What may feel good for a couple of breaths may not be so good if you keep it up for a long time. So if one way of breathing doesn’t feel good anymore, you stop and change. Try to stay on top of the process.

"Get the mind really to settle down and be at ease with one object: the breath. Think of the breath as the energy flowing through the body that helps the air come in and out of the lungs. And you can look at that flow of energy anywhere in the body. Take a couple of good, long, deep in-and-out breaths and notice: Where do you feel that energy flow most prominently? Focus there. And then ask yourself if it feels good.

If the way you’re breathing right now doesn’t feel good, you can change it. Make it longer, shorter, or in-long out-short, in-short out-long, fast, slow, heavy or light. There are lots of ways you can adjust your breathing. Try different ones for a while and see which ones seem to have the best effect, are easiest to stay with, and actually feel really good.

Notice that some areas of the body are more sensitive to the flow of breath energy than the others. For some people, the most sensitive spot is in the area around the heart. For others, it’s in the area in the neck or the muscles of the face. There are lots of different places where you might be especially sensitive. Try to focus on an area that is very sensitive, where you really feel well nourished, by allowing the flow of energy to be just right — not too long, not too short — like the porridge in the story of Goldilocks.

And you get to choose what’s just right for you. This will require that you be observant, because what may feel good for a couple of breaths may not be so good if you keep it up for a long time. So if one way of breathing doesn’t feel good anymore, you stop and change. Try to stay on top of the process."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "At Home with the Breath"

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