The Bridge of Breath

Transcript

Make yourself comfortable... Let the body settle... Eyes gently closed...

And before you do anything at all — before you even take a deep breath — do nothing. Simply sit, for a moment, exactly as you are.

Now bring your attention to the breath.

Not your idea of the breath — not what your breath should look like — but the actual, living breath, as it is, happening now.

Find it at the nostrils. The cool stream of air entering... the warm stream leaving...

The breath is a bridge. On one side stands the body — solid, heavy, of the earth. On the other side stands your inner being — the witness, the silence, the one who watches. And between them, crossing endlessly in both directions, moves the breath.

In... the body is touched by awareness.

Out... awareness is anchored in the body.

Here is the strange and beautiful thing: don't try to slow the breath down. Don't interfere. Just watch it with total attention — and you will find the breath begins to slow on its own. The deeper your watching, the deeper the breathing becomes, without any effort on your part. Attention itself does the work.

Watch...

If the mind wanders — and it will, that's its nature — simply come back. No scolding. No disappointment. Just return to the bridge. The breath is always here. It has never once left you since the moment you were born.

Now let your awareness follow the breath a little deeper, down into the belly. Feel it expand as the air comes in... like a tide rising... and fall as the air leaves... like a tide going out.

You carry an ocean inside you, and its waves are your breath.

For these last moments, stay with the breath at whatever level feels natural — nostrils, chest, or belly. There is no wrong place. There is only the bridge, and you standing on it, watching the traffic of life move in both directions.

Watch the breath come in...

Watch the breath go out...

Whenever you're ready — no rush — take one deeper breath on your own, feeling gratitude for this companion that has served you every moment of your life without ever asking for thanks.

Let it out fully.

And gently open your eyes.