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First, find a quiet place and sit comfortably with your back straight. You may either use a chair or sit cross-legged on a pillow on your bed or the floor.
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Take several deep, cleansing breaths through your nose, breathing into your abdomen so that your belly expands like a balloon, and exhaling fully.
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Spend a minute or so getting relaxed. Feel the tension draining from your muscles.
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When you are ready, on the next in-breath count silently to yourself, "one." When you exhale, think, "two." Inhale, "three." Exhale, "four," and so on.
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Continue counting your breaths as high as you can without allowing any intruding thoughts to distract you. This includes any thought other than the counting of your breaths. Any time you realize you've stopped counting and started thinking about other things, gently but firmly turn your mind back to the practice of counting your breaths, starting from one.
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Use this exercise for 3 to 30 minutes twice a day. If you experience excess strain or anxiety while practicing that does not go away after a minute or two, that is a good time to end your meditation.
If you are like most people you will not get far before you have to start over again from one. This is natural, and is a part of the practice, too. While meditating, try not to think about the past or future, but remain focused on the present moment and the simple practice of counting your breaths. Pay particular attention to the gentle, quiet spaces between breaths, and try to allow yourself to go more deeply into them. There is a sense of pure awareness that can be experienced through this practice, and it is this space that leads to the most profound realizations.
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