Be aware when breathing stops

What the Method Is

The core instruction for this meditation technique, as given by Shiva, is: “Or, when breath is all out (up) and stopped of itself, or all in (down) and stopped – in such universal pause, one’s small self vanishes. This is difficult only for the impure.” This means that the practitioner should become aware of the natural, momentary pauses that occur between the outgoing and incoming breaths, and between the incoming and outgoing breaths, as these are points of profound realization.

How It Is Done

To practice this method, you should:

  • Observe the Natural Pauses: Direct your attention to the exact moments when the breath naturally stops after a complete exhalation (all out/up) and before a new inhalation begins, and similarly, after a complete inhalation (all in/down) and before the exhalation starts. These are spontaneous, brief intervals when the breath is not moving.
  • Focus on the Cessation: Recognize that in these moments, there is a complete cessation of breath movement – it is neither going in nor coming out.
  • Cultivate Minute Observation: These pauses are of very short duration, sometimes only a thousandth part of a moment, requiring keen, sincere observation and attention to be felt and recognized.
  • Remain Without Verbalization: True observation demands “remaining with no word, with no verbalization, with no bubbling inside – just remaining with” the experience.
Commentaries and Insights
  • Significance of the “Universal Pause”: Shiva states that in this “universal pause,” one’s small self vanishes. This “small self” refers to the ego, with its attachments to name, bank balance, and social prestige, which momentarily dissolves.
  • Connection to Death and Rebirth: Osho explains that when you are not breathing, you are momentarily “dead”. For Tantra, each outgoing breath is seen as a death, and each incoming breath as a rebirth. The brief gap between these two is where profound realization can occur.
  • The Mind-Breath Link: There is a direct and immediate connection between breath and mind. If you suddenly stop your breath, your mind stops suddenly because they are disjoined. Conversely, if the mind stops, breathing also stops. This momentary disjoining, or being in “neutral gear,” allows awareness of one’s true being, distinct from the body and mind.
  • “Difficult for the Impure” Explained: The sutra notes this technique is “difficult only for the impure”. Osho clarifies that “impure” refers to a mind filled with desires, lust, and other “impurities” that keep it in constant activity. For such a mind, the natural cessation of breath is difficult to perceive because it only happens automatically when the mind is pure, without desire or motivation, and in a state of stillness without inner “ripples”.
  • Suddenness of Enlightenment: The experience of enlightenment is not a gradual process but a sudden one, much like death. These meditation techniques, including observing the breath stops, serve to gradually prepare the practitioner for this sudden spiritual explosion by increasing their alertness and awareness, rather than causing a slow, incremental change.
  • Meditation as Medicine: Osho likens meditation to a medicine for the spiritual disease of unconsciousness, conflict, and being “asleep”. These simple techniques are potent “formulas” that can remove the “dust” of identification with the body and past, allowing one to discover the inherent “treasure” of the true self.
  • Cultivating Awareness: The primary aim of all breath-related Tantric techniques is to bring the mind into the present moment. When the mind is fully immersed in the present, it naturally stops, leading to a state of “no-mind”. The breath stops automatically when this “no-mind” state is achieved. The ultimate goal is to cultivate alertness.
  • Overcoming Mental Deception: The mind often dismisses seemingly simple techniques, preferring arduous ones that satisfy the ego. It may also create excuses to avoid practice or substitute genuine experience with intellectual understanding. Osho emphasizes the importance of “doing” the technique rather than merely thinking or talking about it, as true transformation comes through direct experience.
  • Distinction from Yoga: Unlike Yoga, which systematizes breath for physical health and longevity, Tantra utilizes natural breathing as a non-systematic technique purely for turning inward and becoming aware of subtle, unobserved points within the breath cycle. Tantra is not concerned with specific styles or rhythms of breathing but with the awareness of these natural phenomena.
  • Realization is Always Present: The truth is always here and now, not something to be achieved in the future. You are already the truth, and these techniques merely help to uncover or discover what is already present by removing the barriers of the mind.