Even when in the midst of disturbance, the stillness of the mind can offer sanctuary.

Stephen Richards

I think I forgot to pay the electric bill – must check on it……gotta call Mom back, she’s probably wondering why I haven’t called……got to finish that schedule for my boss today……my nose itches……got to cut the grass on Saturday - wish I could go to the beach instead……ugh! My nose is still itching……

Does your mind ever go crazy with these kinds of thoughts?  Well, if it does welcome to a typical beginning meditation session!  I can almost guarantee that anyone that has meditated has encountered this problem – the dreaded “monkey mind.”  So why do all the experts keep telling us to meditate if this is what comes out of it?  Read on and find out……..

In my last post, “Meditation: Why?” we discovered the many health benefits that derive from a daily meditation practice.  Don’t get me wrong, becoming physically healthy is incredibly important and reason enough to meditate.  However, if you’re hanging with me on CodexVita, you demand more!  You want to maximize your life experience!  In order to do that, we need to discover who we are before we can begin to practice living an authentic, holistic existence.  And guess what the most important tool we will need to accomplish that is?  You got it! Meditation!!!  I love working with savvy people like you!  Paste a big star on your forehead – any color will do (although I’m partial to green).

The Setting:  While the primary purpose of this post is to teach techniques for quieting the mind, there is some meditation prep work we need to get out of the way before we get to the quieting the mind bit.  First and foremost, you will not be able to meditate if you are not comfortable!  I recommend a sitting position.  This may be in a comfortable chair, with your hands on your lap or it may be sitting on the floor (or a yoga mat) with your legs crossed.  Check out the photo – notice that there is a small pillow under our meditator’s butt.  This helps to shift your body forward reducing the strain on your knees.  The pillow also helps you to maintain an erect spine throughout the meditation.  I have to confess, holding your spine erect is not easy to accomplish!  You will find yourself slouching after a while.  Anytime you feel the slouch, simply readjust your posture.  In time holding this posture will become second nature.  Some people like to recline when they meditate.  If you are just starting out, I recommend sitting over reclining – it’s simply too easy to fall asleep when reclining!  As you become more adept at meditating, reclining may become an option you wish to explore.  You have probably seen images of people meditating and their hands are in some complex arrangement (called a mudra, which we will explore in another post).  I recommend that you simply rest your hands on your legs or lap with your palms open and facing up.  This will help to open your mind, allowing you to receive the energy of the universe.  Of course, those of you that are experienced meditators may use whatever posture works best for you.

Atmospherics are also important!  I like to have a space as free of noise as possible.  I even sometimes flip on a room air filter to set up some background white noise.  This helps to minimize the outside noises that do creep in (I live near Daytona International Speedway and so I sometimes need to “cover” the sound of race cars).  Another factor is lighting.  I prefer a low light environment.  If this is not possible for you, you may wish to consider using eye shades to block ambient light.  I also close my eyes when I meditate, but I know many people that love to meditate with their eyes open.  Another technique to help set the mood is to burn incense.  I personally love the smell of frankincense, but any scent that relaxes you will do.  As an alternative, you may want to experiment with scented candles or some other form of aromatherapy.

Getting Down to Business:  Now that you have all the preliminaries out of the way, we can get down to the heart of this post – quieting your mind.  Talk to anyone that has attempted to meditate and they will tell you this is the single most difficult part of meditation.  The good news is that there are ways to overcome the random noise of life and find that stillness that brings calm and insight.

There are a number of techniques that can help, but breath control is the place to start!

Your breath is believed to contain the vital life energy or Prana (the “breath of life” in Sanskrit).  Ayama, another Sanskrit term, means expansion or “to stretch.”  So Pranayama is the practice whereby energy is expanded through the regulation and control of breath.  In fact, the Sanskrit word for the natural sound of the breath, soham (pronounced soh-hum – listen to your breath and you will hear it), actually means “I am that…beyond the limitations of body and mind.”  Soham is a sound that resonates throughout our bodies, like a mantra ( a sacred or special word repeated continuously).  Try this experiment:  Hold your hands over your ears and breathe normally through your nose.  The sound of the air flowing inward and outward should be greatly magnified and you should be able to hear the Soham sound.

Any wonder then, that the key to calming the mind is through breathing?

We rarely think about it, but the cycle of your breath is more complex than we generally think.  There are distinct stages and we have the ability to manipulate each stage to enhance the effectiveness of our breath.  When we break down the stages, of breathing we find the following:

1. Inhalation
2. Inhalation to Exhalation transition
3. Exhalation
4. Exhalation to Inhalation transition

Our meditative breathing should always be through the nose.  Additionally, breathing must always originate and be controlled by the diaphragm.  This is easy to practice by emphasizing the expansion and contraction of your stomach as you inhale and exhale.  Very often, we breathe by expanding and contracting our chest.  This leads to shallow breathing and not fully filling our lungs with prana!  Take a few moments to sit and practice diaphragm breathing.  It may feel odd at first and you will have to concentrate on doing it.  With practice it will become second nature.  This is the absolute best way to achieve maximum oxygen intake as we exercise and you will find many benefits to diaphragm breathing as we get into the exercise topics at CodexVita.  To breathe using your diaphragm, simply expand your stomach as you breathe in.  Hold for a second and then exhale by contracting (sucking in) your stomach.  Again, hold for a second before beginning the cycle once again.  Be mindful of the breathing stages as we transition through them.  This type of breathing will become the basis of all of your future breath work.

As you are inhaling, focus on feeling the air entering through your nose and working its way to the bottom of your lungs, completely filling them.  Similarly, as you exhale, feel the air flow from the depths of your lungs up and out through your nose.  Can you feel the energy?

The first formal technique of breathing I want to show you is called ujjayi (pronounced Eww - jai) breathing.  Ujjayi breathing encourages full breathing, allowing oxygen and life to enter our lungs and permeate every part of our body!  The word ujjayi is a compound Sanskrit word that describes a method of breathing that conquers bondage and liberates the mind!  In practice, it creates a soft resonating sound as the breath is drawn through the back of the throat and into the lungs.  This enables us to listen consciously to our breathing, and to tune into our life force and vital energy as our breathing washes in and out of our body.

To practice ujjayi breathing, use the following method:

1. Prepare your environment
2. Sit with your back straight and spine lengthened
3. Allow your eyes to close completely
4. Bring your awareness to your breath entering and exiting through your nostrils
5. Allow your breathing to become deep, slow, rhythmic, and calm
6. Feel your breath flowing through the back of your throat on both your inhalation and exhalation
7. Contract the glottis (part of the vocal cords) by moving the well of your throat toward the back of your throat, allowing a soft, internal, sonorous sound to resonate from the throat to the heart on inhalation and from your heart to your throat on exhalation. The sound will resemble that of a whispering breeze.  The inhalation draws energy in, allowing us to flow upwards, and the exhalation releases energy downward, connecting us to gravity and earth.

Here is a video demonstrating ujjayi breathing:

I recommend you begin a meditation session by getting into your comfort zone and then practicing ujjayi breathing.  How many breaths you take will depend on how "busy" your mind is at that particular moment.  Just keep breathing, focusing on your breath, until you find competing thoughts receding.  This may take a bit of time, but it is achievable!  As your mind settles and you begin to transition to regular breathing, begin to focus on a specific area of your body.  I like to focus on my upper lip (philtrum) for example.  Feel the sensation in the area of focus and hold onto it as you go deeper into a meditative state.

Another Technique:  Another method of breathing, enabling you to enter a meditative state comes from Dr. Andrew Weil, a noted physician that promotes natural health modalities.  Dr. Weil has developed a “Relaxing Breath” technique that is useful for entering a meditative state.  He calls this technique the 4-7-8 exercise and it works as follows:

This exercise is utterly simple, takes almost no time, requires no equipment and can be done anywhere. Although you can do the exercise in any position, sit with your back straight while learning the exercise. Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth, and keep it there through the entire exercise. You will be exhaling through your mouth around your tongue; try pursing your lips slightly if this seems awkward.

1. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.
2. Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.
3. Hold your breath for a count of seven.
4. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight.
5. This is one breath.
6. Now back to step 2. Repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.

Note that you always inhale quietly through your nose and exhale audibly through your mouth. The tip of your tongue stays in position the whole time. Exhalation takes twice as long as inhalation. The absolute time you spend on each phase is not important; the ratio of 4:7:8 is important. If you have trouble holding your breath, speed the exercise up but keep to the ratio of 4:7:8 for the three phases. With practice you can slow it all down and get used to inhaling and exhaling more and more deeply.  In the video below, Dr. Weil demonstrates the 4:7:8 breathing technique.

https://vimeo.com/105271298

This exercise is a natural tranquilizer for the nervous system. Unlike tranquilizing drugs, which are often effective when you first take them but then lose their power over time, this exercise is subtle when you first try it but gains in power with repetition and practice. Do it at least twice a day. You cannot do it too frequently. Do not do more than four breaths at one time for the first month of practice. Later, if you wish, you can extend it to eight breaths. If you feel a little lightheaded when you first breathe this way, do not be concerned; it will pass.

Once you develop this technique by practicing it every day, it will be a very useful tool that you will always have with you. Use it whenever anything upsetting happens - before you react. Use it whenever you are aware of internal tension. Use it to help you fall asleep.  Most especially, use it to enter a meditation!

Let’s put it all together now.  How do we begin a meditation and quiet our mind through breathing?

1. First, we create a meditative space.
2. Next, we create the atmosphere within the space.
3. Finally, using the breathing method of choice, we enter a relaxed meditative state.

Easy as 1 2 3!

Next up, some additional methods to clear and focus the mind……

Namaste