STEP 1: THE NARROWS
Notice in the graphic below that two of the upper landmarks are gone. They’ve been replaced by an area between the dotted lines extending from the Funnel at the top of the torso to the Palate at the roof of the mouth. This is the narrow passageway connecting the torso and the head. Awareness moving through the tube is more focused and easier to feel in the Narrows. In the exercise below you won’t pause here. You’ll simply notice that your awareness is more perceptible as it’s being stretched up through the Narrows. This will help keep your awareness on midline instead of projected forward.
WHAT YOU WILL PRACTICE
First, you’ll imagine the completed tube from your Perineum to your Fontanel. Next, you’ll feel the tube on your body’s front-to-back midline. Then, you’ll anchor your awareness at the Perineum. You’ll begin a belly breath by inhaling and stretching your awareness up the tube, through the Narrows sensation. You’ll continue to stretch your awareness on up — behind your eyes — to the Fontanel. Then, you’ll hold without locking. Finally, you’ll exhale effortlessly. Read this paragraph until the sequence is clear. Then practice several times with the audio below.
Click Below to Hear Audio -- Practice several times, eyes closed
STEP 2: THE DROP
As before, you’ll stretch your awareness up through the Narrows and hold your full inhalation, without locking, at the Fontanel. But then you’ll anchor your awareness at the Fontanel and allow it to drop straight down through the Narrows to the Perineum before you exhale. (See blue arrows below.) Feeling your awareness drop and stretch straight down through the Narrows and on down to your Perineum prevents forward projection. You’ll hold your inhalation just long enough to allow your awareness to drop. But the hold is not nearly as long as your slower inhalation and exhalation.
WHAT YOU WILL PRACTICE
First, you’ll imagine the tube from your Perineum to your Fontanel. Next, you’ll feel the tube on your body’s midline. Then, you’ll anchor awareness at the Perineum. You’ll begin a belly breath by inhaling and stretching your awareness up the tube, through the Narrows sensation, and on up behind your eyes to the Fontanel. You’ll hold without locking. Then, you’ll anchor at the Fontanel and stretch awareness straight down through the Narrows to the Perineum. Finally, you’ll exhale. Read this paragraph until the sequence is clear. Then practice several times with the audio below.
Click Below to Hear Audio -- Practice several times, eyes closed
STEP 3: THE EXHALATION
You’ll practice as before. But as you exhale, you’ll totally release the tube image. As the tube disappears, you’ll feel your awareness expand in all directions to fill the entire inner space within your head and torso, including where the imagined tube used to be. To prevent forward projection, make sure to allow your awareness to also expand to the back of your body. This is the “payoff” when you’ll learn to feel your energetic spaciousness. But don’t allow the mind to color or shape what you feel. Simply surrender, without mental interpretation, to the actual sensation within your inner space.
WHAT YOU WILL PRACTICE
First, you’ll anchor at the Perineum. Then, you’ll begin a belly breath and stretch your awareness up through the Narrows. You’ll hold your inhalation without locking as you anchor at the Fontanel. Then, you’ll drop your awareness and stretch it down through the Narrows, and on down to your Perineum. You’ll feel the whole tube filled with awareness. Then, you’ll exhale effortlessly and allow the tube to disappear. You’ll feel whatever you feel as your awareness expands to fill your head and torso. Read this paragraph until the sequence of steps is clear. Then practice with the audio below.
Click Below to Hear Audio -- Practice several times, eyes closed
STEP 4: THE INTENTIONAL BREATH
The prior lessons were somewhat detailed and repetitive in order to address the tendency to project awareness forward. Now, the technique becomes very simple. However, occasionally review the prior lessons to make sure that you: 1) anchor at the Perineum before stretching awareness up the tube, and anchor at the Fontanel before stretching awareness down the tube; 2) always feel your awareness move through the Narrows sensation; and 3) always hold a full inhalation without locking your belly muscles. An Intentional Breath is now four easy steps:
WHAT YOU WILL PRACTICE
You’ll remember to always feel awareness move through the Narrows. First, you’ll anchor at the Perineum. Then, you’ll inhale and stretch your awareness up to the Fontanel. You’ll hold your inhalation and anchor. Then, you’ll drop your awareness, and stretch it down to the Perineum. You’ll feel the tube filled with your awareness. Finally, you’ll exhale and release the tube image. As your awareness expands, you’ll surrender to feeling your entire inner space without coloring or shaping the sensations. Read this paragraph until the sequence is clear. Then practice with the audio below.
Click Below to Hear Audio -- Practice several times, eyes closed
USING THE TECHNIQUE
Practice until it’s easy to take an intentional breath without referring to the instructions. Then, you’re ready to begin to use the technique as a tool that can adapt to several areas of your life. The next sections offer suggestions for integrating the technique in three phases. In the first phase you’ll master the technique in solitary using a sequence of intentional breaths. In the next phase you’ll use a single intentional breath to reduce real time stress by pulling awareness back from the world “out there.” In the last phase you’ll use the technique to be present and anchored in social situations.