In this meditation,
We will explore the beloved biology of airflow in the nasal passages.
We will feel the air flowing in with its life-giving oxygen,
And we will feel the air flowing out,
Releasing carbon dioxide so that plants can use it for photosynthesis.
This ongoing cycle of breath connecting us with the circle of life that is our biosphere.
Let's begin.
I invite you to settle into a comfortable posture at a time and place when you can close your eyes and turn your attention inward,
Noticing how the body is breathing,
How air is flowing in through the nostrils and out.
Pay attention to the relative airflow on the left versus the right.
Become a careful and a loving observer of your own dear body and its breathing.
Noticing any change in temperature felt around the nostril openings or on the skin between nose and lip.
Does the outgoing air feel a little warmer?
Does the incoming air feel a little cooler?
There may even be a difference in humidity or texture.
Does the incoming air feel a little fresher or sharper?
Does the outgoing air feel a little fuller or softer?
One function of the nasal passages is to warm and humidify the air to prepare it to meet the delicate lungs deep within.
So the outgoing air carries with it the body's moisture and warmth,
While the incoming air brings in the fresh and enlivening oxygen.
Maybe the body would appreciate a note of gratitude for preparing the air for the intimate lungs deep within,
For keeping this body and this consciousness in good working order.
See if you can follow the airflow up higher above and behind the nostrils,
Tracking the cool,
Fresh sensations up and back on every inhalation.
See if you can follow the airflow as it comes forward and down,
Warm and soft with every exhalation.
Above and behind each nostril,
There's a nasal passageway like a very tall and thin triangle,
Left and right,
Separated by the nasal septum and extending from nostrils all the way back to the throat.
Which passageway is more open,
Inviting more airflow right now?
See if you can direct your attention to the airflow very,
Very high up in one or both nasal passages,
Way up in between the eyes,
As if you were sniffing a flower,
Savoring its delicate scent,
Savoring this breath high in the nasal passages.
Now,
Direct your attention to the floor of the nasal corridors,
Running horizontally back from the nostrils,
Separated from the mouth by the palate,
Feeling the air flow low of these corridors,
Connecting the nostrils to the throat.
Cool,
Fresh air flowing back along the floor,
Warm,
Soft air flowing forward.
Can you sense a change in the air as it moves back through the nostrils?
Does it get a little warmer as it moves back?
The nasal passageways are lined by a moist and somewhat sticky membrane so that as the air moves back,
Moisture fills it and the dust or other particles captured.
So the air is warm and clean as it flows back to the throat,
Then deep into the lungs.
See if you can feel the air flow along the nasal septum from the openings in the front to where you swallow in the back.
Sometimes the septum feels a little tender.
The air flows fast along it,
Sometimes drying it a little.
Air flowing fast along the septum,
Maybe more on the left,
Maybe more on the right,
Bringing careful and affectionate attention to this dear body and its tender parts.
Now move your attention sideways,
Left and right.
See if you can detect the sensation of airflow along the outside walls,
The ones that separate the nasal passages from the sinuses in the cheeks.
The air flows a little slower here.
The sidewalls have ridges and curves.
They cause the air to swirl and meet that warm membrane,
Moist over a greater surface.
See if you can feel the fullness at the side of each nasal passageway where the air flows slower and picks up moisture.
See if you can feel the airflow now at the back of the throat,
How the cool,
Fresh inbound air curves back and down at the back of the throat and the warm,
Soft air from deep in the lungs curves forward,
Felt at the back of the throat.
Cool freshness in the high throat behind the nostrils with each inhalation and warm fullness with each exhalation.
So now just let go of all the detailed observations.
Simply let go and take in the flow of air as a whole from nostril to throat,
Then down deep toward the lungs on each inhalation,
Cool and fresh and rising up from the lungs,
Warm and soft and flowing forward and out.
Every exhalation,
Whole column of breath moving through these lovely living corridors of life that bring breath into your body,
Life-giving oxygen and that carry carbon dioxide out of this body,
Returning it to the world of plants.
This living process connecting you with the biosphere,
Settling into the support of the atmosphere as you breathe it,
Simply breathing,
Simply resting.
And now as we near the close of this meditation,
I invite you to wiggle your fingers and toes,
Deepen and quicken your breath and then decide whether you'll open your eyes and return to your active day or keep them closed and continue to rest.
