Breathing is, of course, essential for our staying alive. Fortunately, it reliably continues day and night without our having to consciously do it or even think about it. So, you might logically ask, “Why in the world, when so many other things require our attention, should we bother paying conscious attention, even briefly, to our breathing.” If we are satisfied with just staying alive, there probably is no good reason. But it turns out that occasional
consciousbreathing can have a tremendous impact on the quality of our life.
Paying attention to our breath for even a few seconds slows down and even momentarily totally displaces our usual constant
flow of thinking. It’s almost impossible to pay close attention to the characteristics of our breathing and at the same time think about our problems. Try it for just one conscious breath. Focus on one or more sensations of that breath – the expansion and contraction of your chest or belly, the temperature and feel of air moving in and then out of your nostrils, or the sounds of your inhale and exhale. Now try it again for one more breath – focusing even more on those
sensations.
