subject: Breath awareness meditation exercises and stress relief [print this page] Breath awareness meditation exercises and stress relief
You may be able to survive without food and water for several days but imagine surviving few minutes without oxygen. That's right! Many of us can't even imagine surviving without oxygen even for few minutes. If air is so important for us, why don't we think about it even for a little while! Breathing is also synonymous to life itself. Even when we talk about a person taking its last breath, it signified death and the departure of the soul from the body.
When you start getting conscious about your breathing activity, you will start feeling deeper layers within yourself, your body, your thoughts and feelings. Getting stressful make us hold our breathing activity for some time. Some of us during stress breathe very shallow. We are already stressed and we are stopping our own life force that keeps us alive. Breathing consciously (purposefully) enhances our concentration and helps us get more focused and relaxed.
Your breath can be your most trustworthy friend and a true stress reduction tool whenever you need it. When you start concentrating towards your breath, it will gradually isolate you from all the external factors and worries that might be troubling you and bring you to a state where you can be just be in the present.
Focusing on breath automatically slows down the mind and relaxes your whole body. Your mind becomes steady and then you can concentrate on things you want to think about. Many of the meditation practices focus on breath awareness since it induces a relaxing effect on your body and being relaxed, you can harness all the benefits of meditation and Yoga. The following stress reduction techniques can be quite helpful:
Upon feeling stressed or confused, immediately shift your focus on your breath. Notice how your breath is moving up and down your body. Silently count your inhale and exhale.
Focus on the time space between the breaths.
Regularly practicing breath awareness meditation exercise brings inner peace and relaxation to the body.
Being aware of breathing means you are aware of being alive and so can enjoy being the present. The best part about breath awareness is that you can become aware of your breath anywhere, anytime. While working in the office or taking a walk in the morning, you can become aware of your breath and come back into the present.
The Lifesurfing Program
The Lifesurfing Program offered at the I.M.U. includes a variety of approaches to discover and enhance a state of a vibrant, wakeful inner quietness, which is the basis for inner freedom, joy and celebration.
