Larry Rosenberg wrote "Breath by Breath". Between his book and other sources I have read, I grasp the idea that one anchor for my attention can be a breath I take. Attention anchors are useful since they can show me when I have let my attention wander. Attention is built to wander in case my hair catches on fire or something, I want to notice and take measures. But I do want to be aware of where I am putting my attention. I don't want to be the toy of big corporations or electronic doo-dads or bright colors. I don't mind paying attention to any of them at times but I like to be aware of what I am doing.
I developed the habit of keeping my gaze fixed on the lower left corner of some rectangle in my sight. Keeping my attention there helps me notice when I have wandered off to la-la land or into fond memories of lovely picnics or whatever. Since I use a computer often and pay attention to the monitor to see what I have typed, my eyes, which are aging, get tense and tired. So, using my breath as a focus of attention allows me to shut my eyes and give them a rest while still practicing attention awareness. But you can see the problem. Breaths are very much alike, one being difficult to distinguish from another.
Breath after breath, pretty soon they all seem the same. I can count them and I often do. I can imagine a rosary or some similar aid and think of my hands holding a series of markers but I want to give my breaths some character. I can breathe deeply and instead, shallowly. I can breathe in thru my mouth or in thru my nose. I can use either to exhale. I like to try letting my body and chest breathe itself. We have natural circuits that keep us breathing while asleep or watching a thriller or listening to a conversation. When things are calm and I am in the right groove, I can let me breathe myself.
When I do that, my chest takes rather shallow breaths, does so quickly and easily and inhales and exhales without a lot of fanfare or effort. Several breathing exercises I have tried extol deep breaths, breaths that use a relaxed belly and even expand my sides.
I have tried exhaling with some force but I find that nearly all exhales fail to take all of the air out of my lungs. If I exhale forcefully and continuously, letting my chest collapse completely, I can still purse my lips and blow out, enough to be able to feel breath on my hand.
