One Breath Meditation

In secular mainstream America, meditation has become as ubiquitous as yoga. But how does meditation fit into Christianity, and how does it differ from prayer? One Breath at a Time: A Skeptic's Guide to Christian Meditation reframes meditation for those who are skeptical because (1) they doubt their ability to be still and quiet and (2) they doubt the validity of meditation as a Christian spiritual practice. Using scripture, theology, and examples from the early church, this book challenges the prayer habits of Christians that leave little room for enough silence to experience and listen for God. Using five approaches—breath meditation, lectio divina, centering meditation, loving-kindness meditation, and devotional meditation—One Breath at a Time provides a practical, 40-day guide to beginning and sustaining a Christian meditation practice in an often chaotic world.

Merging Buddhist mindfulness practices with the Twelve Step program, this updated edition of the bestselling recovery guide One Breath at a Time will inspire and enlighten you to live a better, healthier life. Many in recovery turn to the Twelve Steps to overcome their addictions, but struggle with the spiritual program. But what they might not realize is that Buddhist teachings are intrinsically intertwined with the lessons of the Twelve Steps, and offer time-tested methods for addressing the challenges of sobriety. In what is considered the cornerstone of the most significant recovery movement of the 21st century, Kevin Griffin shares his own extraordinary journey to sobriety and how he integrated the Twelve Steps of recovery with Buddhist mindfulness practices. With a new foreword by William Alexander, the author of Ordinary Recovery, One Breath at a Time takes you on a journey through the Steps, examining critical ideas like Powerlessness, Higher Power, and Moral Inventory through the lens of the core concepts of Buddhism—the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, mindfulness, loving-kindness, and more. The result is a book that presents techniques and meditations for finding clarity and awareness in your life, just as it has for thousands of addicts and alcoholics.

A “wonderfully accessible” interpretation of the Buddha’s teachings on breathwork in meditation, from a leading insight meditation teacher (Joseph Goldstein, author of The Experience of Insight) Freedom from suffering is not only possible, but the means for achieving it are immediately within our grasp—literally as close to us as our own breath. This is the 2,500-year-old good news contained in the Anapanasati Sutra, the Buddha's own teaching on cultivating both tranquility and deep insight through the full awareness of breathing. In this book, Larry Rosenberg brings this timeless meditation method to modern practitioners, using the insights gained from his many years of practice and teaching. With wisdom, compassion, and humor, he shows how the practice of breath awareness is quietly, profoundly transformative—and supremely practical: if you're breathing, you've already got everything you need to start.

When you're mad or worried or can't wake up in the morning, what can you do? Use the amazing superpower that you already have—breathing. Our newest offering from the bestselling creators of Good Night Yoga teaches kids fun and easy breathing practices based on the proven methods of yoga and mindfulness meditation. Sample practices: When something makes you mad or even feels unfair, try this counting breath and you’ll feel calmer there. Sit up and let your spine grow tall. Take a deep breath in, counting silently 1 . . . 2 . . . 3. Then let your breath out slowly, counting 1 . . . 2 . . . 3. When you go somewhere you’ve never been and you aren’t sure what to do, you can use a dandelion breath to feel more comfortable trying something new. Sit up and let your spine grow tall. Put one hand on your chest. Place your other hand on your belly. Take slow deep breaths and feel your chest and your belly move up and down as the air goes in and out of your body. At night when it’s hard to fall asleep because your mind is busy and your body feels tight, try balloon breath to get relaxed and ready for a good night. Lie down on your back and let your hands rest by your sides, palms up. Inhale through your nose and imagine filling your body with breath like a big balloon. Exhale and blow the air out through your mouth. What color is your balloon?

Calm your worries and build your bravery — or just relax during a busy day or wind down before bed All day long, you breathe — in and out, in and out — without even thinking about it. But did you know that you can play with your breath, use it to take you on an adventure? All you have to do is find a comfy spot and close your eyes. Does your breath sound like ocean waves? Like the wind before a storm or a breeze at the start of spring? Can you feel it all the way down to the tips of your toes? By the time you open your eyes, you might just feel a little lighter, calmer, more relaxed. In Big Breath, William Meyer’s gentle prompts, alongside Brittany R. Jacobs’s wonderful illustrations, make meditation as fun as a game, but with big results.

As a method for reducing stress, meditation has recently become a mainstream phenomenon in American culture. This insightful collection of teachings includes everything from the timeless wisdom of the Buddha to the Zen simplicity of Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Perfect for even the novice, this book offers an historical background, as well as practical steps, to applying meditation to one's life.

A Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness for the Modern Day In our never-ending search for happiness we often find ourselves looking to external things for fulfillment, thinking that happiness can be unlocked by buying a bigger house, getting the next promotion, or building a perfect family. In this profound and inspiring book, Gelong Thubten shares a practical and sustainable approach to happiness. Thubten, a Buddhist monk and meditation expert who has worked with everyone from school kids to Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and Benedict Cumberbatch, explains how meditation and mindfulness can create a direct path to happiness. A Monk’s Guide to Happiness explores the nature of happiness and helps bust the myth that our lives and minds are too busy for meditation. The book can show you how to: - Learn practical methods to help you choose happiness - Develop greater compassion for yourself and others - Learn to meditate in micro-moments during a busy day - Discover that you are naturally ‘hard-wired’ for happiness Reading A Monk’s Guide to Happiness could revolutionize your relationship with your thoughts and emotions, and help you create a life of true happiness and contentment.

A New York Times Bestseller A Washington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of 2020 Named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR “A fascinating scientific, cultural, spiritual and evolutionary history of the way humans breathe—and how we’ve all been doing it wrong for a long, long time.” —Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Big Magic and Eat Pray Love No matter what you eat, how much you exercise, how skinny or young or wise you are, none of it matters if you’re not breathing properly. There is nothing more essential to our health and well-being than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat twenty-five thousand times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences. Journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. The answers aren’t found in pulmonology labs, as we might expect, but in the muddy digs of ancient burial sites, secret Soviet facilities, New Jersey choir schools, and the smoggy streets of São Paulo. Nestor tracks down men and women exploring the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices like Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, and Tummo and teams up with pulmonary tinkerers to scientifically test long-held beliefs about how we breathe. Modern research is showing us that making even slight adjustments to the way we inhale and exhale can jump-start athletic performance; rejuvenate internal organs; halt snoring, asthma, and autoimmune disease; and even straighten scoliotic spines. None of this should be possible, and yet it is. Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology, Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head. You will never breathe the same again.

Rediscover the Power of Perfect Breathing. The seemingly simple act of breathing often goes unnoticed and yet it is the most immediately essential process for sustaining life. This informative guide explores the central role of breath in all aspects of the body, mind, and spirit. Learn how it can help improve health, accelerate healing, enhance mental focus, cognitive and creative skills, sharpen athletic performance, heighten sexual enjoyment, and deepen the meditative experience. A variety of exercises for deep, intentional breathing are provided to get you started.