Breathing meditation belongs to the stillness class of meditation. We will describe two methods of breathing meditation, simple and nine-step. The simple breathing meditation starts with finding a quiet location and a comfortable posture or place to sit with the spine fairly straight (normal curvature, not slouched). It is a good idea to set your intention by dedicating your meditation practice to the benefit of others as described in the “Meditation—Preparation” post. Then concentrate on inhaling through the nose, pause holding your breath for a few seconds, purse your lips and blow slowly through your mouth as if you are cooling soup. Breathe slowly like this while concentrating on the feel of the air entering the nose and exiting the lips. Try not to think of anything. If you find yourself thinking, switch the outgoing breath to the “shish” (Shhhh) sound you make when telling someone to be quiet, and concentrate more forcefully on the feel of air entering and exiting. You could set a timer and try to increase the duration of your breathing meditation by one minute per session until you reach the longest session that your schedule permits.
A more complex form of breathing meditation is called nine-step breathing meditation or more commonly nine-round breathing. This method requires a visualization of the inner Spirit Body (see Glossary of Terms) as described in Western Tantra, chapter 9, Tantric Sex, Spirit Body, 107-108, reprinted here:
Spirit Body: According to the spiritual literature, the Spirit Body or “diamond” body, which inhabits the physical Body, has a hollow central channel from the top of the head to the floor of the pelvis. This central channel is flanked by two thinner channels, said to convey male and female Energy to an Energy center at the navel, where male and female Energy combine to power the Spirit Body. It is sort of like matter and antimatter combining at the dilithium crystal to power a starship, although nothing we are describing is made of ordinary matter or energy. Spirit Energy is distributed within the Spirit Body through the central channel to Energy centers called chakras located on the central channel at the crown of the head, the neck, near the heart, near the navel, and near the genitals. Radiating from the chakras are secondary Energy channels called nadi, which branch out smaller and smaller to reach all parts of the physical Body, like capillaries that nourish the physical Body. The heart chakra is thought to be the principal location of our Divine center, the seat of consciousness. My spiritual tradition works mainly with five chakras. Other spiritual systems locate more chakras, some outside the Body. I do not know if this Spirit Body is an actual manifestation of something real or just a convenient way to visualize the Spirit Body in order to control it, the way the human brain projects representations of the physical Body onto the cortex of the brain.
Don’t worry that this structure of the Spirit Body is not anatomically correct in the physical medical sense, it’s a visualized Spirit Body, not a physical body. It will function as the focus of a visualized practice. First find a quiet location and comfortable posture as with any breathing meditation. Set your intention to benefit yourself and others. With the visualized anatomy of the Spirit Body clearly in mind, here is how nine-step breathing meditation is done:
Steps 1-3) First close your left nostril with your left index finger, inhale slowly and evenly, and visualize air entering your right nostril, travelling down the right channel to where it meets the left channel at the central channel about 5cm (2”) below the navel. Then block the right nostril with the right index finger, exhale slowly, and visualize the air travelling up the left channel, blowing any impurities in the side channels out the left nostril. Repeat this two more times to complete the first three steps.
Steps 4-6) Now close your right nostril with your right index finger, inhale slowly and evenly, and visualize air entering your left nostril, travelling down the left channel to where it meets the right channel at the central channel about 5cm (2”) below the navel. Then block the left nostril with the left index finger, exhale slowly, and visualize the air travelling up the right channel, blowing any impurities in the side channels out the right nostril. Repeat this two more times to complete the middle three steps.
Steps 7-9) For the final set of three steps, leave both nostrils open, inhale slowly and evenly, and visualize air entering both nostrils, travelling down both side channels to where they both meet the central channel about 5cm (2”) below the navel. Pause for a few seconds. Then exhale slowly, and visualize the air travelling up the central channel, blowing any impurities in the central channel out an opening at the top of your head, called the “crown aperture.” Yeah, I know the air is really exiting your nose, but this is a visualization, and this is how it has been done for thousands of years. Just accept it. Repeat this two more times to complete the final three steps of the nine-step breathing meditation (or nine-round breathing as it is called on most websites). Then finish with expressing gratitude to the universe for the conditions that allow you to do this meditation.
The way this nine-step meditation works is by giving the discursive “monkey mind” something to do to interrupt the endless flow of disturbing thoughts, allowing Body and Soul (see Glossary of Terms) to rest and heal. The visualizations of the inner Spirit Body plumbing and the thought required to visualize air flow passing through the channels will keep the brain busy. The visualizations are intricate enough that the brain is fully occupied with this task and must set aside any distracting fears. Without the bodily “fight or flight” hormone and muscle responses to fearful thoughts, the Body is able to relax, and the brain neurotransmitters depleted by endless circular thinking can replenish. Our conscious mind can then move its focus of attention from the Head to the Heart center, giving us a chance to find the source of healing energy.
Nine-step breathing can be used by itself to improve mental and physical health and improve concentration, the principle function of the various stillness meditations. It is also used as a preliminary practice to enhance concentration and relax body and mind in preparation for other meditation practices. If you try either of these breathing meditations, simple or nine-step, let us know your experiences and any tips to make them better.