The conscious control of your breathing induces various mental, emotional and physical states. This is the basis for the therapy modality called breath work. Today, I’m going to focus on one method of conscious breath control that is my own personal favorite. Breathing through the pores. You can use this technique as your daily meditative practice.

It is common knowledge that as humans, we breathe through our lungs. But what the average citizen is unaware of is that we also breathe through our skin. It is called cutaneous respiration. We can use our skin to breathe in much more than just air. We can use our pores like mini chakras to pull non-physical energy into our embodiment. Our skin also exhales. It helps the body release toxins. It sweats. This is wonderful on an energetic level because it means we can use our pores to inhale any positive vibration and exhale any negative vibration. The baseline technique for pore breathing is to begin by watching your breath as it is drawn in and out of the lungs. Then gradually, shift your conscious focus to your skin. Begin to intend that your skin take on the quality of a sponge. See the breath coming in as energy. Consciously focus on your skin beginning to soak in that energy with every inhale so your whole body is breathing it in, not just your lungs. Feel it accumulating inside you. This is a Prana practice. You can keep the practice like this. Or you can add the element of exhalation.