Perhaps you already know some of the many benefits that meditation can bring: reducing stress and chronic tension, relaxing the body, refreshing the mind, and so on. Perhaps you are interested in trying meditation, but just don't know how to begin. In this column, I'll be walking you through a variety of simple meditations that you can do almost anywhere, anytime. The meditation we'll cover this issue is an easy beginning meditation. But before we start, it's important to address two major points that will make a huge difference in your meditation experience.

The key to any form of meditation is correct breathing.

Your breath rules your body. Put one hand on your chest and one hand on your abdomen and take a deep breath. Where do you feel the movement in your body? Most adults in today's society feel movement in their chest. Because most of us are only using the tops of our lungs to breathe, chest breathing is restrictive and shallow. This type of shallow breathing induces anxiety and stress in the body.

To feel the correct, natural mode of breathing, put both thumbs on top of your navel and cross your hands on your abdomen. Expand your abdomen outward. Feel it move under your hands (well, maybe not in those tight clothes -- so, loosen up). Now, contract your abdominal muscles. Did you notice that when you pushed out your abdomen, your lungs filled with air all on their own? And when your abdomen contracted you automatically exhaled? Your abdominal muscles and your diaphragm are the bellows that drive your breath. Abdominal breathing allows air to fill the whole lung not just the top. Just as shallow chest breathing induces anxiety and stress, deep abdominal breathing induces calm and relaxation.

Correct posture encourages correct breathing.

Take a moment to try an experiment. Sit in a chair. Go ahead, slouch over like most people do when they're reading a book or working at the computer. Take a deep abdominal breath. Hard to get a nice deep breath? Now, imagine there is a string attached to the top of your head. Picture someone pulling that string straight up until your spine is aligned with your head. Your shoulders are relaxed and your arms remain at your side. You body feels like a suit on a hanger. Now take another deep abdominal breath and feel the difference. There is more room for your breath, isn't there? When doing seated meditation it is important to keep your posture erect and open to allow correct breathing.

The Meditation.

Find a quiet place, preferably where you won t be interrupted. If you want, light a candle, incense or put on some low, soothing music. Sit comfortably erect on a cushion or chair and place your hands on your abdomen. You may close your eyes or keep them open. Take a deep, slow breath. Breathe through your nose only. Feel your abdomen expand as you inhale and contract as you exhale.

Take several deep, slow breaths. With each breath feel the air flowing past your nostrils and into your body. Imagine there is a feather in one of your nostrils. You don't want the feather to go into your nose as you inhale or get dislodged from your nose as you exhale. Listen to your breath as it passes into and out of your nose. Can you quiet your breath?

Watch, listen and feel your breath. You are now in a meditation. What you do at this point depends on what you wish to heal. The paths are infinite.