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DIGESTIVE BREATHING

Digestive breathing is a simple but effective practice that can help promote digestion. It is based on using your hands to stimulate energy points related to the spleen and stomach meridians, while you simultaneously breathe deep into your belly.

PRACTICE

Figure 37

Sit on a firm chair with your spine erect, yet relaxed, and your feet flat on the floor in front of you. Place your hands on your knees with the heel of your hands above your knee caps and your fingers pointed downward (Figure 37). Use your fingers, especially your index finger, middle finger, and ring finger, to find three indentations in your knee where the fingers can comfortably fit. Your middle finger will be over the center of the knee cap. Now simply keep your hands there, using just a slight pressure to stimulate the meridians running through the knee area. Sense the warmth going into your knees from your hands. As you inhale, sense that you are breathing energy gently into your expanding belly. As you exhale, sense your belly naturally contracting. Do not use force. Work in this way for at least five minutes after each meal, or any time you have digestive problems.

THE TAN TIEN CLEANSING BREATH

The tan tien cleansing breath is a powerful practice for both health preservation and self-healing, as well as for increasing your inner, vital energy. Based on natural, abdominal breathing, it involves directing the breath through the nose and trachea into the lower tan tien, the area just beneath the navel, and exhaling waste products up and out through the nose or mouth while simultaneously condensing the breath energy into the cells of the lower abdomen. The tan tien cleansing breath requires a long, slow exhalation. By intentionally prolonging the exhalation, we not only promote the removal of toxins from the body, but we also help turn on the parasympathetic nervous system, thus furthering deep inner relaxation and healing.

PRACTICE

We have already learned both the theory and practice of abdominal breathing. The key to using tan tien breathing to help heal yourself is to inhale gently all the way down into the tan tien area, an inch or two below your navel. As you inhale, put your attention on the lower tan tien and sense your breath energy filling your lower abdomen. Feel how your abdomen naturally expands. As you exhale, sense any tensions and toxins going out with the breath as your abdomen naturally contracts, but do not, as Mantak Chia warns, “throw out the baby with the bath water.” Learn to be attentive to the vital warmth or vibration of the breath energy remaining in your abdomen as you exhale. Guard it with your awareness. Feel it being absorbed deep into your cells as you exhale waste products out through your nose or mouth.

Tan tien breathing is the essence of natural breathing, so be patient and gentle as you undertake this practice. The key is to work with your full attention, without any feeling of willfulness, and to sense the energy in your abdomen. If you can work in this way, the tan tien cleansing breath will quickly become a regular and natural part of your life.

BELLOWS BREATHING

Bellows breathing involves the rapid contraction and relaxation of the abdominal wall to effect exhalation and inhalation, and is a fundamental practice found not only in Taoism, but also in Hinduism, Buddhism, and many other traditions. The practice is designed primarily to help remove various toxins and waste products from the lungs and blood stream. But the practice has many other benefits as well. It helps open and clear the various air passages in the head and throat. It helps pump lymph through the lymphatic system, thus supporting the body’s ability to ward off disease. It provides a powerful internal massage of the abdominal area, stimulating the digestive system and oxygenating and energizing all the internal tissues and organs. It strengthens the diaphragm and abdominal muscles, eventually helping them to function more