Sit quietly with an erect spine and breathe naturally.
Bring attention to the present moment and breathe, silently counting the breath. Begin counting your breath, counting the first inhalation as “one,” the exhalation as “two,” and so on.
Breathe in while counting “one,”
breathe out, “two,”
breathe in “three,” and so forth
Start over after you reach “ten.”
Between the in and out breath, rest the mind. Pay special attention to the stillness between each breath.
Whenever your mind wanders, go back to “one” and continue to count the breaths. Set an engaging, gently challenging standard. It’s your choice:
You can go back to “one” only when you lose count.
If you find you are adept at multitasking (That is, able to count while daydreaming), you may want to set a sterner standard, going back to “one” whenever thoughts take over the foreground of your attention and the breath, count, and present moment become background.
You can return to “one” whenever any thought arises, even if it hasn’t distracted you from the counting.
A Simple Summary
Follow the breath with the mind,
counting each breath,
resting the mind between the in and out breaths,
and return to “one” if your mind wanders.
