parts of the body. Take a moment now to direct all your attention to your breath. Notice how only the fact of focusing on it changes your breath. Only by doing that, your inhales and exhales become slower and your lungs start to expend more. That slower breathing will start to relax the muscles of you body, release unnecessary tension, slow down your heart rate, help digestion and other body functions.
Just taking a few minutes everyday to focus on your breathing can lead to great benefits like being more relaxed and less tense, reducing your chances of heart diseases, being able to be mentally focused longer and more efficiently and even being able to last longer in bed.
This moment where you focus on your breathing is also a time to reconnect with your body and your spirit. Breathing is a free way to offer a gift to our own being. The modern life is lived fast and usually without many breaks. This is how we usually lost contact with ourselves. But only 5 min per day to concentrate on your breathing is possible anywhere. It can be at home, at the office or even while commuting.
Start reconnecting with your body and your spirit today, simply breath.
Picture Source: http://brassmusician.com/breathing-exercises-and-techniques-a-new-approach/
