Because breath has no form as such, it has since ancient times been equated with spirit—the formless one Life. It is an excellent meditation object precisely because it is not an object, has no shape or form. Whenever you are conscious of the breath, you are absolutely present. Use these breath exercises to become aware of inner space. 

  • Be aware of your breathing. Notice the sensation of the breath. Feel the air moving in and out of your body. Notice how the chest and abdomen expand and contract slightly with the in- and out-breath. One conscious breath is enough to make some space where before there was the uninterrupted succession of one thought after another.

  • Breathing isn't really something that you do but something that you witness as it happens. Breathing happens by itself. The intelligence within the body is doing it. All you have to do is watch it happening. There is no strain or effort involved. Let Kim Eng guide you through a relaxed awareness audio meditation on the breath.

  • Take two or three conscious breaths. Now see if you can detect a subtle sense of aliveness that pervades your entire inner body. Can you feel your body from within, so to speak? Sense briefly specific parts of your body. Feel your hands, then your arms, feet and legs. Can you feel your abdomen, chest, neck and head? What about your lips? Is there life in them? Then become aware again of the inner body as a whole.


After the Exercise...
Adapted from Practicing the Power of Now: Essential Teachings, Meditations, and Exercises from The Power of Now (p. 243–249)  
Published 06/10/2008