Travelling along the breath will give you access to that dimension. If you take away your breath, obviously you and your body will fall apart. We are talking about becoming aware of the breath, which means you become aware of the link between you and your body. Similarly, the koorma nadi can still be on while the exchange of air has already stopped. Maybe you do not pay in cash but in kind, but the economy is still going on, though not at a level that could be measured. Suppose the stock exchange closes down - in most people’s understanding, the entire economy is finished, but you can still buy bread locally. Similarly, the koorma nadi process is still on, but the oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange has closed down. It is like an old siphon that is still pumping, but the liquid does not flow, because there is a little leak. That process is still going on, but it is not able to pull in air and push out carbon dioxide. Even after a person is medically dead – the movement of air, the heartbeat, and the brain activity have stopped – he is still breathing for some time, in the sense that the koorma nadi is still on. Along with the transaction of air that is coming in and going out, there is another level of transaction required for the physiological process to happen.

That is happening as a consequence of what we refer to as shvasa. When we say breath in the sense of koorma nadi, we are not talking about the oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange. The breath is a more profound and subtle dimension which will not come into your experience easily. Whatever you touch, whether you sit or stand, there are sensations.

Knowing the sensations is most fundamental. Your sensations are the outermost layer of who you are. Those who become conscious of just the sensations of the air passage claim all kinds of transformations, and that is true. Though in many ways, physiologically, the breath is the basis of your life, most human beings have never really experienced their breath. But you will not figure this until you notice the way of the breath. Similarly, when you are exhaling, not necessarily is only exhalation happening – inhalation could be partly happening too. When you are inhaling, not necessarily is only inhalation happening – exhalation could be partly happening as well.

This hat is not mine