10-Minute Breathing for Meditation Beginners: A Simple Way to Relax and Tune In to Your Body

 Why Do Investors Need Breathing Exercises?

The stock market is like the weather. Sometimes it is clear and sunny, and other times it is stormy.
When the market plunges, you might feel the urge to sell everything right away. When a stock soars, you might find yourself chasing the price higher.

These actions often do not mean your investment logic is flawed. More often, it is because emotions get ahead of your strategy. I have experienced this myself, letting emotions take the lead, until I started spending 10 minutes a day on breathing exercises. They help me steady myself before making any decision.

In this article, I will share the breathing method I use during meditation. It does not require special skills or forcing your thoughts to stop. You simply follow the sensations in your body, and it will help bring your investing mindset back into balance.

🧘‍♀️Posture Preparation : Standard Sitting Posture

Sit cross-legged on a yoga block, or directly on a yoga mat. Imagine an invisible hand gently lifting the hair on the top of your head, allowing your spine to naturally lengthen from the first cervical vertebra down to the tailbone. Keep the cross-legged position, form the lotus mudra with your hands, and rest the backs of your hands on your knees.
Key reminders: keep your back straight without slouching, avoid lifting your pelvis, and do not let your abdomen stick out.

Step 1: How to Avoid Lifting Your Pelvis

Sit with your sitting bones evenly placed on the yoga block or mat, letting your tailbone drop downward so your pelvis stays neutral, not tilting forward or backward.

Place the web between your thumb and index finger on the bone between your lower back and hips. Push your thumbs upward and your other fingers downward to tilt the pelvis forward, which will make your hips stick out. To tilt the pelvis backward, push your thumbs downward and your other fingers upward.

To check whether your pelvis is in a neutral position, press both your thumbs and fingers downward at the same time. This limits the range of forward or backward tilt, and your lower back should feel relaxed without being compressed or overstretched.

You can refer to this video for the direction of the pelvis.

Step 2: How to Keep Your Stomach from Sticking Out

Avoid pushing your upper abdomen forward. You can lightly tap your stomach around the upper abdomen area with your fingertips to help your body become more aware of its position.

Step 3: How to Avoid Slouching

Avoid overextending your chest. Gently draw your shoulder blades slightly toward your spine, feeling a light activation under your armpits. Roll your shoulders forward, upward, and then back in a circle, settling them down without lifting them. Keep your head from jutting forward and avoid bending the first cervical vertebra. Slightly tuck your chin toward your neck, extend the crown of your head upward, and keep the back of your neck long. Your head should be directly above your body, not positioned in front of your chest.

You can refer to this video for the direction of the shoulder blades.

What If You Don’t Have a Yoga Block?

You actually do not need to buy special yoga equipment. A dining chair or a desk chair is enough to do this practice.

Step 1

Sit on the front half of the chair seat, keep your knees at a 90-degree angle, and place both feet flat on the floor.

Step 2

Sit with your sitting bones evenly placed on the chair, letting your tailbone drop downward so your pelvis stays neutral, not tilting forward or backward.

Place the web between your thumb and index finger on the bone between your lower back and hips. Push your thumbs upward and your other fingers downward to tilt the pelvis forward, which will make your hips stick out. To tilt the pelvis backward, push your thumbs downward and your other fingers upward.

To check whether your pelvis is in a neutral position, press both your thumbs and fingers downward at the same time. This limits the range of forward or backward tilt, and your lower back should feel relaxed without being compressed or overstretched.

You can refer to this video for the direction of the pelvis.

Step 3
Avoid pushing your upper abdomen forward. You can lightly tap your stomach around the upper abdomen area with your fingertips to help your body become more aware of its position.

Step 4
Avoid overextending your chest. Gently draw your shoulder blades slightly toward your spine, feeling a light activation under your armpits. Roll your shoulders forward, upward, and then back in a circle, settling them down without lifting them.

You can refer to this video for the direction of the shoulder blades.

Step 5
Keep your head from jutting forward and avoid bending the first cervical vertebra. Slightly tuck your chin toward your neck, extend the crown of your head upward, and keep the back of your neck long. Your head should be directly above your body, not positioned in front of your chest.

Step 6
Rest your hands gently on your thighs. There is no need to form a specific mudra, just keep your palms facing upward and your elbows directly below your shoulders.

This alternative sitting posture is especially suitable for office workers, allowing you to quickly get into a breathing state even during work breaks.

🌬️Close Your Eyes and Prepare to Breathe

Before starting to observe your breathing, gently close your eyes to let visual signals from the outside world fade away for a moment.
Once your sight is closed off, your body’s senses will become more sensitive, allowing you to notice the details of your breath and the subtle changes in your body.

Step 1
Close your eyes.

Step 2
Bring your awareness to your ears and carefully listen to the sounds around you. Spend about 30 to 60 seconds simply listening.

Step 3
Shift your awareness to your skin and notice changes in temperature, the movement of air, and the sensation of your sitting bones on the yoga mat or chair. Spend another 30 to 60 seconds sensing these details.

Use this time to let your emotions settle and focus fully on the physical experience of the present moment. This is just like in investing, where you set aside the noise of the market for a while and focus only on your core strategy.

🌬️Begin Conscious Breathing

First, maintain your natural breathing and observe the path of 2 to 5 inhales and exhales.
If you are not sure what natural breathing is, you can check out my article on the Natural Breathing Method:Natural Breathing: A Calm-Body Technique to Make Better Investment Decisions

Step 1
With your eyes closed, use natural breathing to observe how the air moves through your nostrils, into your nasal cavity, down your throat, through your bronchi, and into your lungs.

Step 2
When exhaling, observe how the air leaves your body, moving from the lungs, through the bronchi, up the throat, through the nasal cavity, out the nostrils, and finally leaving the body.

At this stage, do not check whether your body feels tense. Simply observe the movement of air in and out, just like reading market data before rushing to make any conclusions.

Awareness of the Ribs and Abdomen

After observing 2 to 3 breaths, begin to notice the changes in your ribs and abdomen as you inhale and exhale.
In the previous step, when focusing on the lungs, you may have found it harder to sense the air entering them. At this stage, I shift my attention to the movement of muscles and bones during breathing.

Step 1
When inhaling, feel your ribs gently expanding like fingers spreading apart. Your shoulder blades will open slightly outward, and your shoulders may lift a little as you breathe in.

Step 2
As you inhale, guide the air down to your lower abdomen. Notice how your diaphragm expands downward, causing your belly to press outward in all directions.

Step 3
When exhaling, feel your ribs closing together like fingers coming back together. Your shoulder blades will draw slightly downward toward your spine, and your shoulders will lower.

Step 4
As you exhale and use your abdominal muscles to push the air out, notice how your diaphragm contracts upward, causing your belly to draw in toward your spine.

Step 5
As you gradually finish exhaling, consciously relax all the muscles in your body along with the breath.

You can refer to the following video for the full experience of this section.

🕰️ Time Recommendation

The full process takes about 10 minutes.
During each meditation session, do 2 to 3 rounds to allow your body and mind to enter a state of deep relaxation and give yourself a set time to “reset.”

What Makes This Breathing Method Special

The focus is on first observing the rhythm and direction of your breath, then noticing the changes in your body that follow. This process may seem simple, but it can effectively release tension and anxiety, helping your body return to a stable state.

In the context of investing, this stability is especially important. When the market is highly volatile, using your breath to return to calm first can reduce impulsive decisions driven by emotion, allowing for more accurate analysis and judgment. It is not only a process of physical and mental relaxation but also a way to create a clearer starting point for your next strategic move.

Conclusion
For me, the value of this breath observation method is that it is simple yet makes decision-making clearer.
There is no need to force your mind to go blank or worry about distractions. As long as you follow your breath and observe your body, your mind will gradually settle.
Next time the market fluctuates sharply, spend ten minutes on this practice before looking at the charts. You will feel calmer and find it easier to make rational choices.