Breath: The Gateway to Bliss

Here are some of my favorite breathing practices (excerpted from my upcoming book!). I hope you find usefulness and joy in them!

Breath as a Gateway

The breath serves an extraordinary function in the human body. Every moment of every day, we are respirating. One can live for weeks without food, days without water, but only moments without air. For as long as you inhabit this body, you will breathe.

Yet as automatic as the breath is, it is also one of the few systems that can be consciously directed. Therein lies a tremendous opportunity. Mystics and seekers throughout time have recognized the power hidden within the respiratory current. The breath not only nourishes the body with oxygen; it carries life force. When we inhale consciously, we draw vibrancy into the field. When we exhale with intention, we release what is stagnant or no longer supportive.

Conscious breathing has the power to draw us into deeper, more luminous states of awareness. Simply attending to the breath can transport consciousness from the mundane to the ecstatic. When we layer intention and visualization, these effects amplify, increasing both in frequency and duration. If at any point the breath feels strained, light-headed, or anxious, simply return to natural breathing and allow yourself to rest in awareness.

This section offers core breath-based practices to support you on your journey toward your Ecstatic Self.

1. Non-Control Breath observation

This practice invites you to attune your focus to the in-flow and out-flow of air. Wherever you are, simply turn your gaze inward. Notice how and where you are breathing. Do you feel it in your stomach, chest, back, or shoulders? Is it rapid or slow? Does it have a texture or rhythmic pattern? Does it carry any particular feeling?

Strive to let go of all judgment. Release any notion of breathing “correctly” or “incorrectly.” Simply observe. Watch the belly expand and contract. Watch the clavicles rise and fall. Feel the ribs spread and come together. Notice the flow of thoughts and emotions, the sensations both physical and subtle.

Pay particular attention to the momentary pause that occurs when the breath shifts from inhale to exhale—or exhale to inhale. In that brief crossing, there is stillness. An opening. A flash in time that reveals the divine mysteries. Sages through the ages have revered these fleeting pauses as gateways and sometimes consciously cultivated them. There’s nothing you need to do with them in this exercise—only notice. The pause isn’t empty; it’s the quiet seam between coming and going, between here and there, between then and now. You are neither taking nor releasing—and in that silence, there is an opening to the vastness that is always present.

Allow the breath to feel like a friend—a beloved companion. Watch it as intently as you might your lover’s face. Be present with it. Linger. Savor. And in this presence, observe what begins to unfurl within you.

2. Inhale Peace / Exhale Fear

A very simple practice that can have remarkable results. After you’ve observed your breath for some time, envision that with each inhale you are drawing in a quality of your choosing. Peace is a wonderful place to begin, though you could equally choose love, kindness, ease, or courage—whatever speaks to your present state of being.

On each exhale, imagine that you are releasing a quality that no longer serves you. Fear is a powerful focus, yet you may also work with anger, regret, grief, or self-pity. There are no right or wrong choices—only what calls to you.

Every inhale brings peace; every exhale releases fear. Continue until you sense an internal shift, a subtle softening or lightness within.

3. Tension-Release Breathing

Raise your arms toward the sky and envision a funnel of crystalline light descending to touch your forehead. With each inhale, draw this opalescent energy down through your palms and brow into the center of your chest. Continue until your heart feels luminous and full.

Bring your palms to your chest and silently affirm, “May I release all tension that does not serve me.” Then let your arms fall to your sides. With each exhale, imagine gray smoke or mist draining away—through your palms or down the central channel and out through the perineum. Continue until you feel clear and light.

You may notice the body sighing, twitching, or gently swaying as old tension releases. Allow this—it is the body’s natural intelligence rebalancing itself. You can also simplify the process to a single conscious inhale, a pause for intention, and one long exhale to let go.

4. Microcosmic Breathing

Follow the course of your breath in. Notice how it travels through the sinuses, down into the throat and chest, and how the belly expands. Observe this for several breaths, and then allow your conception of the breath to expand.

Imagine the inhale entering through the center of the forehead, moving down through the chest, and culminating about four finger-widths inward from where the genitals enter the body.

On the exhale, feel the breath travel down to the perineum, through the tailbone, and up the spine. Let it finish at the crown of the head. Then return to the forehead and begin again. Sense a flow of energy from the forehead to the genitals, from the base of the pelvis to the top of the spine. If no physical sensation arises, simply visualize a luminous current completing this circuit.

If at any point you feel light-headed or ungrounded, pause. Rest a hand on your lower belly and let awareness settle there before continuing.

5. Heart-Opening Breath

Bring your focus to the center of your chest. As you breathe easily, envision a beautiful flower made of light situated there. With each inhale, the flower blooms a little larger and shines more brightly. As you exhale, keep your attention within its heart.

Allow feelings of love or gratitude to radiate from this flower. Let it grow as large as it wishes—even beyond the body’s boundaries. Permit the accompanying sensations of joy and wellbeing to expand alongside it, filling the space around you.

6. Rhythmic Breathing

Begin with simple breath observation. Once you feel comfortably connected with your breath as it is, tap a steady tempo with your fingers. Notice approximately how many beats it takes to inhale and how many to exhale.

Choose a number close to what you observed, and gently guide the breath so you inhale and exhale for the same number of beats. Strive to keep the breath even from beginning to end, neither crescendoing nor fading.

After a few repetitions, lengthen the breath slightly on both sides. When this feels comfortable, add a pause of equal length at the top of the inhale—for example: inhale for five counts, hold for five, exhale for five, repeat.

A more advanced version doubles the length of the hold and exhale (1:2:2)—for instance, five counts in, ten to hold, ten to breathe out. If this remains comfortable, the pause may lengthen again to create a 1:4:2 rhythm.

When you feel complete, return to natural breathing and notice how it has changed—is it slower, steadier, more full?

7. Panting

After connecting with your natural rhythm, take three slow, deep breaths to your full comfortable capacity. Then, in quick succession and with some force, take ten short, sharp breaths through the nose. Feel the impulse arise from the diaphragm, pushing the air up and out.

After these ten rounds of panting, take another three to five slow, rhythmic breaths. You can extend this pattern to ten slow breaths followed by thirty panting rounds, but do not exceed more than a few minutes, as it can cause light-headedness.

When complete, sit quietly and observe how the breath feels—clear, bright, and alive. This practice stirs dormant vitality and awakens the body’s inner fire; it is best used when you seek renewal or activation.

8. Double Breath

Begin with the microcosmic breathing exercise. From there, inhale from the forehead to the heart. When about eighty percent full, pause and use the diaphragm and throat muscles to gently increase the pressure of the held breath. Remain here for a few seconds.

Without exhaling, inhale again, breathing into the space where the sexual organs enter the body. Pause once more and contract the pelvic muscles around this area.

Exhale by visualizing the breath traveling down to the tailbone, rising up the spine, and pooling at the crown of the head. Draw the energy down again to the forehead. Complete ten to twenty rounds of microcosmic breathing before returning to this double breath.

This breath amplifies energy quickly—move slowly, and always end in stillness to allow the current to integrate before returning to ordinary awareness.