| | Some days, I can 'catch' my breath more easily at the abdomen, other days the nostrils work better.
Once I can stay with either sensation for some time, I start to examine it - is it tight or flowing, etc.
Then, I examine different parts of my body during each breath, aiming for a "whole body" breath awareness. At this point, I don't focus on abdomen or nostrils any more, but on wider areas of the body, ideally the whole body.
Then I try to relax with each breath, looking for cramped muscles and making them "light" with the in breaths, and "heavy" with the out-breath. The breath tends to get more "quiet" at this point.
All this time, I note any uncomfortable feelings. Even the little "squeeze" at the end of a breath. I'm on the outlook for dukkha here. I'm actually trying to follow the anapanasati sutta, combined with Dan's recommendation to observe the three characteristics.
Cheers, Florian |