Day 7: Counting the Breath
Jack: Continuing with the practice of mindfulness of breathing, you may have noticed that the breath changes in many ways. Sometimes it’s fast; sometimes it’s slow. It varies with your thoughts and feelings. When you’re upset or anxious, the breath might be short, shallow. When you’re at ease, the breath might be slow and gentle. With relaxed mindfulness, you can allow yourself to be present with whatever you're experiencing. So far, you’ve been exploring ways of focusing attention on the breath finding what’s most comfortable and effective for you. You've been noticing where in your body you most easily feel the breath whether your nostrils and upper lip or your chest or belly or perhaps even, your whole body. Or you've found it helpful to place your hand on your belly and feel the rising and falling of the breath in the palm of your hands.

If using the words calm and ease helps, you can stay with this as you practice. Continue to notice the changing rhythms of the breath. If the breath becomes soft, let your attention become soft and careful. If there’s tension in your breathing, let yourself relax. Remember, the point is not to control your breath but to observe the natural breath. If you feel you’re controlling your breath, just let go and notice the sense of contact where you’re sitting. Remember too, you’re not trying to become good at breathing. You're simply bringing attention to the breath as it is. You’re connecting with this present moment steadying and focusing your attention.

Neuroscience research has found that mindful breathing balances the two branches of the autonomic or involuntary nervous system. One that regulates our breath, heartbeat, and digestion.

When we bring conscious attention to the unconscious and automatic cycle of breathing, we are creating a deep sense of coherence in the brain itself. In this session, we introduce another tool you might find helpful in the art of breathing mindfully gently counting the breath. This is not rote like counting the 99 bottles of beer on the wall. Rather it is a way to bring continuous focus to the breath to remain wakeful and steady as you practice. You can count from one to five and then start over or one to ten.
To avoid letting the counting become disconnected or automatic you can eventually try counting backwards instead. The point is to use counting as a way to remain alert and connected to each breath. The secret to this practice is letting the numbers be just a whisper in the mind with 95% of your attention sensing the breath and 5% keeping track of the numbers. Sometimes you might only get as far as two or three breaths before your attention wanders. No matter. It’s like working out at the gym. You’re building muscles of steadiness and focus.

Stay patient and kind with yourself.

Now, let’s practice this new tool for cultivating awareness of the breath. As you have before, take your seat with dignity and graciousness, and allow yourself to relax into a simple sense of presence. Notice the state of your body and mind and bring a kind attention to it. And now, fill your body with a half-smile of kindness. Take two deep relaxing breaths to sense the breath more fully in your body. Now, bring your attention again to the natural rhythm of the breath, wherever you sense the breath most easily. Let yourself feel several breaths in a row. With each one, let the mind calm and the body relax.
If it helps, use the soft words calm and ease with each breath. Now, feel three more breaths with calm and ease. Stay with the breath just as it is. As you continue now, bring in the practice of counting

each breath. You can start by counting one to five. Remember to let the numbers be a whisper in the mind so that 95% of your attention rests on the sensations of the breathing. The in and out. The rising and falling. Now, count five more breaths. You can continue mindfulness of breathing counting to five. Or if you wish, try counting ten breaths. You might find that your attention wanders somewhere in the middle of that longer count. No judgement. No worry. Just start again over and over. Nowhere to go. Just coming back to this next breath. This simple dedication repeated returning is what builds the power of mindfulness.
Stay kind and steady. One through five. Or one through ten. Over and over like an athlete or a musician honing your skill. During the next few days as you continue developing your awareness of breath, use this tool of counting if it helps. Even short periods of practicing this steady focus will strengthen your mindfulness and awareness.
© Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield
Reprinted by permission.