This is one that could really be all you’d need to do, along with the Single Point and 4-11 Breathing.
As with most of these types of practice, it is designed to help keep your vital energy topped up and ready for use. It is important that we keep this energy topped up, because we are expending it in our ABS practice. It is being used to create and strengthen the bridge between the two dreams.
You’ll also find that it translates to increased health, balance, groundedness, centeredness, clarity, and general energy and stamina for physical and mental use, including quite demanding activities on either front.
Like visualizations, the breath contains within it energy, some of which is psychic energy. And so, as an example, oval breathing with a single-point meditative visualization creates a tremendous volume of energy, both of the Chi variety and of the psychic, or mental, variety. This is a higher frequency energy than the type created through breath alone, such as that used in Tai Chi or Qi Gong, even though we seem to be converting it into what might be a higher level Chi. While it is really more of a mental energy, it can still be channeled into the Dan Tien and stored there.
There are obviously many types of breathing you may have read about, such as circular breathing, which itself is often mislabeled, or misunderstood, by many. The thinking is simple. If you breathe in, your breath reaches a point where it terminates, stops, and then you start to exhale, which also has a point of termination. Use the pendulum as a visual aid. It swings in once direction, reaches a point of termination, and then starts in the other direction. But if you send the pendulum into an oval shape, there is no point for termination, but is instead a tight elliptical swing to head the other direction.
The in- and out-breath are the same length. Work on that part of it first. In other words, draw your breath slowly in to a count of between 8 and 10, which is usually 8 to 10 heartbeats, and then exhale the same count. It shouldn’t be long before you have the cadence down without the need to count.
After you’re reasonably certain of the cadence, go ahead and add the oval part of it. How you do that is subtle, and may take some practice. Another word for this is connected breathing, and what you’re to do is connect the in-breath with the out-breath, with no pause. At first, visualizing an oval might be helpful in doing that. Another helpful tool is to breathe in through the mouth, and at the point of the turn let the nose take over to start, and even complete, the exhale.
This is one that can be done either lying down or sitting. A great time to do it is first thing in the morning, even before getting out of bed. The reason for that is that you have some conscious essence still connected to the dreamscape, and so it’s easy to get into a deep state. Of course, you can fall back to sleep, but the focus and the oxygen should keep you from doing that, especially after some practice.
You’ll find that this practice first thing in the morning gives a wonderful, calm and sustaining energy, and tonic, for the mind and body, and you’ll notice its effects well into the day.
After you have the cadence and constancy of the breath down, you can add to it the Single Point Meditation, which really amps up the power. Unless you’re already a high level practitioner in these types of practices, you should refrain from adding the Single Point Meditation until the rest of this is automatic. Once it’s automatic, you’re ready to amp it up.
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