Relax into your base posture. Place your hands palm-down
on your knees. Relax your chest. The upper chest is not directly involved
in this practice.
First let the breath be as it is. Breathe through the nose.
Then take a slightly deeper inhalation into the belly.
When you exhale the first three times, each time extend the
fingers of your hands. With the first breath, imagine that that all your
illnesses and physical impurities leave your body through your fingers
and dissolve out into the space around you. During the second breath,
imagine that your inner demons or obstacles such as nervousness or
depression or anxiety are purified and dispelled into space. During the
third breath, imagine that all of your ignorance and hatred and grasping
are dispelled and dissolve into space.
Now when you breathe in, breathe in to your lower abdomen
or belly. Attend to the breath as you inhale and fill into the lower belly
area. Keep the upper chest relaxed. Feel a slight pushing downwards
from above as you complete the breath and a simultaneous pulling
upwards from below, as if containing the breath in a center about four
finger-widths below the navel center Hold the breath gently in this
location and attend to it. As soon as you feel the need to exhale, exhale
gently through the nose. Continue with breathing in this way.
