Counting Breaths

Put your mind’s focus in the hara, breath normally, and silently count your exhalations from one to ten. Then start over again. If you lose track and your mind starts to wander, return to one and start over again. If you find that you are counting higher than ten, start over again. Pay close attention to the point of transition between inhaling and exhaling. This is where the mind’s concentration is the weakest.

For example: on the exhalation, your whole body and mind are concentrated on the sound of the number: “wooooooooooooooooooon.” Then inhale. Then, on the next exhalation, your whole body and mind concentrate on the sound of the number two: “tooooooooooooooooooo.” And so on.

The point here is not whether you can count from one to ten without a miss; the point is to discipline the mind so that, more and more, you can maintain continuity of attention in the present moment.