Back2Basics? The most basic thing of all: breathing

in back2basics •  7 years ago  (edited)

image.jpeg

I have been pondering for a few days how to contribute to the #teamaustralia back2basics conversation. Some of you may have noticed that I have been venting a bit at the pointless death of an Australian woman at the hands of US police who I knew when she was a kid back in the day. I guess this is written in the same vain: probably more for me than for you, part of my processing.

For my PhD studies I was fortunate indeed to spend 6 months studying at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, India. The Library is part of the Tibetan Government in Exile complex set up by His Holiness the Dalai Lama when Tibet was invaded by China in the 1950s.

During my time there, my favourite pursuit was the study of meditation, and I share the simplest meditation trick of all with you now.

It's all about breathing. In. Out. In. Out.

image.jpeg

Breathing helps us to locate ourselves in the present, and by doing so quiten the stress, or grief, or pain, or frustration we may be feeling.

We can feel our chest rising, and falling, for instance.

However, the best trick I found, for me, is to focus on the feeling of the air as it passes through my nostrils. In. Out. In. Out.

Thoughts may come and go, but as we stay focussed on our breathing, on that gentle flow of air through the nostrils, we are meditating. That's it. That's meditation.

And there are, in addition to the knowledge of ancient Tibetan and other Buddhist lineages giving evidence to its benefits, now numerous scientific studies backing them up.

With practice it becomes easier.

And it helps.

Images by pixabay.com

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

Hey, you don't need to transfer 2SBD to randowhale, you just need to send 1SBD only!
Refer here : https://steemit.com/steemit/@randowhale/randowhale-is-now-only-1-steem-sbd-per-vote-spread-the-news

Awesome!
Thanks for that 😊

Loading...

Sorry about the loss of your friend. I saw her story on the news last night. Unbelievable.

I lead a meditation class & study under Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, and we do this meditation often, focusing on the feeling the air at our nostrils. It's simple and a great place to start. Thanks!

Thanks jana
I feel so sad for the family, and for those a lot closer to her than I was :-(

I am really lucky to have had the experiences I have had - especially studying Tibetan Buddhism. It is such a wonderfully rich and compassionate worldview :-)

thanks for sharing, everyone needs this reminder!

Me included 🙂

Good b2b topic!

I need to focus on noise. Like a/c, traffic, birds, whatever. If I just focus on breathing I start to hyperventilate a bit.

Thanks choogirl
Good point, though I think I would prefer to listen to birds than traffic 😊

Congratulations @drwom! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :

Award for the number of upvotes received

Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here

If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

By upvoting this notification, you can help all Steemit users. Learn how here!

This post received a 4.6% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @drwom! For more information, click here!