Simple Breath Awareness 3

(waves crashing) Hi there. Welcome back. We'll continue with letting the breath draw us even more inward, studying the relationship of the breath, attention, and what the yogis call prana. So step one, get yourself comfortable. Snuggle in.

Settle. Ground. Let your heart feel buoyant, and find the alignment of the skull, where your neck tension is no longer necessary. Let your eyes rest gently on a spot in front of you, or let them close, whichever is more effective for you. And then eventually, tether your attention to the spot in between the nose and the upper lips.

The technical name of this is the filtrum. Just that little divot spot. Nice. With the same tenderness now as you've been honing, begin to turn your awareness towards the left nostril, feeling the movement of your breath in the left nostril. No need to force the breath in the nostril.

Just feeling the in breath and the out breath. Nice. Let your awareness come back to rest right in between the nose and the upper lip. And then with the same tenderness and gentleness, move your attention over to the right nostril. Aware of the movement of the breath here.

Of course, you might notice that it's easier or harder to breathe in this nostril than the left. There are multiple comparative details that might reveal themselves. Do your best to let these comparisons just wash on down the river, just practicing holding your attention steady. Okay. Beautiful.

Let your awareness come back to rest, right underneath the nose, right above the upper lip. And we're gonna repeat this, but with a few more instructions. Again, the purpose is just to study this tethering of the breath, the attention, and the subtler energy of prana. So as you're ready, let your attention move back to the left nostril. And aware how it might feel, as if you're now just primarily breathing in the left nostril, a sense that the breath has followed your focus.

Eyes again are soft or closed. And now see if you can let your awareness be even more specific. Can you come to the back of the left nostril, so closer to your face with your attention, and can you become more sensitive to this area? Let your awareness now move to the inner channel of the left nostril, like closer to the center. Let your awareness come to the front of the nostril.

And now, let your awareness come to the outer channel of the left nostril. And now let your attention be right in the center of the nostril, just feeling the effect on the breath. Beautiful. Relax this tethering. If it's useful, let your attention just rest right in that spot between the nose and the upper lip.

Pause. And if you're not ready, don't rush it. Sometimes, when you've spent a lot of time in one area, so intimately, it can be difficult to move to another area as intimately. So... When you're ready, let your awareness come to the right nostril.

Soft in the belly, soft in the mouth. And it's the same instructions. Become more aware of the back of the nostril, seeing if it feels like the breath follows. Become more aware of the inner channel of the right nostril, closer to the center, the septum. Tune your attention to the front of the nostril.

And then let your awareness come to the outer channel of the right nostril. And then right in the center. And then relax this tethering, and again, let your awareness just rest between the nose and the upper lip. Resting in the effect of your attention to such small, rarely attended-to details. If your eyes have been closed, let your eyes tenderly open.

Thank you.