T’ai Chi Qi & Jin

Methods of Qigong Breathing

In the qigong practices explained in the final three chapters of Part One, several breathing
methods are incorporated. Before continuing further, it is best to introduce them here. It
will be far easier to follow the instructions if each method of the breathing is first explained.

Cleansing Breath: This method is applied before beginning any of the exercises or forms of
T’ai Chi. It aids in relaxing the body and breath, and rids the lungs of any impurities and
tension. First, inhale through the nose deeply into the lower abdomen (expanding it) and
then breathe out the mouth (contracting the lower abdomen). Repeat in succession nine
times prior to practicing.

Natural Breath: The abdomen expands on the inhalation and contracts on the exhalation,
and each breath is inspired and expired through the nose with the tip of the tongue placed
on the upper portion of the inside of the mouth. Natural breathing is accomplished simply by
putting all of your attention into the lower abdomen (tan-t’ien) so that there is no forcing of
the breath to be deep and slow, rather it will be the mind-intent which regulates the
breathing. The first rule of natural breathing is just that, to be natural. Do not force the
breath to be either long or deep. Let this happen naturally through practice. Use the mind-
intent to keep the breath in the lower abdomen. Use the abdomen like a balloon or bellows
to expand and contract it equally. Do not just push out the front of the stomach on
inhalation and pull it inward on exhalation. Rather, on inhalation you should sense the
breath on the lower spine, sides of the body, and front of the abdomen. On the exhalation,
you should feel the contraction in a similar manner. As you progress with natural breathing
there will be a sense of the entire body breathing, feeling the inhalation expanding the very
skin and muscles of the entire body, from the toes to the fingers, and contracting when
exhaling. This is a very beneficial stage to reach as it will bring greater sensitivity and qi to
the body.

Reverse Breath: The abdomen contracts on the inhalation and expands on the exhalation,
and each breath is inspired and expired through the nose with the tip of the tongue placed
on the upper portion of the inside of the mouth. Reverse breathing is accomplished by using
the muscles of the lower abdomen—the inhalation (contraction of the abdomen) then
pushes the qi up along the spine, and the exhalation (expansion of the abdomen) pushes the
qi back down into the lower abdomen. Reverse breathing is very useful for martial art
concerns. It is untrue, however, that it can help reverse the aging process. Reversing the
aging process first has to do with tranquility. With reverse breathing tranquility is difficult to
achieve. However, Reverse breathing can be very effective and useful in producing the
effects of qi. If practiced incorrectly or too forcefully, it has the tendency to rapidly produce
negative qi, which can possibly create various psychological and physical disorders. So, in
practicing with these exercises it is best to do so as relaxed as possible.
Heng Ha Breath: This has two methods within these exercises, inaudible and audible. For
inaudible you just internally sense and hear the drone of heng ha as you inhale and exhale.
In the audible manner, you internally sense and hear heng as you inhale, but let out a loud
ha when exhaling. This audible ha is normally only practiced with the exercise Expressing the
Qi in chapter six.

Holding the Breath: In the exercises, primarily in the T’ai Chi Qigong exercise, the more
advanced practicers will hold the breath periodically at certain points in the form. This is
done in order to attract and accumulate greater quantities of qi. The very roots of qigong
stem from this idea of holding the breath to concentrate the qi. The breath is always held
after the inhalation and is maintained for either three or nine heartbeats, depending on the
practicer’s ability to do so. When holding the breath put all the attention in the cavity
indicated and listen internally to the heart beats.

The One Breath: This is the apex of qigong, to breathe completely internally. Actually, there
is no method for this, rather it is something which occurs unconsciously and spontaneously
from continuous regulation of the breath. All the preliminary breathing methods are aids in
which to experience this One Breath, or as Taoists refer to it “True Breathing” or “Immortal’s
Breath.” The sensation of this breathing is unlike the normal breath, as you won’t feel like
you are breathing physically at all. Even if a feather were put beneath your nostrils it would
not move, a mirror would not be fogged, nor will the body expand and contract even slightly.
Internally however, you will sense a fuller breath than you could ever experience with
normal breathing because it is the qi and mindintent which is controlling the breath, not the
physical functions normally associated with breathing.

“When performing deep breathing to produce qi, you must seek to do it as naturally as
possible. Whether inhaling or exhaling, it must be performed slowly and gradually. Each
breath should be taken slowly and without restraint; it should not be repressed by being too
regulatory, which produces negative circulation. It is expected that you will train carefully.”

T’ai Chi Qi & Jin könyv:

Tai Chi Qigong 64-95. oldal

Qigong Meditation 113 – 132 oldal

The-Tao-of-Natural-Breathing-For-Health-Well-Being-and-Inner-Growth – egész

Mantak Chia – Chi fejlesztő önmasszázs - egész

154310210 – A nyolc brokát 45 – 71. oldal

Martial Arts - Qigong For Health And Vitality.pdf – egész

Chinese medical qigong – 174 – 259. old.

Natural Breathing 顺呼吸 (shun hu xi)

Natural breathing describes the type of breathing that we typically use throughout the day.
In this type of breathing, when you inhale, your diaphragm contracts and pulls downward,
pushing the belly out, and the lungs expand. Exhalation is a passive act, so on the exhale, the
diaphragm relaxes back up into a dome shape, air leaves the body, and the belly contracts
inward. The breath should be slow (慢man), deep (深 shen), fine (细 xi), and even (均 jun).
This allow your body to take in more oxygen and release more carbon dioxide. This leads to
many health benefits: a lowering of blood pressure, slowing of heart rate, and faster
elimination of toxins.

Reverse breathing (逆呼吸 ni hu xi)

Reverse breathing gets its name because it is, in many ways, the reverse of natural
breathing. To try reverse breathing, inhale deeply, contract your abdomen and fill the upper
part of your lungs. When you exhale, push your abdomen out, and drop your breath within
the body. Because of the decrease of pressure in the lungs (increase of volume) the
diaphragm will move down, so consequently, the organs in the abdomen will be contracted.
Everyone has used this type of breathing, whether you are conscious of it or not. It is the
way we instinctively breathe when pushing something heavy. The breath moves vertically,
up and down within the body, like a pump.

Interestingly, during reverse breathing, the breath also moves horizontally, moving
backwards and forwards inside the belly during exhalation. (A common Daoist technique is
to imagine a pearl moving back and forth). I find reverse breathing a useful technique to use
before meditation practice. It is important that you never let this become your natural way
to breathe. Over-practice and incorrect practice of reverse breathing can lead to medical
problems. I would not recommend anyone with high-blood pressure to practice reverse
breathing. While I am not a medical professional, I was taught that exerting too much
downward pressure on the lower abdomen can cause hemorrhoids, and too much upward
pressure on the stomach can contribute to acid reflux problems. Techniques like moderating
the amount of force used, and lifting up the pelvic floor can be used to prevent straining the
breathing muscles, so is important that any advanced breathing techniques be learned and
practiced under the supervision of an experienced teacher.

Dantian breathing 丹田呼吸 (dan tian hu xi)

The Chinese word “Dantian” literally means “cinnabar field”. Cinnabar refers to mercury
sulfide (朱砂 zhu sha) a toxic metal that early Daoists used to make medicine. “Dantian” is
usually roughly translated as “elixir field” since the Chinese name means that it is a valuable
energy center, a place where something valuable and medicinal can be cultivated. Although
there are considered to be three major Dantian in the body. The Dantian we are talking
about for Dantian breathing is the lower Dantian, a major energy center found slightly under
and behind the navel. Dantian breathing describes when the lower back is incorporated into
deep breathing breathing practice. For this type of breathing, the mind focuses on the
Dantian and the chest stays relaxed, while the abdomen and lower back expand on the
exhale, and contract on the exhale. There is a very important acupuncture point on the
lower spine called the “Gate of Life” (命门 ming men) which can be stimulated by Dantian
breathing, as can the kidneys. Daoist medicine tells us that when the kidneys are stimulated,
your entire body's vitality and energy level will improve.

Embryonic breathing 胎吸 (tai xi)

Zhou Xuan Yun

Embryonic breathing is sometimes called “stopping the breath” (闭气). But it is important to
differentiate that “stopping the breath” actually does not mean the same thing as “holding
the breath”. There are several Daoist practices that involve holding the breath to increase
lung capacity, but Embryonic breathing is actually a bit different. Embryonic breathing
means that your breath feels like an effortless, internal movement. Your breathing becomes
so natural you are not aware that you are the one breathing, like a new-formed child in the
womb. When I practice this type of breathing, I find that my spirit and breathing become
aligned, I become less aware of myself sitting there. I become present in the moment, and
am only aware of the breath. This is a very useful type of breathing for meditation. Focusing
the mind too sharply on your breathing can prevent the naturalness of breath needed for
Embryonic breathing, so instead of diligently practicing this technique, I find it more useful
to let it happen naturally. If you use one hand to hold a feather under your nose while
practicing this type of breathing, it will not move, your breathing is so calm and subtle.
Embryonic breathing is also called nei hu xi (内呼吸 meaning 'internal breathing').

Nourishing Life Arts is a generic term and is normally viewed in Taoism under eight separate
categories. 1) Meditation methods (ching tso) 2) Breathing/qi circulation methods (tao yin) 3) Breath
purification methods (t’u na) 4) Herbal and medicinal remedies (fu erh) 5) Ching and Qi restoration
methods (fu qi) 6) Breath regulation methods (lien qi) 7) Abstaining from starches and grain methods
(pi ku) 8) Bedchamber methods (fang chung)
Being able to mobilize the qi up along the spine and thus achieving tranquillity is followed by a
refinement process that involves being able to fully circulate the qi throughout the body via qi
channels known as the Eight Subtle Meridians. Once the cultivator is capable of circulating the qi
through the Eight Subtle Meridians, the practice evolves to circulating the qi through the Lesser
Heavenly Circuit—the subtle qi channels that run up the back of the spine and down the front of the
body, beginning and ending in the tan-t’ien. 1 Qi is circulated through the Lesser Heavenly Circuit
nine times so that a drop of yang sheng (pure congealed essence of the refined Three Treasures—
ching, qi, and shen) can be deposited in the tan-t’ien. At this point the cultivator can begin forming
the Elixir and start his journey of creating the Immortal Fetus.