Beginning Meditation: the Out-Breath
As always in our meditation practice, begin by sitting comfortably with the spine erect. Breathing in, reach through the crown of the head, opening the heart and softening the shoulders. Breathing out, relax through the tissues of the body.
In this technique, we focus entirely on the out-breath. Exhaling, we align our minds, thoughts, and emotions to the quality of breathing out—release of tension, and emptiness. It won’t take very long to discover that it is during the out-breath that the ego dissolves into space, allowing an expansive quality of mind. This new state of being is less tense and more open than our normal, everyday attitude that we carry around with us. Indeed, the out-breath is like a dump truck unloading the tension and frustration that holds us back from pure freedom, self-acceptance, and open-mindedness.
During inhalation, we let the mind be blank. We can correct our posture, or fortify our commitment to practice, but the emphasis is completely on the exhalation. After all, we are trying to release our thoughts, feelings, and habits, and not take new ones in, so we don’t really need to do anything during the in-breath.
It is best to practice this technique for a minimum of 10 minutes and a recommended timeframe of 20 minutes. However, even thirty seconds of practice will bring deep relaxation and open-mindedness.
Overview of practice:
1 - Sit comfortably with the spine erect and the body relaxed.
2 - Place the mind on the out-breath, and the sensation of release and emptiness that follows. If it helps, trace the breath from the depths of the body, to the lungs, out the nostrils, and then into space. Even follow the breath out of the body for a few seconds, imagining it swirling through the air before gently dissolving. Eventually, this visualization will give way to the essence of the out-breath: release and emptiness.
3 - Pay particular attention to the last moment of each exhalation. This is the special moment when the mind enters shunya—‘zero,’ or emptiness.
4 - Readjust posture as necessary, and return the mind to the out-breath.
In this technique, we focus entirely on the out-breath. Exhaling, we align our minds, thoughts, and emotions to the quality of breathing out—release of tension, and emptiness. It won’t take very long to discover that it is during the out-breath that the ego dissolves into space, allowing an expansive quality of mind. This new state of being is less tense and more open than our normal, everyday attitude that we carry around with us. Indeed, the out-breath is like a dump truck unloading the tension and frustration that holds us back from pure freedom, self-acceptance, and open-mindedness.
During inhalation, we let the mind be blank. We can correct our posture, or fortify our commitment to practice, but the emphasis is completely on the exhalation. After all, we are trying to release our thoughts, feelings, and habits, and not take new ones in, so we don’t really need to do anything during the in-breath.
It is best to practice this technique for a minimum of 10 minutes and a recommended timeframe of 20 minutes. However, even thirty seconds of practice will bring deep relaxation and open-mindedness.
Overview of practice:
1 - Sit comfortably with the spine erect and the body relaxed.
2 - Place the mind on the out-breath, and the sensation of release and emptiness that follows. If it helps, trace the breath from the depths of the body, to the lungs, out the nostrils, and then into space. Even follow the breath out of the body for a few seconds, imagining it swirling through the air before gently dissolving. Eventually, this visualization will give way to the essence of the out-breath: release and emptiness.
3 - Pay particular attention to the last moment of each exhalation. This is the special moment when the mind enters shunya—‘zero,’ or emptiness.
4 - Readjust posture as necessary, and return the mind to the out-breath.