THE TUBE AND ITS LANDMARKS
In this lesson you’ll imagine a clear tube about one inch in diameter running up the body’s midline from the perineum to the top of your head. However, it’s possible to imagine this tube and still project its location forward from the body’s midline. So, you’ll practice actually feeling your awareness rise through three physical “landmarks” along the body’s midline that will anchor your awareness and prevent the forward drift of your awareness. When you learned the belly breath, you located the first landmark, the Perineum, at the bottom of the torso. This is where the technique always begins.
THE NARROWS
The sternum at the top of your chest and the spine at the top of your back curve inwards towards each other. This narrowing creates an anatomical “funnel” that can concentrate and increase sensation, depending on how you breathe. When you take a breath by expanding your chest muscles only, there’s minimal sensation created in the “Narrows.” But when you take a belly breath and allow your chest to remain passive, you can feel a distinct sensation in the Narrows, particularly at the Soft Palate at the roof of your mouth. The Soft Palate is the top portion of the Narrows.
WHAT YOU WILL PRACTICE
First, you’ll anchor your awareness at your Perineum before beginning a Belly Breath. Then, you’ll inhale and stretch your awareness up the tube through the Narrows to the Soft Palate. Without locking your muscles, you’ll briefly hold your inhalation at the Soft Palate and feel the sensations generated in the Narrows and at the Soft Palate. Finally, you’ll exhale effortlessly. Read this paragraph and refer to the graphic below until this entire sequence is clear. Then practice several times with the more concise audio below the graphic.
Click Below to Hear Audio -- Practice several times, eyes closed
Follow Instructions at your own comfortable pace. Exhale sooner if needed
THE FONTANEL
Place the tip of one of your middle fingers on the very top of your head. Explore this area until you find an indentation or an area of increased sensitivity. This area contains a key acupuncture point. It’s also the area where babies have a soft spot, called the Fontanel, before their cranium bones fuse. When you find the Fontanel, rub it briefly. Then, drop your finger and place your awareness on this spot. Notice the subtle sensation that can be felt at the Fontanel. This is our top landmark. Along with the Perineum, it defines the vertical space in which the technique operates.
THE EYES
Notice in the graphic below that each eye has four muscles that control eye movement. These muscles move the eyes when you think. And you think all the time except in dreamless sleep. This eye movement is usually too subtle for you to notice. Yet for many, these constantly active muscles combine with projected thinking to propel your sense of self forward into the eyes, or the area around the eyes… or even out into the world. As you practice the next exercise, be aware that the Narrows, the tube and the Fontanel are all on the body’s midline well behind your eyes.
WHAT YOU WILL PRACTICE
First, you’ll anchor your awareness at your Perineum before beginning a Belly Breath. Then, you’ll inhale and stretch your awareness up the tube through the Narrows and Soft Palate sensations, and on up behind your eyes to the Fontanel. Without locking your muscles, you’ll briefly hold your inhalation at the Fontanel and feel the sensation generated at the top of your head. Finally, you’ll exhale effortlessly. Read this paragraph and refer to the graphic below until this entire sequence is clear. Then practice several times with the more concise audio below the graphic.
Click Below to Hear Audio -- Practice several times, eyes closed
Follow Instructions at your own comfortable pace. Exhale sooner if needed
INTEGRATING THE LANDMARKS
Because it’s easy to project awareness forward to the eyes, it may be useful to review this lesson several times in order to truly feel the sensations produced by the landmarks. Some individuals feel more strongly at the Soft Palate. Others find the overall sensation of awareness moving through the Narrows to be more perceptible. The sensation at the Fontanel may feel subtle or diffuse. However, with some practice you’ll likely find it easy to feel that you’ve reached the top of your head. Once you’re comfortable with how the landmarks keep awareness on midline, move on to the last lesson.