Stillness and the 9 Breaths

Body-Centered, Breathing, Guided Meditation for Beginners, Nine Purification Breaths

Stillness and the 9 Breaths
PHOTO: LESLIE ABUSO

Leslie Smith Abuso · Stillness and the 9 Breaths

Using the 9 Breaths of Purification to help us discover stillness

This 42 minute guided meditation allows you to connect with the felt sense of stillness in the body. Connecting to the 3 Channels of light, what may be disturbing the stillness? An exploration of the 3 poisons of aversion, attachment and ignorance, using the nine breaths of purification to clear any disturbance and allow you to find that inner well of stillness that is a part of your true nature and always available to you. A Om Hung Melody played on the bells. Blue Jays chirping in the background.

Three Channels of Light

During this meditation, I make mention of the three channels of light in your body. In addition to our physical bodies, many wisdom traditions describe additional aspects, including a Subtle Body. The structure of this Subtle Body includes channels (pathways of energy) and chakras (energy centers). Every tradition describes them with some variation. For a good overview, please check out the Subtle Body and the Three Bodies Doctrine.

The Nine Breaths of Purification

This practice is one of the foundational practices of the Bön wisdom tradition and its contemporary counterpart, the Three Doors. Here are three instructional videos to support your practice of this technique.

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche demonstrates the Nine Breathings of Purification. For more information on Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and his teachings, please visit:

Latri Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche

Latri Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche shares the Nine Purification Breaths. The Nine Breaths helps to clear negative emotions and to replace with wisdom, peace and balance. This practice is perfect to do before any meditation, but also used to calm the body and mind. For more information: yeruboncenter.org

Lama Tsultrim Allione

In this video, Lama Tsultrim Allione shares her tradition of the Nine Breaths. The Nine Breaths is a preliminary purification practice that can be practiced before meditation or anytime you’d benefit a return to calm presence. Visit taramandala.org for more information.