Meditation · Concentration
Anchoring the Breath
The foundational concentration practice — coming back IS the practice
The foundational concentration practice. Pick one anchor — belly, chest, nostrils — and stay with it. When the mind wanders, come back. That "coming back" is the practice, not the failure of the practice.
Instructions
- Sit upright, eyes closed or soft gaze down
- Choose one anchor point — belly rise, chest, nostrils
- Notice the whole in-breath, the whole out-breath
- When the mind wanders — and it will, dozens of times — gently return
- No forcing, no judging the wandering
My anchor for today
Length of sit
Where the mind kept going
What I noticed at the end
Coming back IS the practice
A 20-minute meditation where you came back 200 times isn't failure — it's 200 reps of the muscle that lets you notice and choose. That muscle is the whole point.