154. Breath-related techniques

Watching the breath continuously is a powerful and effective meditation. It has led more people to enlightenment than any other meditation. Watching the breath tremendously increases awareness. As awareness increases, inner awakening happens, and bliss follows.

1. Awareness of the incoming and outgoing breaths and the gap

Total Duration: 35 minutes

Sit in a completely relaxed position. Let your body be completely relaxed.

Step 1: Duration: 5 minutes

Start observing your breath. Start witnessing your breath. Do not increase the length of your breathing. Just witness your normal inhaling and exhaling.

Step 2: Duration: 5 minutes

Next, observe only the breath that goes in. Do not bother about the outgoing breath. Witness only the breath going in.

Step 3: Duration: 5 minutes

Now witness only the outgoing breath, not bothering about the incoming breath. Witness with your full awareness only the outgoing breath.

Step 4: Duration: 5 minutes

Now leave everything else and start witnessing only the gap between the incoming and outgoing breath. Be aware of your breath taking the turn. Be aware only of the gap between the incoming breath and outgoing breath.

Step 5: Duration: 5 minutes

Now be aware of the incoming breath, the gap and the outgoing breath. Be aware of all three. Feel that your whole body is rejuvenated and alive. You are in a silence that is alive and energizing. You are vibrating with high energy.

Step 6: Duration: 5 minutes

Now witness the gap between the incoming breath and outgoing breath. Be aware only of the gap. You may feel you are not breathing at all, witness that feeling also.

Step 7: Duration: 5 minutes

Close your eyes and relax. Do not meditate. Just relax. Do not think actively of anything. Just let your mind settle down.

Relax and come out of the high-energy zone slowly. At the end of the five minutes, open your eyes very slowly.

2. Intelligence and energy in the neutral space between breaths

Total Duration: 30 minutes

Sit in a relaxed way. Close your eyes. Watch your breath – the incoming breath becoming the outgoing breath or the outgoing breath taking the turn into the incoming breath. Be aware of the neutral space where the breath takes the turn. This is the time when you are flooded with energy and intelligence, during the gap between inhaling and exhaling, and then again before inhaling.

Sometimes even a single desire can bring life to you. For example, you may be lying on the bed over the weekend, but you don't feel like getting up. Suddenly you may remember some friend whom you wanted to see. This single thought can bring your whole body alive. You will jump out of bed and be ready to run. Whenever you are flooded with energy, be aware that it is happening only in this neutral zone.

In the same way, when something is taken away from you and you reconcile yourself to it, you are flooded with intelligence. If you lose something, immediately you are given some message, some understanding about life, and that becomes your intelligence. Be aware when you are flooded with intelligence.

In the neutral zone, you are flooded with energy and intelligence. If you can bring your awareness to these two zones, the whole day you will be constantly flooded with energy. When you watch both the gaps of your breath, when you are aware of both the gaps, you will be constantly flooded with energy and intelligence.

If you go a little deeper, you will understand one more important thing: every moment you have both thought and energy. The whole binary system of zero and one is based on only this duality of thought and energy, energy and thought, thought and energy, energy and thought - the two are directly related.

Actually, for a moment you will be flooded with iccha shakti, power of desire. The next moment you will be flooded with kriya shakti, power of action. One moment you will be flooded with energy, the next moment you will be flooded with intelligence. Constantly these two play the game. These are also the constituents of the whole cosmos - matter and energy.

Constantly in your inner space, matter and energy are dancing. If you can be aware of the gap, you will experience the eternal consciousness.

The power of desire and action are both dancing in your inner space. If you can be aware of the gap, you will achieve the gnana shakti or power of wisdom. The energy is constantly enjoying itself, expressing itself in your inner space. Just be a little aware of the gap and you will be flooded with the divine consciousness.

3. Awareness of the neutral space while moving the body

Total Duration: 30 minutes

Sit straight, preferably on the ground. Close your eyes. Inhale and exhale as slowly as possible, as deeply as possible.

Step 1: Duration: 3 minutes

Slowly, very slowly, put your attention only on the incoming breath. Be aware of the incoming breath.

Step 2: Duration: 3 minutes

Now slowly, put your attention only on the outgoing breath.

Step 3: Duration: 3 minutes

Now forget about the incoming breath and the outgoing breath. Slowly, very slowly, put your attention between the two breaths. Just be aware of the gap, the neutral space between the breaths. Keep your attention on the gap between breaths.

Step 4: Duration: 3 minutes

Keep your attention between the two breaths. Relax in the neutral space. While you are in this space, in this consciousness, try to move either hand. While moving the hand, if you feel you have come out of that neutral space awareness, bring yourself back to the neutral space. Come back to the neutral space and move the hand again.

Step 5: Duration: 3 minutes

Being in the same neutral space, without losing it, try

to stand up. If you feel you are losing the neutral space, sit down. Come back to the neutral space again. Now, without losing the awareness of the gap, try to stand up.

Let your eyes remain closed. Once you stand up, continue to be aware of the gap between the breaths. Let your attention be between the two breaths, in that neutral space. Be where there is no mind.

Step 6: Duration: 3 minutes

Keep your attention between the two breaths. Be aware of the neutral space. Without losing the awareness, try to move both hands very slowly. The important thing is to not lose the awareness of the gap.

Step 7: Duration: 3 minutes

Relax. Be centered between the two breaths. Be completely at ease in the neutral space. Be aware of the gap. Without losing the awareness, slowly move your head. The important thing is to not lose the awareness. If you feel you have lost the awareness, bring it back and then move the head.

Step 8: Duration: 3 minutes

Without losing the awareness, being totally centered between the two breaths, in the neutral space, try to move your feet. Be aware. Do not lose the neutral space. Be completely centered on the neutral space. If you feel you have lost the awareness,

come back. Slow down. Center yourself in the neutral space. Let your attention be between the two breaths. Then, try to move your feet again.

Step 9: Duration: 3 minutes

Without losing the awareness, slowly, very slowly, try to open your eyes. If you feel what you are seeing takes away your awareness, close your eyes and again center yourself in that awareness. Very slowly, be in that same awareness, in that same neutral space, and again try to open your eyes. If you feel you are losing your awareness, close your eyes and bring back the awareness. Center yourself in the awareness. Keep your attention between the two breaths. Keep your attention on the neutral space.

Step 10: Duration: 3 minutes

Be in that same awareness and try to sit, wherever you are. If you feel you are losing the awareness, then wait, and center yourself in the awareness. Keep your attention between the two breaths and try again to sit without losing the awareness.

Total Duration: 21 minutes

This technique is to be done with a feeling of deep devotion. You may feel deep devotion to someone, you may feel deeply connected to someone in your life like god, master, parent, friend, teacher, a leader who inspired you, a person who contributed something memorable to your life. You can remember more than one person as well, even two or three people who mean a lot to you like your beautiful mother, your wonderful master, your favorite god or your beloved friend.

Close your eyes. Sit straight. Remember all the people who create a deep devotional feeling in you, who reside in your heart, to whom you feel deeply connected, who are inspirational sources for you, to whom you turn whenever you want to spiritually rejuvenate yourself.

Remember them or remember their contribution towards your life. Feel deeply connected to them with your whole being. Feel utmost devotion to that person or being. Allow your whole being to melt with devotion.

With this deep devotion, be aware of the gaps between the incoming breath and the outgoing breath. Between every incoming and outgoing breath, the Self shines through, the Truth reveals itself. That is why bringing awareness to these gaps is emphasized so much. The possibility of awakening to the Truth is tremendous when awareness is brought to these gaps.

5. Vipassana

Vipassana means realizing the Truth step by step. There are three ways in which you can do vipassana:

Deep awareness of your body, your actions, your mind, your heart

Duration: anytime, anywhere

When you walk, when you move your hand, when you smile, do it all with awareness. Know perfectly well that it is you who is doing that action. Be alert. Not a single moment or movement should pass in an unconscious state. Not a single action should happen in your body without your awareness.

Just like your body, watch your heart and mind. Be aware of every emotion that rises in your heart. Be aware of every thought that passes in and out of your mind. Don't have opinions, don't evaluate anything. Just be a witness.

Watch your breathing

Duration: anytime, anywhere

Feel your belly rise and fall with every inhalation and exhalation. The navel, the source of your life energy, is in the region of the belly. So when you pay attention to the navel, you become aware of the flow of life energy in your body. As you become more aware of the belly, you will see that your heart and mind fall silent!

Watch the breath as it enters your body – at the nostrils

Duration: anytime, anywhere

Be aware of the cool air in the nostrils. Feel the ease with which the breath enters and leaves the nostrils.

Vipassana can be practiced both sitting and walking.

Sitting

Total Duration: 60 minutes

Sit in a comfortable position, spine erect, facing straight ahead. Keep your eyes closed and breathe normally. Stay still without shifting positions.

Watch the rise and fall of the belly when breathing in and out. Don't concentrate on the breath, but calmly observe it. If you find other thoughts, feelings or

physical sensations coming up, allow them. Witness them also momentarily and then return to watching the breath.

It is the process of watching that is important, not what you are watching. Witness everything.

Do this for 45 minutes and rest for 15 minutes.

Walking

Total Duration: 30 minutes

Here your awareness is totally on your feet as they touch the ground.

You can walk in a circle or in a straight line of about fifteen steps, going back or forth. You can practice this meditation simply going from room to room in your house, or out in your garden.

The eyes should be lowered and focused on the ground, on the feet. Just as you watch the belly in sitting meditation, watch and be aware here of the contact of each foot with the ground. If other thoughts and sensations come up, allow them. Nothing is to be seen as a distraction. When you have finished witnessing the sensation or the thought, go back to watching your feet.

Do this for 20 minutes and rest for 10 minutes.