Learn Hardcore German: Die Meditation hilft mir, meine Atmung zu beobachten und ruhiger zu werden. - Meditation helps me observe my breathing and become calmer.

In German every noun has a grammatical gender. Meditation happens to be feminine, so it takes the article die in the nominative singular: die Meditation.

You just have to learn the gender with each noun. A dictionary will list it like die Meditation (f.). The gender here is grammatical, not logical: it doesn’t say anything about the “natural” gender of meditation; it’s just the way the language works.

Because the noun is the subject of the sentence, it’s in the nominative case:

Die Meditation = subject (Who/what helps me? → Die Meditation.)

Why is it hilft and not hilfen or helft?

The verb is helfen (to help). It’s irregular and changes its stem vowel in the second and third person singular in the present tense:

ich helfe
du hilfst
er/sie/es hilft
wir helfen
ihr helft
sie/Sie helfen

The subject here is die Meditation (3rd person singular), so the correct form is hilft:

Die Meditation hilft … = Meditation helps …

Why is it mir and not mich?

Mir is the dative form of ich, and mich is the accusative form.

The verb helfen always takes a dative object in German:

jemandem helfen = to help someone (literally: to help to someone)

So:

Die Meditation hilft mir.
= Meditation helps me.
(literally: Meditation helps to me.)

If you said hilft mich, it would be wrong, because helfen never uses the accusative for the person being helped.

What case is meine Atmung, and why is it meine and not meiner?

Atmung (breathing) is feminine: die Atmung.

In the phrase meine Atmung zu beobachten, meine Atmung is the direct object of beobachten (to observe), so it’s in the accusative case.

For a feminine noun in the singular:

nominative: die / meine Atmung
accusative: die / meine Atmung

The form looks the same in nominative and accusative, but we know it’s accusative because it’s the thing being observed.

Meiner would be dative or genitive feminine, which doesn’t fit here.
So meine Atmung = my breathing as a direct object (to observe my breathing).

What is this zu beobachten / zu werden structure? Why is there a zu in front of the verbs?

Zu beobachten and zu werden are “zu-infinitives” (infinitive with zu). This is similar to English “to observe / to become” in structures like “It helps me to observe … and to become …”.

In German, after verbs like:

helfen, versuchen, anfangen, vergessen, planen, etc.

you often use an infinitive clause with zu:

… hilft mir, meine Atmung zu beobachten.
= … helps me (to) observe my breathing.

So the pattern is:

[main clause], [noun phrase] + zu + infinitive
→ hilft mir, meine Atmung zu beobachten
→ hilft mir, ruhiger zu werden

Why do the verbs come at the end: meine Atmung zu beobachten und ruhiger zu werden?

In a zu-infinitive clause, the verbs go to the end of the clause. That’s a standard German word-order rule.

The whole part after the comma is one infinitive clause with two coordinated infinitives:

meine Atmung zu beobachten
[und] ruhiger zu werden

In each part, the infinitive (beobachten / werden) comes at the end, and zu stands directly in front of that infinitive:

… meine Atmung zu beobachten
… ruhiger zu werden

You cannot move the infinitive earlier in the phrase; zu + infinitive must stay at the end of the clause.

Why is it ruhiger and not just ruhig?

Ruhiger is the comparative form of ruhig (calm).

ruhig → ruhiger = calmer / more calm

In English you also often use a comparative after “to become”:

to become calmer
not usually “to become calm” if we mean a change in how calm we are.

German works the same way:

ruhig werden = to become calm
ruhiger werden = to become calmer / to get calmer

In this sentence, the idea is that meditation helps you move from a less calm state to a more calm one, so ruhiger (comparative) fits better than just ruhig.

Why is it ruhiger zu werden and not ruhiger zu sein?

Werden expresses change / becoming.
Sein just expresses a state of being.

ruhiger werden = to become calmer (change from not-so-calm → calmer)
ruhiger sein = to be calmer (already be in that calmer state)

The sentence is about meditation helping you to reach a calmer state, so zu werden (to become) is more natural:

… hilft mir, … ruhiger zu werden.
= … helps me (to) become calmer.

You could say ruhiger zu sein, but that would focus more on being calm rather than the process of getting calm, which is a bit less idiomatic here.

Why is there a comma after mir?

German usually puts a comma before an infinitive clause with “zu” when that clause depends on a verb like helfen, versuchen, planen, aufhören, etc., especially if the clause is longer or has its own object:

Die Meditation hilft mir, meine Atmung zu beobachten …

Here, everything after the comma (meine Atmung zu beobachten und ruhiger zu werden) is one large infinitive clause that explains what meditation helps you with. The comma separates the main clause:

Die Meditation hilft mir from the dependent infinitive clause:
meine Atmung zu beobachten und ruhiger zu werden.

Can I also say „Die Meditation hilft mir, meine Atmung zu beobachten und ruhiger zu sein“? Is that correct?

Yes, that sentence is grammatically correct, but the meaning shifts slightly.

… zu werden → focus on the process of becoming calmer.
… zu sein → focus on being in a calmer state.

So:

Die Meditation hilft mir, meine Atmung zu beobachten und ruhiger zu werden.
= Meditation helps me observe my breathing and to become calmer (it causes me to calm down).
Die Meditation hilft mir, meine Atmung zu beobachten und ruhiger zu sein.
= Meditation helps me observe my breathing and to be calmer (it helps me maintain or have a calmer state).

Both are possible; zu werden is just the more typical phrasing when you’re talking about meditation leading to increased calmness.