"For most lay practitioners, formal meditation averages only an hour or so per day - a tiny fraction of our time. Distraction poses a formidable barrier to concentration. Therefore, to build momentum, we must augment the sitting meditation with careful attention during daily activities. To strengthen the focus on the breath, become sensitive to the breath as you are drinking coffee, bathing, cooking, conversing, slipping on shoes, mowing the lawn, photographing your child, balancing your checkbook, delivering a lecture, or eating breakfast.
Notice at any time and during any activity how your mind is disposed, where it wanders, how it apprehends sensory objects; then encourage a composed and calm awareness of the breath as you continue to do your work or engage in the activity. During daily activities, it is not possible to exclusively focus on the breath, yet, whether you are walking, working, talking, or eating, you can use your interest in the breath to encourage a balanced state of calm composure."
Shaila Catherine "Wisdom Wide and Deep. A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhana and Vipassana." Wisdom, Boston, 2011.
What does the meditation instruction to "surf the breath" mean?
Breath can be experienced as air, the combination of gases (mainly nitrogen, oxygen & carbon dioxide); air, the space that surrounds matter; and also as the energy involved in the process of breathing.
In all cases, there's movement, which again speaks of energy - life-sustaining energy. While we can breathe intentionally, mostly breathing happens on its own, much like the ocean's waves rhythmically coming to shore.
Like surfers (or sailors), we can become attuned to the rhythmic energy of breathing, develop an ongoing attentive relationship, and learn to skillfully ride on, or flow with, this vital energy.
We can gradually learn to surf every type of breath, on sunny and stormy days, dancing nonjudgmentally with mystery - life.
