You breathe in the way that feels refreshing. It starts out very gently, just a sense that things feel okay. But if you give this sense of "okay" some space and it'll grow.
"One of the instructions in breath meditation is to learn how to breathe
in and out in a way that makes you sensitive to rapture, makes you
sensitive to pleasure in the body. Now, it takes a while to figure out
how to do that. Part of it has to do with the way you breathe, part of
it has to do with how you focus your mind. But it’s a skill you can
figure out. Part of the problem, of course, is with that word,
“rapture.” It sounds like Saint Teresa going into ecstasies. And
sometimes there is a very strong sense of thrill that goes through the
body. But what the Buddha’s having you focus on more is the sense of
refreshment. You breathe in the way that feels refreshing: It refreshes
your torso, refreshes all the different parts of the body where you can
feel the breathing process. It starts out very gently, just a sense that
things feel okay; they feel like they’ve settled in where they belong.
But if you give this sense of “okay” some space, give it some time,
it’ll grow. So don’t put any squeeze on it. Breathe in in a way that
doesn’t build up tension inside and you don’t hold onto any tension when
you breathe out. Just protect that “okay” area wherever you feel it.
Things feel full and pleasant. If you give them more time, that sense of
feeling full will grow, that sense of pleasure will grow."
~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "The Pain of Conviction"
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