Breathing a sign of relief

Meditation is a physical practice in breathing that, if done properly, slows the heart and calms the mind. Millions of people do it and have for centuries. The earliest record dates back to 1500 BC.

Since then, various religions from around the globe and more recently new-age western movements prescribe the experience as essential to the daily routine of life and sometimes has the power to transport us to other worlds and defy the process of aging.

To meditate is to ponder or to contemplate.

Ironically, these are things that, as a child, occur naturally. Most adults are no longer plagued by boredom, which, by the way, is actually an incredible catalyst to meditative practice, stopping to take the time to wonder why the sky is blue, and without those moments of mental recharge, you begin to feel the effects of stress.

So if you haven't crafted a life in which you are able to ponder naturally without distraction, say that of a mountain monk or late-night security guard, and you do seek a softening from within, then you might be one of the millions worldwide who meditate.

A 2007 study showed more than 20 million Americans meditate, which is roughly 9.4% of the U.S. population, up from 7.2% in 2002.

I meditate, or I try, but the screaming contradiction of effort and allowing makes mental whispering sometimes impossible.

I'm a make-it-happen kind of a person, immersed in a society of make-it-happen people, to release our control and to let it happen is not just foreign and uncomfortable. To many of us, it seems just plain irresponsible.

When I release my typical fierce energy, needed to play on a tennis court, I get even worse results. I end up not meditating at all.

So what's a guy to do?

One of the hardest aspects of meditation is to remain focused, and breathing is the trick to this. If you can focus on your breathing, it becomes easier to slip from terra firma to nirvana.

A friend recommended I visit a website that brings people from around the planet to breath together. It's called Do As One and it features a breathing room with an expanding and contracting heart. Included is a countdown of seconds until your next inhale with numerous colours to choose for your meditative practice.

One visit to this room made a huge difference. For the beginner breather, it's like riding a bike with training wheels. For the accomplished, it offers a unique experience of using technology against itself in humanity's race for salvation during crucial moments in our collective history.

There is an increase in the number of doctors and health professionals who prescribe meditation to battle stress. In one British study, meditation cut relapse rates in half for people who suffer recurrent depression.

There is also powerful research supporting the power of group meditation. During the summer of 1993 in Washington D.C., an eight-week experiment saw a 23% decrease in violent crime. The odds of this occurring by chance are two in a billion.

I think about breathing in synchronous harmony with 10,000 people and the cynical, make-it-happen Johnny scoffs at the idea, he who has to see it to believe it, the one who prefers dedicated hard work over airy-fairy magic.

But if meditative breathing can help in reducing stress, and online breathing with others makes the process that much easier for me, while at the same time possibly helping to heal the populace of the planet, what's the argument for the alternative?