Learning to Breathe Again

When my Tai Chi master told me he was 60, shortly after I started studying with him 13 years ago, I could not believe it.  He could have passed for a 45 year-old.  The practice of Tai Chi, I was to learn, aims at moving Chi through the body in order to nourish, heal, and increase longevity.  In addition to the Yang Short form that he taught us, he also instructed us in Tao Breathing (hsing-ch'i) and combining that with a mental meditation to move Chi to various points in our bodies.  This is a brief description of the basic breathing technique, which I will then build on in later posts.

Tao Breathing differs significantly from how we're taught to breathe in school.  It is the natural way of breathing and how babies breathe when you watch them sleeping.  Sit or stand with the spine straight and perpendicular to the ground.  Close your eyes half way.  Relax your neck muscles.  Press the tip of the tongue lightly against the roof of the mouth.

On the inhale, the abdomen expands.  This causes the diaphragm under the lungs to drop, which creates a vacuum and that draws air into the lungs.  To exhale, the abdomen contracts and that pushes up on the diaphragm, which expels the air.

Inhale through the nostrils, not the mouth.  Make your breath in as long as your breath out--long deep and even, but not forced.

Keeping the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth closes a circuit that carries Chi through our body.  If you find your mind wondering, focus your attention on the tip of your nose and pay attention to the movement of the air in and out of your body.  As you breathe in, feel the air pass through your nostrils, enter your throat, and move all the way down to the deepest part of your lungs.  As you breathe out, feel the air traveling back up your throat and through your nostrils.

Watching your breath this way is one of the most ancient meditation techniques.  If you find your mind wondering, don't worry.  Just bring your attention back to you breath.

Practicing Tao Breathing will improve your concentration and gives you a vacation from all the bothersome and worrisome thoughts that barrage you during our waking hours.  The more you practice, the better you will become at this type of concentration and that will help you deal with the stressors in your life.  When you feel anxious, just take a moment to practice the Tao Breathing.

Tao Breathing and Tai Chi seem weird to us in the West, however, more and more, research is demonstrating how they actually affect our brain's activities, by fighting depression, changing destructive thought patterns, and helping us manage our emotions.  Below are a few references to this research:

Anna Wise-Wrote a book called the Awakened Mind, in which I learned that putting the tongue against the roof of the mouth while meditating actually has an impact on brain waves and that Tai Chi is a moving meditation that can take us to brain states that actually heal our bodies.

Religion Facts: Chi--entry that gives a definition of Chi as vital life force and explains that Tai Chi and breathing techniques move Chi around the body.

John Kabat Zinn--Medical doctor who does research on mindfulness and meditation and most recently focused on using meditation to alleviate depression.  His research has shown that meditation has an impact on the right pre-frontal cortex which controls positive thoughts.