>The first thing to learn about yourself is that you are in control of your breathing. You can speed it up, you can slow it down.In yoga practice, the breath is emphasized as a way toward meditating while you are in your poses. Mindfulness meditation, if integrated into your yoga practice can be very helpful.Here are some tips:Always find a quiet place to do your meditation. In a sitting or lying position be with yourself and quiet in mind.As a beginner you may try to control your breathing too much. Just go with the flow and breathe slowly, watching your abdomen. You abdomen should rise and fall as your breathe, not you chest. Shallow chest breathing can in itself cause anxiety and stress. You need to learn how to slow the breath down by watching your abdomen rise and fall.So when you are sitting in your yoga pose, legs crossed and hands folded in front of you, close your eyes and practice your breathing.Your breath can also lead you toward checking every part of your body for stress. Begin to think about where your stress is hiding and address each area of your body, beginning at your head, neck, chest,arms, hips, legs and all the way to your toes. Breathe into each area of your body and feel the release of your stress in that area.In yoga, watching your breath is called pranayama. This means focusing and becoming aware of your breathing by watching your abdomen rise and fall as you inhale and exhale slowly.
Other ways to focus: Some people focus on their breath, repeating a word or holding a vision or focal point. Keep practicing, many people want to rush learning how to breathe and meditate. Be patient and practice breathing.

Meditation can not only help with your anxiety and stress, it can help you to achieve harmony in your life.
Taken in part from: Grime, L (2008) Gentle Yoga. New York, NY. Metro Books