Occasionally I hear about people new to meditating, especially for the first time, who complain about the difficulty, pain, or frustration with focusing on their breath. Sometimes this is coupled with a complaint of headaches. There are two major reasons for this, which need clearing up.

First, focus is active, focus demands effort. And in meditation we are not looking to exert effort. Broadly, in life, it is worth focusing on our big issues, and on resolving problems. But in meditation we try to bring attention to our anchor, rather than focus on it.

Second, meditation is frankly, not trivial or easy, though very simple. We live in an age where our attention has become a commodity that companies crave and fight for. So bringing your attention to something without a marketing budget is difficult. But what is simple is making the time, setting the timer, and actually sitting down to do it.