Breath awareness is watching the breath without changing it, the starting point of every practice.
Before a ratio, a hold, or a sigh, the person notices where the breath already is — high or low, fast or slow, through the nose or the mouth. In 📝Breathwork that look is the first intervention. Changing the pattern too soon is how people brace. Awareness is not a diagnosis of a breathing disorder and not a meditation requirement.
Clients often discover they have been holding. If watching the breath brings panic, the dose is too much attention — look at the room, then come back. Dizziness or chest pain is a stop.