20 Breaths

A two minute meditation

Meditation is simple. It is so simple that we invent all kinds of complications to make it more interesting. In zen, we like to get dressed up in robes, chant, bow, drink tea, and then sit in rows, on cushions, on mats, facing a wall. To meditate though, all you need is a mind and a few minutes to check it out.

A simple meditation technique involves counting breaths. The breath is a great focus for meditation, because it is always there. Whether we are meditating or not, we are breathing. In breath counting meditation, we notice our breath going in and going out and at the end of each exhale, we count. It takes about two minutes to breathe in and out twenty times. So, for a two minute meditation, simply count twenty breaths. Breathe in, breathe out, one. Breathe in, breathe out, two, and so on up to twenty.

Doing this little exercise may be harder than it sounds. Attention likes to wander and find more interesting things to amuse itself with than breathing. It is normal to lose focus and forget what number you are on. If that happens, it is important to bring your attention back to your breath without beating yourself up over losing count. If you can get all the way to twenty, then you have mastered this meditation and can advance to a fifty breath meditation, which would take about 5 minutes.

A two minute, twenty breath meditation can be done standing, sitting, or lying down. It can be done while driving, walking or standing in line. At any time, whenever you think you could use a break, you can use this simple meditation to take one. If you do it lying down, you may fall asleep before you get all the way to twenty, but that’s fine, because sleep is a good way to relax too.

Taking two minutes to count twenty breaths will produce immediate results, because just doing it invites a fresh mindset. Over time, with regular practice, those two minutes will add up, and improve your ability to relax in all kinds of situations. We all carry inner peace in us, so it is important to have ready access to it, and to visit it often. It may be just twenty breaths away, or it may be here, now!