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So far in our Embodied Meditation series, you learned how to conduct a deep body scan and how to do whole body breathing. For those who missed these episodes, you’ll find the body scan at mindful15.com/body and whole body breathing at mindful15.com/whole.
Today, I’m going to teach you a deep belly breathing technique. The name is a bit deceptive, because this practice involves more than just diaphragmatic breathing. It’s about placing the breath in an area of the belly called the lower dantien also known as the yin space, and allowing that space to become very still, focused, and calm.
The lower dantien (also spelled dan tien and dantian) is located about three inches below the belly button and midway between the back and the front of the body. It has an ovoid shape and is about the size of a duck egg - that is a little larger than a large chicken egg. We won’t get too caught up, however, on the exact size, shape and location, though, because that’s counterproductive.
In this practice, you first visualize the lower dantien space and then imagine yourself breathing directly into the center of it, gently filling the space with air. As with whole body breathing, you don’t focus much on the out-breath. You simply allow the air to dissipate. The focus is on bringing the breath into the lower dantien.
After a period of breathing this way, you’ll visualize the center of the lower dantien, the place where the air is coming in, as a deep dark point, and with each breath, you’ll gently expand that dark spot outward, making it larger and larger as you breathe into it, allowing your awareness to fall into the dark, calm space.
As with the deep body scan and the whole body breathing practices, belly breathing can be done in conjunction with or in place of standard breath meditation. They are all valid forms of mindfulness meditation. Currently, my personal practice includes all four of these meditation techniques. I simply cycle through them, and some days, I practice more than one sometimes including two techniques in one session and other times splitting them across two or more sessions. 
Let’s try a 12-minute deep belly breathing meditation. Mindful15 Members will find a longer version in the Meditation Library.
Join me now for some belly breathing 
For a 12-minute deep belly breathing meditation, forward podcast or video above to 2:30.
Up Next Week
Next week it’s the Best of Mindful15. We’ll kick off the series with a replay of the very first Mindful15 episode in which I explain why mindfulness practice is a great way to relieve stress. For a reminder, sign up for our newsletter at mindful15.com/subscribe. When you sign up I’ll send you a copy of Your Meditation Action Plan, our step-by-step guide to building a healthy meditation habit that lasts a lifetime.
And, if you’re enjoying the Mindful15 Podcast, you might also be interested in becoming a member of Mindful15. To learn about the many benefits of membership, please go to Mindful15.com/memberships

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