The Tao of Natural Breathing_ For Health, Well-Being, and Inner Growth - Dennis Lewis [0]
Title Page
Dedication
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1 - THE MECHANICS OF BREATHING
SOME PERSONAL HISTORY
THE NEED FOR CLARITY AND MINDFULNESS
THE ANATOMY OF BREATHING
THE PHASES OF BREATHING
THE INNER BREATH
THE RESPIRATORY CENTER
THE RESPIRATORY MUSCLES
THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF BAD BREATHING HABITS
Chapter 2 - BREATH, EMOTIONS, AND THE ART OF SELF-SENSING
THE WORK OF SENSORY AWARENESS
THE WORLD IN THE BODY
PERCEPTUAL REEDUCATION AND WHOLENESS
THE IMPORTANCE OF FOLLOWING THE BREATH
LISTENING TO THE BODY
SELF-SENSING—THE BEGINNING OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND SELF-TRANSFORMATION
THE THREE KINDS OF BREATH
THE QUALITY OF OUR BREATHING
“EVERY STATE OF MIND IS A STATE OF OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM”
EMOTIONS AND THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
THE IMPORTANCE OF “EFFORTLESS EFFORT”
THE POWER OF PERCEPTUAL FREEDOM
AWAKENING ORGANIC SELF-AWARENESS
Chapter 3 - THE TAOIST VISION OF ENERGY AND BREATH
THE REMARKABLE ENERGY OF CHI
THE “THREE TREASURES”
“ORIGINAL CHI”
“ACQUIRED CHI”
SHEN
Chapter 4 - THE WHOLE-BODY BREATH
A SIMPLE DEFINITION OF NATURAL BREATHING
DISTINGUISHING THE OUTER AND INNER MOVEMENTS OF BREATH
THE POLARITY OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
THE BENEFITS OF WHOLE-BODY BREATHING
Chapter 5 - THE SPACIOUS BREATH
LEVELS OF SENSATION
THE THREE BREATHING SPACES
PSYCHOLOGICAL OBSTACLES TO AUTHENTIC BREATHING
Chapter 6 - THE SMILING BREATH
THE CHEMISTRY OF A SMILE
COMBINING THE INNER SMILE WITH SPACIOUS BREATHING
Chapter 7 - CIRCULATING THE VITAL BREATH
THE NEED FOR NEW IMPRESSIONS
MOVING OUR VITAL BREATH THROUGH THE MICROCOSMIC ORBIT
HEALING AND BALANCE
APPENDIX 1 - Specialized Breathing Practices
APPENDIX 2 - The Psychological Dimensions of the Microcosmic Orbit
NOTES
PERMISSIONS
INDEX
Copyright Page
Also by Dennis Lewis
Free Your Breath, Free Your Life (book)
Natural Breathing (audio)
Dedicated to my son, Benoit, who, from the moment of his birth, has inspired me to always attempt to keep learning and growing.
And with my most profound gratitude to Lord John Pentland, my primary teacher, who was an outstanding leader of the Gurdjieff Work in America until his death in 1984, and who taught me how to think from the perspective and sensation of wholeness; Jean Klein, the Advaita Vedanta master who helped me understand that love and consciousness are at the very heart of being; and Mantak Chia, the Taoist master who brought the Healing Tao to America, and who, along with Chi Nei Tsang practitioner Gilles Marin, showed me that healing is a power we all have—the creative power of life itself.
Empty yourself of everything.
Let the mind become still.
The ten thousand things rise and fall while the Self watches their return.
They grow and flourish and then return to the source.
Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature....
Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching
FOREWORD
There is a growing interest today in the relationship of breathing to health and spiritual development. Unfortunately, few people who experiment with their breath understand the importance of “natural breathing.” This is the kind of spontaneous, whole-body breathing that one can observe in an infant or a young child. Instead of trying to learn to breathe naturally, many people impose complicated breathing techniques on top of their already bad breathing habits. These habits are not in harmony with the psychological and physiological laws of the mind and body. They are not in harmony with the Tao.
Natural breathing is an integral part of the Tao. For thousands of years Taoist masters have taught natural breathing to their students through chi kung, tai chi, and various other meditative and healing arts and sciences. Through natural breathing we are able to support our overall health. We are able to improve the functioning and efficiency of our heart, lungs, and other internal organs and systems. We are able to help balance our emotions. We are able to transform our stress and negativity into the energy that we can use for self-healing and