The basic breathing meditation, which is the very first instruction from the Buddha explained in the ​​Mahā Satipatthāna Sutta, is the foundation for cultivating inner peace through the practice of mindfulness. 
     How to?
     1. Sit in a comfortable position, with your back straight. A chair is fine, or if you are able, on a meditation cushion. Let your hands rest comfortably on your lap, or in the traditional mudra the Buddha statues reflect, right palm on top of the left, with thumbs touching.
     2. Set a timer on your phone, so you will not have to be distracted by "how much longer." Begin with a short sit, 5 minutes, and increase as you go.
     3. Allow your body to settle, and assist it by taking a couple of deep, cleansing breaths: in through the nose, out through the mouth.
     4. Put your attention on the breath as it goes in and out of your body. Notice the rise and fall of the belly as the air goes into the bottom of the lungs. Do not control the breath. Let it be natural, and just notice how it is.
     5. When you notice that your mind has wandered to thinking instead of observing the breath, gently bring it back to the breath. 

Some Tips for Helping the Monkey Mind Quiet Down
1. Before you meditate, have a little chat with your mind. Tell it how much you appreciate all the hard work it does, and invite it to take a short vacation for the time of your meditation practice.

2. When you notice that the mind has wandered off, observe what it wandered off to, remind it about the vacation its taking, and then return to the breath.

3. Be patient with yourself. It may seem like "nothing is happening" but the more regularly you practice, the more you will notice changes in your daily life and your ability to remain calmer in stressful situations.

​Additional Resources to Deepen Your Meditation Practice

Venerable Thubten Chodron was my first Buddhist teacher. Her website is an endlessly valuable resource for practice opportunities as well as study/learning opportunities.

This link will take you to several guided meditations she offers, including a short 5 minute one of this Breathing Meditation.

Exercise before and after you meditate

When we meditate, a great deal of energy flows through the physical body through the subtle energy channels of the bioplasmic (or energy) body. The subtle body includes the chakras and nadis or meridians.
     If the chakras and meridians are clogged up, then sitting in meditation can be troublesome. Imagine trying to pour water down a clogged pipe; it will either go very slowly down, or it won't get very far, and is likely to bubble back up. The energies that flow through the body especially in meditation time are much like water flowing through our system. If the charkas and meridians and other energy channels of the body are clogged up, then the fresh energy (prana) coming in, will not be able to flow smoothly. This can make it hard to sit still, and it can also create issues after meditation practice.

Below is a set of very simple exercises that only take a few minutes to do. Doing these before you sit for meditation, and also doing them after to integrate the energy generated, will make your meditation practice more enjoyable, and you will feel more energetic afterwards. (Please note that these exercises are from Master Choa Kok Sui, the modern day founder of Pranic Healing.)
EXERCISES BEFORE & AFTER MEDITATION​
  1. Eye rotations — Roll you eyes 12 times clockwise. (Can sweep eyes in between.) Then 12 times counterclockwise.
  2. Neck — Turn your head to the left side then to the right side 12 times. 
  3. Shoulder rotations — With your arms fully outstretched to the side, rotate your arms backward 12 times, pivoting at the shoulder. Then rotate them forward 12 times.
  4. Spine — Breathe in through nose as tilt head back and arch upper torso chest out, breath out through mouth and arch spine forward rounding shoulders 12 times, clap afterward to clean room.
  5. Torso Twists — With your feet planted and your arms outstretched and parallel to the ground, twist your trunk 12 times to right and to the left. 
  6. Hip Rotations — With your hands on your hips and your knees slightly bent, rotate your hips 12 times in a clockwise circle then 12 times counterclockwise.
  7. Small Squats — Bending slightly at the knees, do 50 or more quarter-squats. A quarter-squat means you’re slightly dipping your knees. The quarter-squat highly activates your basic chakra. 
  8. Elbows — Flex 12 times together.  Can flick hands at same time
  9. Wrists — Rotate 12 times each direction
  10. Knees — Stand on one foot and flex the knee with a kicking motion 12 times each leg
  11. Ankle rotations — Standing on your right leg, lift up your left leg and extend it slightly. Rotate your ankle 12 times to the left and 12 times to the right. Then perform the exercise with your right ankle.
  12. Ankle flex — Up and down 12 times each
  13. Side meridian stretch — Feet 12 inches apart, knees slightly bent, stretch to one side. One arm behind back at the level of the waist and the other reaching over side of the head to give a stretch down the side meridian, then to opposite side. Do 12 times.