Breath Inquiry

The Essential Breath

Sitting comfortably in your chair (or lying down) begin to notice your breathing without trying to alter it or make it in any way different. Just let your breath do what it will. Slowly begin to rest your attention on your exhalation and let your awareness travel down the length of an exhalation. Do this number of times, enjoying the sensation of the breath effortlessly leaving the body. What do you find at the end of the exhalation? Did you feel the momentary pause that follows the end of the exhalation? This pause may be brief, a momentary hesitation, yet something very special happens in that pause. Don't try to make the pause happen or extend it forcefully. Simply relax and let it happen. As you surrender in the restfulness in the pause, you may find that it lengthens of its own accord. Trust that the next breath can arise out of the pause without you “grabbing” for it.

Within this pause there is no thought and no movement. You may experience it as a pregnant silence; much like the silence you feel when you enter a forest. The new breath arises out of this pause. The next moment arises out of this pause. The inhalation is born out of the stillness of the pause and the exhalation dissolves into it.

This pause is a well, a resource that is always available to you. Know that at any time when you feel tired or confused, hurried or overwhelmed, you can draw from this well for rest and replenishment simply by entering the pause at the end of the exhalation. Without anticipating or projecting the outcome of the next moment, can you wait and see what the next breath brings?

From “The Breathing Book - Good Health & Vitality through Essential Breathwork” by Donna Farhi

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