ChiDragon

Yes, you are so right.... BTW, the Ba Qua that you are using was drawn outside in. It should be drawn inside out.

Kunlun(崑崙) is a name of a mountain in the western region of China. There is a Taoist group had organized a home base there for their method of practice. Their method was know as "Kunlun" as most style of practice which was named by the name of the mountain where their home base was at. FYI... Kuan or quan(拳) is fist but not 'Kun(昆)'. I see how misleading information are widespread in the forum due to the people who misunderstood of the pinyin of the Chinese characters. Besides, pinyin sometimes are very confusing because one pinyin can be more than one character. If one pick the wrong character, then the intended meaning of the original character will be lost and out of context. The Tao(道) means 'method'. KunTao is just a method which the Kunlun group practices. It is customary to add the character Tao(道), at the end, to a particular kind of martial arts practice. Like Judo(柔道), Taekwondo(跆拳道), and Jeet Kune Do(截拳道) was developed by Bruce Lee.

1. Welcome aboard, one is never too late, your arrival was perfect timing. 2. Reverse breathing is a natural process that begins when the sympathetic nervous system is activated leading to cortisol being released into the blood... As I practice Chi Kung and study along with a good explanation with modern science, I like to put the pieces together little by little like a jig puzzle. I am glad that you had mentioned about the cortisol being released into the blood during reverse breathing. It leads me to think that why martial artist do RB during combat. It was because the body requires lots of energy to be consumed. In order to keep up with the demand of the energy consumption, a supply of blood sugar or glucose are needed to generate the biochemical energy ATP continuously. The cortisol will help to request to release the stored energy(glycogen) in the liver and muscles to react with oxygen to generate the ATP for the perpetual energetic movements of the martial artists. 3. I believe that the babies do abdominal breathing was because their lungs were not fully developed for breathing. 4. Yes, those who do zhan Zhuang; RB is naturally kicks in. The bending of the legs are consuming energy which require ATP to be generated by the stored glycogen.

The simplest thing begins with the hardest....

The ONE is Tao. To be with the ONE which means integrated with Tao as a whole.

I think that was what has been bothering you in the first place as stated in the OP. It seems that your mind is still set at that....

See for yourself...at 2:00 for explanation. Explanation at 2.40

Under normal breathing(NB), the abdomen was FULLY EXpanded and INdented during INhalation and EXhalation, respectively. This is "the thought of RB" Under reverse breathing(RB), the abdomen CAN BE FULLY or PARTIALLY EXpanded and INdented during EXhalation and INhalation, respectively. The purpose of RB, for a martial artist, is to exchange gas in the lungs at a faster rate to regenerate the energy that was released from a fast blow. So, the next blow can be continued without any hesitation. RB will make the body to be at its strongest at the moment. Ref:

If you were the first person on earth, how would you view the universe...??? What is the first thing that you think might see....??? Remember, you have no scientific knowledge at the time. Please feel free to put in your thoughts..!!!

The motion of the diaphragm does not change the thought of RB. The difference is in the breathing when one inhale or exhale depends what position of the diaphragm was in. It seems to me I did not get my point across. However, I do not wish you to agree with me, but just try to understand what I am saying.

先天八卦 Early Version Ba Gua(EVBG) ---------------------------------------SOUTH .......................................Heaven ---------Fire(Sun)Water(Moon) ........................................Earth ----------------------------------------NORTH This Ba Gua symbol tells a lot about the Universe. The Yin-Yang symbol also served its purpose for being drawn in the center. The White fish represents the Yang and the Black fish is Yin. The white fish head means it is at the Yang-est state. It was draw at the top of the diagram and below the Heaven trigram which corresponds to the Yang state of Heaven for being the Yang-est. For the same analogy, the Black fish head is drawn at the bottom and on top of the Earth trigram for being the Yin-est state. There is something we should notice is that all the trigrams opposite to each other, looking from the center, are complementary to each other. The Heave, Earth, Sun, and Moon are the four basic universal elements. They are shown at their perspective positions. The positions are known as the right positions for the Right Trigrams. Those trigrams and positions were shown as such to represent the Universe. Heaven is on top because it is above us. Earth is at the bottom because it is below us. The Sun rise from the East and the Moon is from the West. Here we are, we have the Universe represented by the four directional positions in the Early Day(version) Ba Gua. The black fish eye signifies that there is always a little Yin in Yang. Likewise, the white fish eye signifies that there is always a little Yang in Yin. Indeed, the fish eyes indicate that they can be reverse in the opposite direction when one state has reached its ultimate.

If people keep on talking about stop breathing practice in Chi Kung, then I don't know what is Chi Kung anymore. It seems to me the books that people read are very confusing and incomplete. When people are trying to tell others what to do are very misleading. IMMHO It one does not have the knowledge of the basic concept of any method and cannot explain it in one's own words, it's better not to practice it at all. There should be just one basic concept about Chi Kung is to learn the "ultimate method of breathing". If one thinks about Chi Kung is something else other than breathing, then one is starting with the wrong foot. I still can't figure it out why and how the definition of Chi Kung got lost in translation. OK!!! Shoot me people.....

In order to understand what is reverse diaphragmatic breathing, one must know what is the basic definition of diaphragmatic breathing to begin with. To start fresh, please disregard what you were told and unlearn what you had taught and use the definition as the basic fundamental understanding. Thus you can go a long way from here.

It seems to me you want to know what is a simply way of life. Right now, your trouble is with a girl which you cannot get her off your mind. Here is a Taoist way of handling it which is Wu Wei. It is to "let Nature take its course". You have not mention that the girl loves you or not. It sounds like an one way street. So, let it be and let it go and let her get off your mind. The right one will come along in your way. If you two love each other, then you two will be together and only was meant to be. Indeed, don't force it. That is what it meant by "let Nature take its course".

先天八卦 Early Version Ba Gua(EVBG) ---------------------------------------SOUTH .......................................Heaven ---------Fire(Sun)Water(Moon) ........................................Earth ----------------------------------------NORTH Now, I had come up with the eight trigrams. It is time to have the four basic trigrams oriented in the four directional positions. The proper way to draw the trigrams in the Ba Gua is to look from the inside out. The top is South and the bottom is North. Heaven is on top and Earth is at the bottom. The Fire represents the Sun, the Sun rises from the East. Thus the Fire trigram was drawn on the East. The Water represents the Moon. In the beginning of each lunar month, the Moon rises from the West. Thus the Water trigram was drawn on the West.

"to be unified with the Tao or to become One with the Tao." It is simply means follow the principles of Tao and living in a Taoist way of life style.

What did you use for your BP measurements...??? Where did you measure them, at your wrist or arm...??? I know, now-a-days, the hospital measure the BP on the right arm too. Isn't the normal way to measure is on the left arm...???

雷(Thunder) __ __ __ __ _____ The two Yin-lines represents the clouds and moisture above the sky(heaven). It causes lightning and thunder when the clouds meet.

Please tell us how you live now, then we can tell you what to eliminate to have a simpler life style.

Chapter 1 1. 道可道，非常道。 2. 名可名，非常名。 3. 無，名天地之始。 4. 有，名萬物之母。 5. 故常無，欲以觀其妙。 6. 常有，欲以觀其徼。 7. 此兩者同出而異名， 8. 同謂之玄。玄之又玄， 9. 眾妙之門。 Revised as of 2/27/12 1. Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao. 2. A name that can be named is not an eternal name. 3. Invisible was the name given to Tao at the origin of heaven and earth. 4. Visible was the name given to Tao as the mother of all things. 5. Hence, when Tao is always invisible, one would grok its quale. 6. When Tao is always visible, one would observe its boundary. 7. These two come from one origin but differ in name, 8. Both are regarded as unfathomable; the most occult and profound; 9. The gate of all changes. Note: Changes made are shown in bold.

How about when Xuan(玄) means "deep and profound(玄之又玄)".

風(Wind) _____ _____ __ __ The wind is under the sky and on the tree top but it is invisible. Therefore, it was attributed as Yin by the bottom broken line. BTW The trigrams, here, are to represent the observed phenomena of nature. Indeed, there are eight of them; and that is why they are called ba gua(八卦). It is within the subject matter in this thread. I do not wish to jump to another subject at this point.

Hehehehe......You did not change my mind. In Chinese thinking, 命(ming4): life. It is also equal to 天命(tien ming): fate; destiny; kismet; it was meant to be.

Please note those who bend their legs, their legs will become stronger than before after a long period of practice. Zuna Zhuang 练习站桩有利于人增加力量，强壮身体，发动真气。 Practice Zuan Zhuang will give one the benefit of increasing the body strength(力量), enhance the health of the body. It activates the Natural Chi(真气).

"用意不用力 yong yi bu yong li." I think that is where most people get stuck on and applied this thinking at the wrong place like Zuan Zhuang. FYI... 不用力(bu yong li) it does mean one does not use any body strength at all. It simply means do not exert excessive force more than one has to. For example, when one is at the standing position, one's body automatically exert a force(用力) to support the body weight. However, it no force was exerted(bu yong li), one's body will fall on the ground. The Chinese phrases are very paradoxical, one cannot get their meaning from the direct translation of the characters. There was always a little philosophy behind each phrase. If the little philosophy was ignored, then, the whole significance of meaning was lost. Good luck and best....