With Each and Every Breath We Take...
Breath feelings or energies in the body…what does that mean and what is it exactly?
Breath and the feelings or energies it generates, can be used in many different ways to adjust our body and mind and bring it back into balance.
The ancient Pali writings or instructions on “Breath Meditation” are the most detailed ancient meditation instructions available. There are 16 steps in total, but today I’m working with only the first 3 steps – working with breath:
Breath meditation is relatively easy to use as an anchor for meditation, firstly because we all breathe. It's always present. And secondly because breathing its something the mind can analyze, so our mind can latch onto it and tends not to stray too quickly when we use the breath as focus. The breath is a place where we can settle our mind.
Not only is the breath always present, the breath is also the present. In terms of mindfulness, keeping our concentration focused on the breath means we are in the present moment. When we place our full attention on the breath, we pull ourselves out of the past, away from the future, and directly into the here and now.
Breath is so often overlooked because our body knows how to breathe without instruction. If we are fortunate not to have problems with breathing – such as asthma or emphysema, for example – we rarely think about breathing. Yet, our breath – which is ever present – when it stops, actually means the end of our life!
We can use breath energies in the body to help develop a solid calm, centred feeling of groundedness. By changing the flow of breath, we can also adjust our mood and energy levels. This is one of the reasons a traditional yoga class always starts off with a quiet period and pranayama (breath work).
If we feel tired, breathing a little deeper means we bring more energy into the body. When we feel scattered and distracted, nervous or anxious, we can use breath to balance and steady our mind, using calm and steady breathing. When our mind is relaxed, our body will be relaxed, and our breath will be slow and steady. Conversely, when our breath is steady, slow and deep, our mind will interpret this as us feeling calm and relaxed.
We can regulate our body temperature with breath. Pranayama (breath work in yoga) can be used to cool the body down with slow, steady, cooling Sithali breath. Or heat the body up with a faster, more energetic, warming practice of Bhastrika (bellows breathing).
We use it as a different kind of 'thermometer' when moving through movement or yoga postures: A strenuous breath – or holding our breath - means we are straining in a posture. An easy breath means we are flowing easily through a movement or posture.
Breath can indicate how we feel. If you notice your breath is not moving right down into your belly, but getting stuck somewhere around the top of your lungs, you may be cold, nervous or stressed. If your breathing is quick and sharp, you may be angry or irritated. The breath is a very good gauge of what’s happening in our mind.
In mindfulness meditation we use concentration on the breath to create total or whole-body awareness of breath. Complete mindfulness of breath, also known as kayagatasati. It means saturating our body with breath awareness.
We can practice kayagatasati at any time of the day, it doesn't need to be limited to using it on our mat or meditation bench. Becoming aware of our breath is a very relaxing method of meditation. Although for some it may take a bit of practice to become easy enough to be beneficial.
It is easy to start. All you do is find a comfortable place to sit, close your eyes, and become aware of your breath. Every movement, every nuance of breath, throughout your whole body. The temperature difference between breathing in and out. The point at which the breath first makes contact with your body. Every small thing to do with breath, examine it.
Usually we breathe without effort; but you may find, the moment you try to breathe consciously, that your breathing suddenly feels blocked, shortened, or constricted. You may suddenly feel as if you are more entangled with your breath than before, thinking of yourself as The Breather, finding it difficult not to adjust your breath by 'jumping onto' it. Instead of seeing it as our body breathing itself, and allowing it to carry on breathing as it was before we took our awareness to it. Often our awareness of breath means we take on something extra, like an extra layer of effort, combined with a self-consciousness, which brings with it a certain amount of tension.
If you focus your attention on the breath, and find yourself thinking of the idea that your breath should be deep and full when in reality it is shallow, you will immediately get into trouble in this way. So try not to think of your breath in this way. Think of it as watching what your body is doing, watching your body breathe. Noticing that every breath we take is every so slightly different. There are many changes to our breath throughout the day. At times the breath is deep, at times shallow, at times free-flowing, and at other times it can feel blocked. If you pay careful attention, you will notice that you breathe more strongly though one nostril than another, and that this moves between left and right throughout the day.
This Mindfulness of breath meditation practice of being with the breath as it is, learning to let go of how you think things “should be” is the practice of learning to balance your attention - to be with what is, in this present moment, without wanting it to be any different.
So take a deep breath, and whatever comes your way is fine: short breath, long breath, deep breath, shallow breath. There is no ‘right’ breath. All breaths are fine breaths. Enjoy sitting.
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