Still Point Breathing
On our recent Weekly Practitioner Coaching Call, I introduced a Spiritual Breathing Technique called “Still Point Breathing.” Like many genuine spiritual breathing practices, it came about not through intentional seeking, not from trying or effort, and not even by conscious choice.
It came to me through the Practice of Meditation, Relaxation, and CO2 Tolerance Training. It came about as a byproduct or a side effect of the practice of Breath Awareness and Conscious Breathing.
It came about by practicing what Leonard Orr called “the purity of our personal presence.” It came about by continuously returning to and remaining in, what Tony Robbins calls “a beautiful state.”
This Still Point experience has been connected to what has been called the “Yogic Breathless State.” It is why ancient yogis were so interested in the practice of breath-holding. And many people also experience this state toward the end of a powerful Rebirthing Breathwork Session.
When we become comfortable with a long pause after the exhale, when we can relax beyond the feelings of air hunger, caused by increased levels of CO2, our body and mind become very quiet. And in the awareness of this silence, we become open or available to this experience.
Deep within each of us is a place that has never been touched and cannot be affected by anything that has happened in this world. That place in us, that part of us, is still pure, perfect, innocent, and power-filled. No one, nothing, not even we can disturb this place in us. In a sense, it is a direct experience of our true self and ultimate reality.
It reminds me of Rumi’s teaching about “a field beyond right and wrong, beyond pain and pleasure, beyond you, and me.” I believe he was talking about this still point experience when he said that “One glimpse is enough!” Because there is no going back once the truth awakens in us.
I find that most people have learned to sit still and shut up. But they are like ducks. They are cool and calm on the outside, but underneath, deep inside, they are paddling like crazy! This external quietness and superficial stillness is enough to satisfy the people around us. But you can’t fake genuine spirituality or awakening. It does not feed our soul or fill our heart with love!
Here is a description of the practice:
Sit back in a comfortable chair so that it’s easy to relax. Start with a few long slow inhales and soft full exhales… Give yourself several big gentle sighs of relief. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Produce some extra expansion on the inhale, and when you let go of the exhale, let go of any tension… in your forehead, around your eyes, in your jaw, neck, shoulders, spine, chest, belly, arms and legs…
Keep engaging the exhale to trigger relaxation. And in the same moment that you release the breath, release all your muscles and joints. Turn up your awareness of breathing. Tune into the subtle details of each breath. Deliberately settle in and drop down into your center, letting go more and more with each exhale.
After several minutes of this, you are ready to begin Still Point Breathing. Focus on the exhale, and feel the air pouring out. When the air stops coming out, continue to exhale mentally. Continue the relaxation that you triggered at the top of the exhale. Continue dropping down and falling into your center–where a beautiful silence and pure stillness awaits.
Rest and relax into this silence and stillness at the end of the exhale. Linger in it. Let everything in you be soft and open. Use every feeling and sensation as a cue to relax even more. Deliberately open and relax into whatever arises. And the last thing you relax into is the urge to breathe in.
Surrender to that urge to breathe in and receive the inhale. Don’t “take” a breath; “receive” it! Open to it. Welcome it. And notice that at some point the air stops coming in. Watch for it. Wait for it. And when it arises, invite it to go further. Gently encourage an expansion of the inhale.
Open yourself around the incoming breath, and when you reach a sweet feeling of fullness, let go of the inhale and relax. Snap the exhale loose. Dump the exhale out. Set the exhale free. And drop down, fall inward.
Ride the exhale to a deep place of peace within you. When the air stops coming out, keep exhaling mentally. Deepen the relaxation you triggered at the top of the exhale. From the outside it looks as if you have paused after the exhale, but on the inside, you are continuing the exhale, you are exhaling mentally, energetically. You are relaxing more, you are dropping down deeper.
At the bottom of the exhale, it is as if an infinite eternal space has opened in you. Linger in that pure open space of silence and stillness. Rest in that still point and relax into and around whatever feelings arise. After some time, the natural urge to inhale arises. Relax into that urge and “receive” the next breath. Don’t "take" it.
At some point the air will stop coming in. When it does, invite more breath in. Expand more. Gently pull in more. Take the inhale further. Notice that there is a surging, an acceleration that occurs. It feels effortless. It’s as if the breath itself is opening and expanding you.
At the full point of the inhale, let go, exhale, relax and drop down again… And when the air stops coming out, keep relaxing, keep dropping down, keep exhaling mentally. And the longer you can relax and enjoy the dropping down, the more susceptible you become to a bright and peaceful state that passes understanding.
Continue this pattern, expand this cycle, and practice this meditation. We can’t make miracles happen. But we can become more available to them. We cannot create this still quiet place in us that passes understanding, but we can become more open and susceptible to it!
The next most important thing is that when you inhale, you bring some of that silence, some of that stillness, some of that peace back up to the surface with you. Let that silence and stillness influence your thoughts, your words, and your actions. Practice keeping one foot in each world!
As a Christmas gift, here is a link to the Breath Mastery Practitioner Call, where I described and guided people through this practice.
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/UEbfmXzvkTAfzSKZYiRtftSdgbvE22jpJ_5t-YBbAiTha10EMB-TJ5KSoufPfNxP.wwz5-oXvNQcBtUni
Passcode: 5mQt5P*K
My heartfelt wish is that during the hectic holiday season and throughout your life, that you stay in touch with this quiet peaceful place that is within you, that is within everyone!
Good luck in your practice, and many blessings on your path!
