The actual breath is the movement of energy. So anywhere you notice — “Now the breath is coming in, now the breath is going out” — where you can feel the energy, stay focused there.

"There’s no law that you have to stay at the nose or that the breath can be felt only at the nose. After all, the breath is the energy in the body; it’s not just the air coming in and out. The air coming in and out: That’s the effect of the breath. The actual breath is the movement of energy. You can feel it in the lungs, in the ribcage, in your back, in the shoulders.

So anywhere you notice — “Now the breath is coming in, now the breath is going out” — where you can feel the energy, stay focused there. And try to keep your focus just right: not so strong that it blocks things and not so weak that it drifts off."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "A Master of Your Thoughts"

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