Meditation seems to sound really weird to lot of people but the zen breathing exercises I've done are mechanical and completely devoid of mystical culturally relative concepts.
Simple introductory exercise in meditation for those unfamiliar with it. No mystical chanting required. The only caveat is that it can be as boring as hell. I'm not an expert but this should contain the essentials of a simple zen practice:
Equipment: timer and a comfortable place to sit without interruptions
Time: 10 minutes (or 5, whatever you feel like but try to commit to the timespan you choose). Put the time on the timer.
1. Sit down. The position should be stable so you don't fidget around.
2. Get a good posture: keep you back straight
3. Concentrate on your breathing. Keep breathing slow and deep breaths
4. Count your breaths, mentally, from one to ten, starting from one on exhale, two on inhale etc until you reach ten and go back to one.
5.Start the timer
Proceed until timer runs out.
Try to maintain this: sit still, back straight, rythmic breathing, count each breath.
You may observe thoughts arising. Observe the thoughts but do not get lost in them. You will notice you have been lost in your thoughts because you loose count of your breaths, at which point you just start counting from one. Do not try to block the thoughts.
If you can keep complete count throughout the entire span on first try then that's great!
Any weird sensations you might get are just pointless disruptions created by your mind.
I think this comment was important to me. I've never understood what the fuzz is about, but after reading this I decided "fuck it, why not try?".
I just did a 5 minute one. Genius idea about the timer, wouldn't be possible otherwise. Afterwards I felt 5kg lighter. I will put this in my life toolbox. Thank you.
The relationship between this sort of meditation and the various schools that use meditation as part of their doctrine seems to me be like the difference between engaging in an exercise and exercising as part of a particular club/school.
Personally I've had a few moment in my life where there introspective skills I've gained from this have probably been for the better.
Not sure if it's from the practice, or just some anxiety relieving placebo effect caused by the practice, though. Seems to be good for me, whichever the underlying effect.
Simple introductory exercise in meditation for those unfamiliar with it. No mystical chanting required. The only caveat is that it can be as boring as hell. I'm not an expert but this should contain the essentials of a simple zen practice:
Equipment: timer and a comfortable place to sit without interruptions
Time: 10 minutes (or 5, whatever you feel like but try to commit to the timespan you choose). Put the time on the timer.
1. Sit down. The position should be stable so you don't fidget around.
2. Get a good posture: keep you back straight
3. Concentrate on your breathing. Keep breathing slow and deep breaths
4. Count your breaths, mentally, from one to ten, starting from one on exhale, two on inhale etc until you reach ten and go back to one.
5.Start the timer
Proceed until timer runs out.
Try to maintain this: sit still, back straight, rythmic breathing, count each breath.
You may observe thoughts arising. Observe the thoughts but do not get lost in them. You will notice you have been lost in your thoughts because you loose count of your breaths, at which point you just start counting from one. Do not try to block the thoughts.
If you can keep complete count throughout the entire span on first try then that's great!
Any weird sensations you might get are just pointless disruptions created by your mind.