The practice of breath awareness is a simple exercise called Twenty Connected Breaths.
It takes only 30 seconds to do this exercise, so it is ideal for today's fast world. Just 30 seconds of breathing consciously brings fresh life energy into the mind and body. This is the way it is done:
There are four sets of five breaths.
- Four short breaths.
- At the end of each group of short breaths - a big breath.
- The breathing should be done in and out through the nose.
- Four short breaths and one long breath, four times without stopping.
You merge the inhale with the exhale in an unbroken circle. One inhale connected to one exhale in one breath. All twenty breaths should be connected so that they are one connected series of breaths.
The purpose of the short breaths is to emphasize the connection and merging of the inhale and the exhale into unbroken circles.
The purpose of the long breaths is to fill all the room you can find on the inhale and let go completely on the exhale.
Do five connected breaths (four short breaths and one long one) at this time before reading on.
Five connected breaths merged is like one continuous breath.
1. The proper speed is between pushing and holding.
2. Your breathing should feel free. Try not to force it nor to control it.
3. Your breathing rhythm should flow.
4. When you are breathing properly, you can feel energy moving in your body as well as air.
It is called Conscious Energy Breathing or Consciously Breathing Energy.
This simple breathing exercise of Twenty Connected Breaths is totally safe and harmless for everyone who likes living. In other words, it is good for your health. If you plan to keep living, you will have to keep breathing. You probably noticed that the exercise was pleasurable.
If you do it once every day, your whole life will be more pleasurable.
Did you have any physical sensations?
Some people have dizziness, tingling sensations in the hands or stomach or else where.
If you did, you should realize that people who have bad breathing habits will experience funny or unusual sensations when they breathe properly.
If you do this Twenty Connected Breaths exercise every day, you will notice that the physical sensations may be different every day. This means that you are learning about breathing and you are getting benefit.
I recommend that you only do this exercise once each day for the first week.
Remember, if you haven't been breathing properly before now, your body may be oxygen starved. So easy does it! Once per day is enough.
Don't be in a hurry!
If you do only Twenty Connected Breaths once per day for a year, you will develop tremendous breathing awareness in one year.
Extract from “Breath Awareness” by L Orr
