Constant awareness of breathing at the entrance of nostrils is an ancient Buddhist practice called Vipassana or Anapanasati, practiced for the cultivation of detached constant seamless clarity of awareness, the phenomenon of knowing correctly as it is in the right context.
At the time of birth, breathing starts due to different cause and conditions like physiological impulses and atmospheric air pressure. Breath is not instilled in you by so called “Supreme Creator and Controller” because no human can breathe outside the earth’s atmosphere in space regardless of the will or wish of “Mr. Supreme Creator and Controller”.
Breath is the means to inhale life energy that fuels processes of life, awakening the infant from hibernation in womb and giving rise to phenomenon of wakefulness, consciousness and awareness, the spectrum of knowing evolving with growth and maturity.
Practice of Vipassana or Anapansati
Select a well-ventilated space with fresh atmosphere, preferably in nature, for practicing awareness of breath. Do not burn incenses or do anything that will pollute the air.
Sit in a correct posture with an empty stomach on soft carpet, preferably in Seiza or Vajrasana posture. If you cannot sit in Seiza posture, then sit on a low bench with knees completely bent in the knees in such a way that level of knees is below the level of thighs. This allows lower back to remain straight effortlessly and facilitate diaphragmic breathing automatically.
Then remain aware of each and every breath at entrance of nostril in such a way that you do not get any opportunity to think or imagine anything.
Remain aware of each and every breath at the entrance of nostril until attention shifts and you remain aware of breath in between eyebrows.
Remain aware of each and every breath in between your eyebrows until you detach from breath psychologically and remain independently aware in between eyebrows in state of knowing no-mind without any mental activities like thoughts or imaginations.
Knowing no-mind is your state of psychological detachment from the know and unknown while remaining involuntarily self-regulated and in charge of your own. No-mind is absent mindedness whereas knowing no-mind is detached awareness and key to self-mastery. Fully aware knowing no mind, you breathe naturally not according to known and unknown.
By knowing no-mind you stop associating with the known and unknown to eventually become free from self-conception. Without self-conception, fully aware and detached, knowing no-mind, you are undivided whole psychologically and you feel complete.
Awareness of Breath Stops Mind
You cannot think and remain aware of breathing at the same time. Awareness of breath at the entrance of nostrils can stop chain of thoughts. Without chain of thoughts, there is no mind. Without mind awareness is seamlessly clear while knowing no-mind.
Through intuitive insight into seamlessly clear detached awareness, you recognize the truth of your nature. Detached clear seamless awareness in between two consecutive thoughts is like brightness of life due to which you can know correctly as it is in the right context. With brightness of awareness, you need not live gropingly.
Tips To Practice Awareness of Breath at Entrance of Nostrils
Your attention on breath at the entrance of nostrils should be one pointed like saw cutting the wood at a single point of contact.
While trying to stay aware, body may get tensed and attention may wander with the thoughts. Keep your body naturally relaxed and constantly bring your attention back to your breath at the entrance of nostrils.
Practice mindfulness of breath at the entrance of nostrils until thoughts stop and you can remain seamlessly aware in the gap between two consecutive thoughts or state of knowing no-mind.
After practicing awareness of breath for long time, lie down for some time so that the deeply relaxed body becomes normal and ready to resume normal activities. If you want to sleep, try not to look while keeping the eyes closed and fall asleep for a better quality of sleep.
Practice mindfulness of breath at the entrance of nostrils regularly. With regular practice, you will be able to remain aware in gap between consecutive thoughts. Full awareness in the gap between two consecutive thoughts is knowing no-mind.
Breathing has to be natural and without force or control. Relaxed body, calm mind, and correct posture rectifies breathing and makes it natural.
With constant awareness of breath at the entrance of nostrils, the breathing can eventually become deeper, fuller, slower and less frequent.
During this practice, breathing can become so slow that it will seem suspended even if all the airways are open. Just remain aware of it at the entrance of nostrils and do not stop breathing whether it is slow or fast. Increase your stamina and capacity to remain aware of breath for longer and longer period of time.
As you remain seamlessly aware of breath at the entrance of nostrils, you will realize that you become thoughtless and you disappear psychologically.
Keep lower back straight but body relaxed internally and externally during this exercise. A relaxed body allows smooth flow of vital forces mobilized by breathing and makes surplus vital force available for brain to stay aware of breath at the entrance of nostrils.
When body is totally relaxed, your mind can calm, you can easily disappear psychologically, and awareness can detach from known and unknown.
By keeping your body naturally relaxed, the mobilized vital force can refresh the chronically conditioned voluntary and involuntary strata of your personality and render it supple.
Effect On Body And Mind
Awareness of breath meditation benefits include deep stress relief, relaxation, healing and rejuvenation due to improved respiration and circulation.
Relaxation and constant awareness of continuous breath at the entrance of your nostrils keeps with the present moment and cause breathing to become slow and deep. Breathing rate can fall as low as 3 to 6 deep breaths per minute.
Laboratory studies has found that slow deep breathing exercise synchronizes rate at which heart receives blood, rate at which heart pumps blood, rate at which lungs are perfused and rate of alveolar gaseous exchange. This can improve cardiorespiratory system. This can also optimally charge blood with oxygen and remove dissolved gaseous toxins like carbon dioxide.
Peculiar diaphragmatic movement in slow deep breathing has a lowering effect on blood pressure. Blood and body is oxygenated thoroughly and can get charged with more vital force thus casting a restorative influence on your physiology.
Scientists also claim that continuous slow deep breathing has two-way effect on nervous system due to which the autonomous response of body to stress and recovery from it improves. However, people with certain clinical conditions should practice slow deep breathing only after expert medical advice.
By staying constantly aware of breath, you constantly remain thoughtless. This can blur the impressions of past experiences on mind and eventually wipes out your past psychological condition. This exercise is a process of grilling in to your voluntary and involuntary psyche. Each layer of mind is peeled, sublimated and transformed. Your mind becomes empty just like when it was at the time of naturally fulfilled infancy.