Can I Focus on Something Other Than My Breath?

Mindfulness meditation instructions often include invitations to focus one’s attention on the breath, using breath as the anchor of the practice. But what if the breath just doesn’t work for you as a focal point?

Some people can’t really feel their breath, so it can be difficult to focus their attention on something they can’t find or locate. For others, the breath itself may trigger anxiety. Perhaps it feels foreign to focus on one’s own breathing, especially when the breathing is belabored or stressed. When we are already feeling nervous and our breath is shallow and constricted, focusing on the breath might amplify these feelings of panic and nervousness.

If you are having trouble focusing on your breath for any reason, that is completely OK. There’s nothing wrong with you, and you are not incompetent for not being able to “follow” this instruction. Mindfulness is simply paying attention to this present moment, and there are many ways we can do that, aside from breath awareness.

The point of paying attention to our breath is to help maintain our attention on the present moment, because the breath is always happening right now. But the truth is, there are countless other things that are also happening right now! If we somehow find a way to bring our attention to something that is happening right here right now, then we are doing the exact same thing as paying attention to our breath.

Can you feel your feet touching the floor? Can you notice how your feet feel inside your shoes and socks? Can you feel the chair you’re sitting on? Where does your body touch the chair, and what do those points of contact feel like? What sounds do you hear around you? Sounds in the room, sounds in the next room, sounds from outside? What do you see? What do you smell?

If we just pay attention to what’s happening right now, we can see clearly and we can hear clearly. That is already mindfulness practice. Then we just stay with what we hear and see in this moment. As soon as we notice that our mind has wandered off, we gently let go of those thoughts, and bring our attention back to what we hear, what we see, and what we feel. If you can feel your breath and come back to your breath, that’s good mindfulness practice. If you can’t feel your breath, just come back to what you see, what you hear, and what you feel. That’s also good mindfulness practice.