The “ten-second” part of ten-second centering refers to a single breath of ten seconds’ duration that you use as a container to hold a specific thought. The first thing I’d like you to do is familiarize yourself with what ten seconds feels like. Take some time right now and observe the second hand of your watch or your wall clock. Experience ten seconds. Really feel each second. Be patient and observant and repeat the process a few times until you get a good, visceral sense of ten seconds.
What I think you’ll notice is that ten seconds is a significant amount of time and even a surprisingly long amount of time. It probably feels longer and more substantial than you expected it would. Each second of the ten seconds is a distinct entity, clearly separate and distinguishable from the one that preceded it and the one that followed it. Five seconds, the increment of time between the 1 and the 2 on the dial face, is its own distinct entity, made distinct because of the way a dial face is designed. Ten seconds, the increment of time between the 1 and the 3, is likewise a clear, contained unit.
The customary breath you take is on the order of two or three seconds in duration. This is normal, natural, automatic, and does a fine job of keeping you alive. Exactly because it is natural and automatic, a breath of this length does nothing to interrupt your mind chatter, alter your sense of a given situation, or support change. When you consciously decide to breathe more slowly and deeply, you alert your body to the fact that you want it to behave differently. You are not just changing your breathing pattern, you are making a full-body announcement that you are entering into a different relationship with your mind and your body.
The long, deep ten-second breath that you take as part of the ten-second centering process serves as a container for specific thoughts. Before it does that, it serves as the very best way available to you to stop what you are doing and thinking. If you have been doing something compulsive and harmful to yourself, this alteration in breathing gives you the chance to bring awareness to your behavior. If you have been obsessively worrying about something, the conscious production of one long, deep breath interrupts your mind flow and provides you with a golden opportunity to counter your anxious thoughts. A long, deep breath is the equivalent of a full stop and the key to centering.
There are certain considerations with respect to producing this long, deep breath. The first is whether to breathe through your nose or through your mouth. I suggest that you inhale through your nose and also exhale through your nose, keeping your lips lightly shut. As with the other suggestions I’ll be offering, I think your best policy is to try it my way a few times before making any changes. Once you’ve given my method a reasonable try, by all means personalize and customize your breath so that it suits your style and physiology.
The next matter is whether to keep your eyes open or shut. I suggest that you close them so as to shut out the visual stimuli around you. This will increase the benefits you obtain from deep breathing and, when you introduce a thought into the deep breath, will allow you to focus on the thought without distraction. You can either sit or stand, but I recommend that in the beginning you practice your deep breathing while seated in a chair, your feet planted squarely on the ground.
Your inhale should last about five seconds and your exhale another five seconds. If you have experience with traditional practices, you will know that many of them ask you to concentrate on the inhale and let the exhale take care of itself. I suggest that you give the inhale and the exhale equal weight and equal consideration. Each is going to serve as a container for “half a thought” and each needs attention. You’ll want to inhale slowly and deeply, pause slightly before you exhale (this pause, too, is important), and exhale in the same slow, deep, controlled way that you inhaled. Practice until you have this long, deep breath, inhale and exhale both, under your conscious control.
- Practice now. Practice taking a long, deep breath, five seconds on the inhale and five seconds on the exhale. Do this several times.
You may want to build up to your long, deep breath with a few preliminary breaths that you use to progressively deepen your breathing pattern. I predict that, ultimately, you’ll find this unnecessary and that you’ll be able to switch from your ordinary breathing-and-thinking pattern to your centering incantation from one breath to the next. For now, though, if it helps you to arrive at a long, deep breath by progressively breathing more deeply, by all means allow yourself some warm-up breaths.
The first few times you practice producing a long, deep breath, you may notice that you’re rushing yourself or that anxiety or stray thoughts are preventing you from patiently inhaling and patiently exhaling. Try to consciously quiet your body and your mind. Suggest to yourself that you grow calmer, more peaceful, and more focused. If you have ongoing trouble producing a long, deep breath, you might try counting slowly to five on the inhale and to five on the exhale. Two slow, unrushed counts of five should produce the deep inhale and the deep exhale that make up one long, deep breath
Please practice again right now. It’s the basis of ten-second centering and the only physical component of the program. If you find it hard or awkward in the beginning, just keep practicing. You’ll master it if you give it an honorable try. If you do nothing more than incorporate a few long, deep breaths into your day, you will become more centered.
[Over the course of several weeks I’ll be providing a series of posts that will help you stay calm and centered in 2022. These posts are based on two of my books, Redesign Your Mind and Ten Zen Seconds. To learn more about the techniques I’ll be describing, please take a look at those two books.]
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To learn more, please take a look at Redesign Your Mind and Ten Zen Seconds.
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This post is republished on Medium.
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