Meditating on the Natural Breath is perhaps the oldest, most traditional of meditation methods, described by the Indian philosopher Patanjali in 100 BC which shared the essence of earlier teachings by Buddha.
It is a deconditioning technique – using the natural breath as the focus of meditation, which we can observe with neutrality as it occurs naturally and we have neither have a liking or disliking for it. This is different to conditioning techniques which use objective and subjective objects of meditation.
Meditation on the Natural Breath is said to be the most transformative type of meditation and is not associated with religion. It uses an entirely objective, scientific methodology.
Any level of practice with this technique will help release deep stress, cultivate of mindfulness in the present, a subtler awareness, greater concentration, an increasingly balanced, positive and contented mind, and in the long term, transformation of unhelpful habit patterns of the mind.