Breath is a huge part of meditation. There are many different types of practices but focusing on inhaling and exhaling air is the main practice. Everyone other type of practice is done complementary to it. You should understand what the inhaling and exhaling air practice is. This is what you will be using most of the time. In order to understand this type of practice the following will be discussed:
The meaning of awareness in the practice.
The object of focus for this type of practice.
What focusing on it helps you do.
The meaning of awareness in the practice.
Meditation is awareness, vice versa. The mind is always wandering. It is either thinking about the past or the future. What am I going to eat for dinner? I need to the groceries store to get more water. How can I improve myself? When am I going to do house chores? And so on. When you are thinking of the past and the future you are not thinking of the present moment. You are unconscious. Thousands of thoughts are flashing through your head, and you do not notice the thoughts. You have a reaction, and you do not know the cause. Repeatedly focusing on your breathing and turning it into a daily practice helps you be more conscious.
The object of focus for this type of practice.
In meditation you focus on an object repeatedly to help keep your mind from wandering. You focus on the object of focus and when you find your mind wandering again you gently bring your focus back to it. It keeps you from thinking about the past and future. It grounds you in the present. The object of focus could be any object, herbs, sound, mantra, affirmations, yoga poses, visual objects, breath, and so on. In this type of practice, the object of focus is the air you take in and out of your nostrils. That is where your awareness goes. As mentioned before, it is the object of focus you should be using most of the time. Other objects of focus should be complementary. You focus on this type of action, inhaling and exhaling air through your nose, repeatedly.
What focusing on it helps you do.
Breath awareness meditation helps you transcend your body, environment, and time. You are more of your Self and less off yourself. It is our natural state to be happy. You are not missing the good old days or dreading something in the future. You are in the blissful present moment. You are more elevated emotionally, and you can bring that into the rest of your day. Also, you are better able to observe your thoughts, feeling, and emotions. You will see how your thought affect your feeling and emotions and how your feeling and emotions affect your thoughts. This helps you to be more proactive and less reactive. You will be able to observe a situation without letting it automatically control you. You will no longer be quick to act to negative situations. You will be able to choose a different reaction that is more intuitive.
Now that the meaning of the state of conscious in the devotional exercise, the object of focus for the breath practice, and what the it helps you do have been discussed, you are able to better understand the practice. Meditation in this practice is awareness, vice versa. The object of focus you will be using in this practice is inhaling and exhaling air. Repeating this action helps slow down and eventually stop thought. This type of practice helps you be more of your Self and less of yourself. We experience our natural state. It is our natural state to be happy. We are less reactive to negative situations.