Breathing Exercise and Meditation With Personal Experience:

How to Start Meditation? What is the basic exercise of meditation for beginners?

      Meditation is a technique that has been practicing for thousands of years to cultivate a sense of inner peace, mindfulness, and relaxation. It is a part of every religion to get enlightenment. The benefits of meditation are well documented, with studies showing that it can reduce stress, improve cognitive function, and even boost immunity.

        I started practicing of mindful meditation at the age of fifteen and soon I got its benefits which converted me a totally different person. Meditation triggered my spiritual awakening. Often, what I thought came true in the coming moments. Sometimes I was unexpectedly thinking about someone and randomly ran into them the same day or the next day. Meditation had heightened my intuition and insight.

 I started my meditation with two exercises

  * breathing exercise

  * candle focusing

A lot of people do not know how to breath naturally and properly. Rightly guided breathing brings relaxation and calmness of mind. It is a stress management technique.         

          I did eight rounds/chakras of deep breathing exercises. After it, I did a candle-focusing exercise. I began to reap the benefits of meditation within a few days.

 This exercise didn’t take five minutes but about twenty to twenty five minutes. Breathing exercise actually prepared me for exercise of candle focusing. I took these exercises late at night.

  Mindful Breathing  Exercise : 

   I lay on the bed straight with my stretched arms along the sides of my body, closed my eyes, took a deep but slow breath thinking some type of soft cold energy rushing into my body, then held the air in my lungs, and imagined and felt that my arms were becoming light and losing their weight. I imagined the arms soaked in tender light and becoming weightless. When the pressure of the air held in the lungs became unbearable, I let the air from the lungs rush out. In this way, I completed eight chakras or cycles of breath holding—four for arms and four for legs.             

      I did not imagine but tried to feel that my arms and legs were becoming weightless. After a week or so, this exercise really worked and whenever I started breathing exercise, my arms or legs became weightless. 

  REMEMBER: It was not a Hof Breathing Method.

  I didn’t adopt Buddhist Breathing Posture as

I was uncomfortable because of back pain. Though it is a very remarkable posture for meditation. Breathing exercises are very common in yoga for meditation to awake spiritual powers and third eye. Lying on one's back is an easy and comfortable exercise for beginners and old ones.

     This activity was incredibly beneficial. Deep breathing technique increased my focus. My voice got more melodic. I started inhaling deeply routine life. I challenged my friends to a breath-holding contest, which I always won. This exercise boosted my confidence and willpower. The stress of coming exams reduced. Really it relieved my anxiety. It cultivated mindfulness. I remained calm during any troubling situation.  I was well prepared for my next exercise, candle gazing, which actually brought the fruits of real meditation.

      In my next blog, I will explain breathing exercise in more detail along with candle grazing.

 

                Frequently Asked Questions:

Question 1: Is deep breathing exercise essential for meditation?

Answer: Before starting a meditation, a breathing exercise increases your focus and relaxes your nerves by providing extra oxygen. Consequently, a meditator immediately absorbs meditation.

Question 2: Can everyone do meditation?

Answer: Yes, everyone can do meditation. All—male or female, young or old, child or adult—can do meditation.

Question 3: When is the best time for meditation?

Answer: A person should meditate when he is completely free from his everyday tasks and there are no outside distractions to keep him from doing so.