A Meditation to Quit Smoking

This meditation practice will help you quit smoking. It is a powerful tool. First, develop a basic meditation practice of 20 minutes a day for 2 months. To do this see my web article titled How to Meditate: A Beginner’s Text. The meditation outlined in that article focuses on breathing. It will strengthen your ability to effectively utilize the technique below.

To Begin Sit quietly with your feet on the floor. You may find it helpful to close your eyes but this isn’t necessary. What is necessary is that you focus your attention on the inside of your mouth. Notice the sensations in your mouth. Your tongue pressing against your teeth and touching the roof of your mouth. Let your attention slide to the back of your mouth where you can actually feel the hole of your throat.

 Some Background This section of your throat is called the pharynx. It is about 5 inches long. Picture it like a short piece of red garden hose. At the end of this short piece of garden hose, the hole separates into two. The front hole is your windpipe or trachea.

Your windpipe is also short, maybe 4 inches. It is lined with tiny hairs or cilia that beat constantly to trap dust and debris, sending them back up into your throat to be swallowed or spit out.

The Practice Now take your time and drop your awareness from the back of your throat into the inside walls of your pharynx. Notice the sensations inside that short piece of ‘red garden hose’. Stay with this part of your body for 15 or 20 seconds, until you really ‘get it’. 

Then, continue dropping your sensory awareness down further into the trachea itself. Focus on the walls of the trachea. Can you sense the hairs, like tiny dust mops throughout this inside passage? Remain focused on your windpipe until the desire for a cigarette dissipates.

When to usePractice the meditation several times. Then, when you quit smoking, begin using the practice as soon as you crave a cigarette. Stay with the practice until the craving passes. Return to your regular activities until the urge to smoke strikes again.

When this happens, repeat the practice. Initially you may have to engage in the exercise every 10 minutes, depending on how frequently you are used to ‘lighting up’. Over a few days, your need to practice will diminish with your craving for tobacco.

You may notice some side effects such as a sore throat. What you are doing with this exercise is stimulating the inner tissues of your windpipe with your attention. Far better than with smoke…