When I teach a refresher course on meditation, I often start by asking people to meditate for a few minutes and focus on their breathing as they normally do. After a few minutes, I ask them to use one hand to “draw” in the air over their body the outline of whatever they identify as “the breathing.” You might want to try that right now before reading further.
I wonder what shape you drew and where? Most people tend to draw something small. Some show they are focusing on a column of air moving up and down their airways, while many draw a small oval, about the size of an open hand, in the center of their chest.
It appears that when many people hear the suggestion to observe “the breathing,” they interpret it as observing “the breath.” But breathing and breath are quite different. The breath is air (or the sensation of air) moving in and out of the body. Breathing includes any sensation connected, even indirectly, with the process of air flowing in and out. This can include sensations from the whole body, as indirect sensations connected with breathing can be felt even in the hands and feet. At the very least, it involves the entire trunk of the body: the front, sides, and back of the chest and abdomen, skin sensations covering these areas, the shoulders, the spine, and, of course, air moving through the airways.
When we pay attention to the breathing in this more comprehensive way, it makes the practice much more engaging. Focusing on a small area doesn’t keep the mind busy enough, leading it to create distractions. By focusing on many different sensations, the mind stays engaged and less likely to wander.
This engagement goes even deeper when we notice sensations of breathing across the entire body (or a significant part of it) and observe how they connect and move together. The breathing is one unified process. All the sensations we notice are part of a single wave of movement driven by the diaphragm. Whether it’s air flowing through the nostrils, the rise and fall of the shoulders, the changing sensations where our clothes touch the skin, movements in the spine, or the rib cage and abdominal muscles — it’s all part of a wave surging through our whole being.
Paying attention to the breathing as a body-wide, dynamic, rhythmic flow is far more captivating than focusing on just one small part or several sensations at a time. It leads to deep absorption, during which we can feel content, calm, and fully engaged with our sensory experience.