My name is Dobek. I’ve been recently worried about the anxiety spreading even faster than COVID-19. I’m in quarantine to slow down the virus. In the same way, I want  to take responsibility for spreading anxiety and for calming my mind down. I chose a simple and old method of breath counting. On March 27, 2020, I committed to taking at least one hundred mindful breaths every day. You can help me by taking a few breaths with me.

If you want to add a few breaths to the counter

1. Choose your number
   eg. 10, 100, 108 or 365,
2. Count your breaths
   from 1 to your number,
3. Share with friends
4. Contact me – I’ll update the counter.

How does it work?

Focusing on breath is an old and well known technique for calming the mind. Try it and you will see that you become more present and relaxed with each breath. 

You probably noticed that being around nervous people makes others more stressed out. On the other hand when you meet somebody who is calm, you relax. 

Emotions spread in society like viruses. Whether I’m aware or not I transmit them so it’s probably better to spread equanimity than anxiety.

Breath counting technique

Find a quiet place. It’s better to sit in a stable and comfortable position. Keep your eyes open and focused on one point. 

Count each exhalation, if possible out loud. Count from the beginning to the very end of the exhalation. Do not modify your breath. Let it be as it is. Just follow it with your attention. If it’s easier, you can imagine that you’re on a path in a forest blowing dry leaves out of the way. 

Keep counting from 1 to the number you decided. Counting to one hundred should take you 10-15 minutes. If you make a mistake, don’t worry. Continue from the last number you remember.

You can check how I do it here.

Share and inspire

You can affect more people in a positive way if you share your breathing with them. Record yourself and share. It makes my practice stronger and more meaningful. People you share with might be inspired to do something good for others too.  #BreathingForWorld

Contribute to the global breath counter

To update the global breath counter:

• Write a comment,
• or contact me.

submitting information:

• Who (your name you want to be visible, can be anonymous)
• When (date)
• Your number you counted to
• Link to your recording (if recorded)
• Your intention, comments, impressions.

Repeat tomorrow

The world needs continuous support in this type of respiration. Let me know if you intend to count breaths everyday. We will create a team to support each other. Announcing your commitment will also help you to stay with this practice. I’ll be counting to one hundred everyday.

Mindful Breathing log