The Breath Smoking Technique
Contributed by Paul Szabady
Paul has graciously allowed me to put this up here for all to see. Thanks, Paul! -glp]
This was taught to me by my pipe-smoking guru, an insufferably grouchy old curmudgeon. He DID know pipe smoking, though..
He called it 'breath smoking' and while it works with all tobaccos it is particularly effective with virginia flakes. It requires a relaxed setting, preferably sedentary and a very slow and calm breathing pattern. The pipe bit is held to the lips continuously and all breathing is through the nose. Every 2nd or 3rd slow breath through the nose, a tiny puff is taken through the stem, held in the mouth and slowly, very slowly, discharged back through the stem, raising but the faintest wisp of smoke from the top of the tobacco bowl, and then re-drawn back through the stem. One does NOT inhale the smoke, but if one gets very good at it, one does not even have to puff: the slight vacuum created in the mouth by nose breathing will draw the finest of puffs through the stem. The blowing back through the stem is alternated with regular, but very slight puffs (sips and kisses) so that the whole process of smoking seems as natural, regular and effortless as breathing.
I'm sure many smokers have discovered this technique, or variations of it, on their own. The advantages are that mastering it will produce the coolest and most flavorful smoke possible, and the slow regular breathing will invoke the calmness and clarity of mind to perceive the results at their fullest.