breathing in meditation, which is best?

Question

In through the nose and back out through the nose, or in through the nose and out through the mouth?

Thanks

Answer 1

Either is fine. You can even breath in through one nostrel and out the other. Sounds nutty, but it works.

Answer 2

I've read in through the nose, out through the mouth, but I find it distracting to have to worry about that. It is difficult enough to achieve a meditative state; figure out what works for you and do it that way.

Answer 3

There are different techniques with somewhat different purposes. But in a practice for cultivating intimacy with the way things are (as with "suchness" practice), the instruction typically is to breathe the way you do naturally, not looking to make the breath be a certain way and instead being intimately present with the way it just is.

You can also find differences in suggestions for where to direct your awareness of the breath -- at the nostrils, or at the back of the throat, or in the chest, or in the bellly.

If you are doing a strict concentration practice, pick one of those and stay with it. If you are doing more of a mindfulness and insight practice, allow your awareness to attend to the breath wherever you feel it most strongly, and be ok with it if that shifts or changes.

To my mind, so long as we are paying mindful, soft-hearted attention, these are all beneficial practices.
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Answer 4

Chinese: in and out through nose as thats what it is for, and you can also use the toungue to complete the major energy circuit though the body (micro-cosmic orbit). In through the nose, out through the mouth is Indian

Answer 5

There is actually a whole practice in meditation on breathing and different ways of doing it to get different results. It's also used in Yoga. There are actually books on the topic. It's very big. :D