Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony and Beauty, the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls who form the Embodiment of the Master – the Spirit of Guidance.
The Development of the Breath
There are two ways of developing the power of the breath. One way is to make it extensive, and the other way is to make it intensive. After that, the breath should be mastered so that it may be directed to any desired part of one’s own body; and secondly, it must be mastered that it may be directed to any side, level, upward, downward, to the right or to the left. As one becomes master of aim when he is able to hit the target on any side, so one must master the breath… Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
It is a general teaching of the Sufis that any student who seriously studies healing must be able to consciously direct the breath to any location in the body. The best way to learn this exercise is to consciously direct the breath to the bottoms of the feet. For those who have difficulty with this do as follows:
Practice:
Step One
1. Put your hands on your feet, or feel or look at where your feet touch the ground 2.As you breathe out be aware of the bottoms of the feet
Step Two
1.Imagine your breath to be like the flow or current of a stream
2.Feel or imagine that the stream flows to the bottom of your feet
3.On the out-breath imagine or feel the breath flowing to the bottom of the feet
4.Feel the feet touching the floor
Do this practice for one month or until you can direct the breath to the bottoms of the feet.
A further practice of direction of the breath:
Step Three
1.Do the above process with the palms of the hands
2.Direct the breath to the forehead
3.Direct the breath to the solar plexus
Advanced Practice:
When you find you can direct the breath to any part of your body, then you can take this exercise one more step.
Step Four
1.Choose a quality you wish were more present in your life – for example blessing or love or happiness. Be careful what you wish for- you may get it.
2.Put your attention on your heart, letting the stream of the breath flow there.
3.Imagine that the breath can be like a Tibetian gong, gently sounding in the heart – a sound like ‘Fazl’.
4.Open yourself to the source of all Blessing
5.Make the sound of the gong – fazl – and each time you make that sound, continue to be aware of the source of all blessing.
On the rhythm of the breath the circulation of the blood and the pulsation of the heart and head depend; which means that the whole mechanism of the body, also of the mind, is directed by the rhythm of the breath. When a thought is attached to the breath by concentration, then the effect of that thought reaches every atom of one’s mind and body. Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan