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THE BREATH

A Chi Kung Master who cannot control his breath is no master at all.   There is a reason in many cultures the word for spirit and energy is also the same word for breath. In Hebrew it is ‘ruach’ in Tibetan ‘lung’, in Sanskirt, ‘Prana’ even the word spirit means breath in Latin. Your breath is your life. Surprisingly we pay so little attention to it.

From the beginning the breath is neglected.  Right at the moment of birth the umbilical cord is cut before the lungs have a chance to adapt to their new environment. Hence our first breaths in life are breaths of panic and fear a trauma that we never quite recover from all our life.

Under normal circumstances people use only one seventh of their lung capacity, taking in a 1/2 litre of breath approximately 15 breaths a minute. When we become excited or frightened, we would breathe even shorter and faster, which would then increase our sense of fear.  In olden days when our ancestors hunted for food, and spent a lot of time in the jungles this would have helped them run faster and thus escaped  Their predators. In our days however, this type of response just leads to stress and more stress even though we are not in any real danger any more.  A calmer approach would be more beneficial and healthier.

Below are some breathing exercises you may like to try out to strengthen your lungs  and breathing capability and enhance your vitality.

Vase Breath

So named because you are filling the lungs like you would fill a vase with water- from the bottom up. An adult’s lungs can generally hold about seven pints of air yet we generally only breathe in one pint at a time.  Most of us also tend to favour the upper chamber of our lungs by puffing out the chest and holding in the stomach.

Method-  make sure the back is straight and vertical, seated or standing is ok but do not do it lying down. Breathe in through the nostrils, mouth is closed.  Consciously fill out the lower chambers of your lungs first, then the middle lungs, followed by filling the top part of your lungs.   Done correctly Your breath rate should slow from 15 per minute to 7-8 per minute.

CHIN LOCK /GENITAL LOCK

While  doing this exercise you can also combine it with the  Chin lock and the genital lock.  With the lungs filled, hold your breath, bend your head so your Chin is locked to your chest. Then do the  genital lock.  The genital lock is  like trying to stop  from urinating and you squeeze your genital -do the anal lock, vagina lock.  Or the kegel  exercise. This exercise is extremely good to enhance your vital force. It gives you a lot of power if done regularly.  If you are a female and you do this exercise it will make your vagina tighter. For a man it will give you a harder erection.

For advance students you can go one step further and combine this with reciting a short mantra like ‘Om’ , ‘Om tat sat’ , ‘ so ham’. ‘Om mani pedme hung’ etc.  My Favourite is ‘Om tat sat’.     The vase breath combined with these two  locks will enhance the energy in your body.  After practising you will feel so much energised with vital force. Your blood and brain gets better flow of oxygen. Your pituitary gland begins to function optimally. This gland not only controls all the other glands in the body but is also the physical manifestation of the third eye and the seat of mystic vision. Practising this exercise will improve your ability to direct your energies using just your breath and your will.

There are three types of locks, Chin lock, genital lock as explained above and whole body lock. Whole body lock is clenching your fists and squeezing your whole body while holding your breath.  Locks  are generally reserved for advance yogis.  Locks are extremely powerful and can  infuse your body with a lot of Chi.

Generally healthy people can do this. A word of caution  applies to those with hypertension. They can do the vase breath and leave out the locks.

Anna (www.manhoodtherapies.com)