In his best-selling book A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle talks about the importance of breath, amongst many other things. One sentence jumped out at me: he said, "Even if you meditate on your breathing for two hours or more, which some people do, one breath is all you ever need to be aware of - indeed ever can be aware of".
It got me thinking about meditation. I have tried meditation before and struggled with it. So I decided that perhaps I was making it too hard on myself. I decided to try it for a minute and see what happened. It may not be as good as two hours, but it might just make a difference.
Amazingly doing this simple exercise for just one minute is enough to reduce my stress levels significantly when things are flat out. If done regularly it also seems to give me more energy, help me think more clearly and also be more productive throughout the day.
The other thing Eckhart Tolle spoke about (and it seems obvious now) is that I didn't have to consciously breathe. I had previously made the mistake of taking big, slow, conscious breaths and really focusing on how I was breathing. What A New Earth points out is, "breathing isn't really something that you do, but something that you witness as it happens". I suddenly realised that rather than consciously breathing, I had to just let my body do what it does naturally: breathe freely and easily and just be present with what happens when it does it.
Now I know some of you might think that meditation is a bit out there for you, but really, this is just a simple breathing exercise. And after all, there is nothing more important to your body than breathing! So give it a go - at the very worst all you will lose is one minute... and who knows what you might gain.
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Most of our waking hours are spent on thinking the outside world, the problems around us. Spending even a little time to yourself thru proper meditation gives you a positive outlook.