Full yogic breath/dantural breath/dan tien breathing etc

[markern]

In some descriptions of the full yogic breath they say start breathing in and expanding the lower belly then the chest and then realy high up in the chest so your shoulders pull back and actualy lift up a bit. Then start breathing out and contracting first the belly, then the chest. However, in other explanations people say to start with the belly then the chest and then start breathing out and contracting first in the bell and then the chest. This confuses me and I realy want to get this down. I am also confused if what is meant by the babys breath/the natural breat and dan tien breathing and belly breathing are also all the same or something different. Sometimes it seems to me what is meant by the later types are just breathing in and out with the belly with virtualy no chest expansion and dan tien breathing sometimes refered to as just belly breathing and sometimes breathing more in and out of the energetic dan tien center rather then just breathing from the general dan tien area without focus on energy. Can anyone clarify for me? And in KAP what version is used there. The description isen`t totaly clear to me there either.

[Mal]

Many methods, many ways. They get overlaped / confused depending on the system they come from, hence the easy confusion.

 

My Yoga teacher teaches

 

breath in lower, middle, upper chest

breath out breath ower, middle, upper chest

 

and I have also seen it done the other way. I find it a bit "forced" rather than natural for me as I'm use to belly breathing really low down. I learnt that for playing wind instruments in school. My yoga teacher said my breathing "is so relaxing, like the ocean"

 

KAP is a combination of many methods so it can change around depending on what you are doing but it's often breathing into the lower belly, breathing out squeezing the belly towards the spine.

 

And my kung fu Sifu said. "We all know we can only get air into the lungs. But think of filling up the belly. It is the intention and path that is important" (we do stuff like MCO's)

[Eric23]

In the Unwinding the Belly book the authors teach breathing into the lower abdomen first. Then they have you work on expanding the LDT out to the sides and then expanding the back outwards. Later on as you work on the intercostal muscles in the rib cage you then work on expanding the upper chest. Ultimately you literally breath into your entire body, starting low and ending high.

[King Kabalabhati]

For me it was a minor elightenment to realize I could actually breathe all the way into my testicles

 

..always sends chi up my spine.

Edited August 14, 2009 by King Kabalabhati

[Creation]

Breathing into the belly massages the organs, moves energy more effectively, and is the best way for a beginner to begin to work with the energies of the lower dan tien. Not breathing with the chest activates other movements of the torso that are beneficial. First the sides of the abdomen, then the back, and eventually the upper back moves back and forth with the breath also. Such three dimensional breathing helps release blockages and distribute energy far better than ordinary belly breathing.

 

Someone mentioned Unwinding the Belly. That's on my to get list. My source for breathing is B.K. Frantzis: Relaxing Into Your Being, Opening The Energy Gates of Your Body, Taoist Breathing for Chi Gung and Meditation [my favorite of these four, 2 CD Set that goes with R.I.Y.B., ], Longevity Breathing [DVD].

 

Eventually, you want your whole body to powerfully breathe energy in and out. There are different paths to get to that point, I suppose. The Taoist way (as taught by Frantzis) always tries to match the body and energy as closely as possible. So the 3-D belly breathing is emphasized because the lower dan tien is like an energetic lung that breathes in from and out to the whole etheric body.

Edited August 14, 2009 by Creation

[markern]

Thanks guys I am going to go with breathing out from the lower belly first.