Mindful Breathing as Anchor Practice
Use the breath as a portable anchor to calmness and clarity
Kabat-Zinn positions mindful breathing as the universal foundation of all meditation practice and the single most valuable takeaway from the MBSR program. When surveyed years after completing the program, the majority of former patients identified 'the breathing' as the single most important thing they learned, despite the fact that they were all breathing perfectly well before arriving. What changed was their relationship to breathing.
The practice involves two complementary modes. Formal practice means setting aside dedicated time to sit and attend to the breath at the belly for sustained periods, building the capacity for concentration and calmness. Informal practice means tuning in to breathing throughout the day, at any moment, in any situation. The two modes are synergistic: informal practice without formal practice loses its power to stabilize the mind, while formal practice without informal integration remains confined to the meditation cushion.
Focusing on the belly rather than the nostrils or chest is specifically recommended because the belly is the body's center of gravity, far from the agitations of the thinking mind. Like going twenty feet below the choppy surface of the ocean, belly breathing tunes you into a region of intrinsic calm. The breath also serves as a bridge between the involuntary nervous system and conscious awareness, making it uniquely positioned as a tool for influencing states that are normally beyond conscious control.
- Breathing is the one process that bridges the involuntary and voluntary nervous systems, making it uniquely suited for conscious influence on unconscious processes
- Focusing on the belly is calming because it tunes you into a region far from the agitations of the thinking mind
- The breath is always available, making it the most convenient anchor for awareness in any situation
- Awareness of breathing is not the same as thinking about breathing; it means directly feeling the sensations
- It is the awareness itself, not the breath, that is ultimately most important; the breath is the vehicle for discovering awareness
- Assume a Comfortable PostureSit in a posture that embodies dignity with the spine straight and shoulders dropped. Alternatively, lie down. Allow eyes to close if comfortable. You can also practice with eyes open, gaze soft and unfocused.Pro tipYou can place one hand on your belly to feel it rise on the inbreath and fall on the outbreath, especially when learning diaphragmatic (belly) breathing.WarningDo not try to force or control the breath. It has been working fine without your conscious attention for your entire life.
- Feel the Breath at the BellyAllow attention to gently alight on the belly. Feel it rise or expand on the inbreath and fall or recede on the outbreath. Maintain focus on the sensations associated with breathing, riding the waves of each full inbreath and each full outbreath. The sensation should be like a balloon expanding gently on the inbreath and deflating gently on the outbreath.Pro tipIf you are not accustomed to belly breathing, it may feel awkward at first. Babies breathe this way naturally. Chronic tension causes adults to shift to shallow chest breathing. With practice, belly breathing returns naturally.WarningCommon mistake: assuming you should think about breathing. You are attending to the felt sensations of breathing, not analyzing the process conceptually.
- Return from Mind WanderingEvery time you notice your mind has wandered from the breath, notice what carried you away, then gently and firmly bring attention back to the belly. If your mind wanders a thousand times, your job is simply to bring it back each time, without judgment or frustration.Pro tipThe moment of noticing that your mind has wandered is not a failure. It is a moment of waking up, of mindfulness itself. That moment is the practice.
- Integrate Breath Awareness Throughout the DayTune in to your breathing at different times during the day, feeling the belly go through one or two risings and fallings. Become aware of your thoughts and emotions in those moments. Be aware of any changes in how you see things and feel about yourself. This takes no extra time; it requires only remembering.Pro tipTouch base with breathing before meals, during commutes, when waiting in line, before meetings, and especially at the first signs of stress or agitation.WarningInformal practice without regular formal practice gradually loses its ability to stabilize the mind. The two must work together.
After a year of hyperventilation episodes that prevented him from fighting fires, Gregg spent two weeks doing the body scan, which centers on breath awareness. Despite initial anxiety when focusing on breathing, he gradually discovered that his breath was not his enemy. He began using breath awareness at fires, focusing on his breathing while putting on his gas mask.
When hundreds of patients who had been out of the MBSR program for years were asked what the single most important thing they got from the program was, the majority said 'the breathing.' They were all breathing before the program, but their relationship to breathing had transformed from unconscious automaticity to a conscious resource for calmness, perspective, and healing.
The centrality of breath awareness in MBSR comes from the convergence of ancient yogic and Buddhist meditation traditions with Kabat-Zinn's clinical observation that breath awareness was consistently the practice patients valued most and maintained longest. Professionals who depend on their breathing (opera singers, wind instrument players, martial artists, dancers) have long known the value of belly breathing. Kabat-Zinn connected this embodied professional knowledge with the contemplative tradition and made it the foundational element of a clinical program.