reverse breathing, illustrated

[Mark Foote]

Reverse breathing: the ilio-lumbar ligaments (yellow) engage in the movement of breath.

 

 

The autonomic respirations coordinate through the place of occurrence of consciousness (illustrated with a gyroscope) to cause action that opens the nerve channels between vertebrae; thus, the place that consciousness occurs has impact and opens feeling, through the body to the surface of the skin and in the senses.

 

We all know what it feels like to stretch, and how close stretch can be to pain; a lot of my practice is learning what is stretching at the moment, and how to relax and allow stretch and activity to reciprocate as consciousness takes place. The length of the movement of breath can be a guide to healthy stretch and the subsequent involuntary activity, both with the breath in and with the breath out.

 

With that in mind, the impact and feeling as consciousness takes place in inhalation tends to result in reciprocal activity that draws upward and inward, while the impact and feeling as consciousness takes place in exhalation tends to result in activity that sinks downward and forward. This is my experience, when the length of the movement of breath guides the stretch and activity as consciousness occurs, and I believe this is because the ilio-lumbar ligaments from the pelvis to the 4th lumbar vertebrae engage on the inhalation (they are vertical), and the ilio-lumbar ligaments from the pelvis to the 5th lumbar vertebrae engage on the exhalation (they are horizontal).

 

When the length of the movement of breath guides the stretch and activity as consciousness occurs, reverse breathing is already taking place, even though each breath is completely natural.

Edited November 6, 2010 by Mark Foote

[Taomeow]

Thanks for the picture.

Any idea why the pelvis is shown as going side to side?

 

The length of the movement of breath can be a guide to healthy stretch and the subsequent involuntary activity, both with the breath in and with the breath out.

 

A valuable tip from Zhang Sanfeng's writings:

"the breath shouldn't go so high as to hit the heart from below, or so low as to hit the genitals from above."

[Mark Foote]

Thanks for the picture.

Any idea why the pelvis is shown as going side to side?

 

 

 

A valuable tip from Zhang Sanfeng's writings:

"the breath shouldn't go so high as to hit the heart from below, or so low as to hit the genitals from above."

 

The pelvis going from side to side is my attempt to illustrate the movement of the pelvis in three directions, corresponding to pitch, yaw, and roll. It's mostly yaw, yer right!- hopefully my next project will be 3ds-Max.

 

Thanks for the tip from Zhang Sanfeng!

 

(p.s.- it's better in flash, you can start to see the stretches of the ilio-sacral, sacrospinous, and sacrotuberous ligaments that lead to the activity that moves the pelvis in three directions- the flash version is here:

 

http://www.zenmudra.com/ilio_lumbars_pulmonary_respiration.swf)

 

- these stretches are initiated by the movement of the sacrum in the cranial-sacral rhythm, but the sacrum doesn't move freely without the support of the lower spine provided by the ilio-lumbar ligaments in the movement of breath.)

Edited November 3, 2010 by Mark Foote

[Taomeow]

The pelvis going from side to side is my attempt to illustrate the movement of the pelvis in three directions, corresponding to pitch, yaw, and roll. It's mostly yaw, yer right!- hopefully my next project will be 3ds-Max.

 

Thanks for the tip from Zhang Sanfeng!

 

(p.s.- it's better in flash, you can start to see the stretches of the ilio-sacral, sacrospinous, and sacrotuberous ligaments that lead to the activity that moves the pelvis in three directions- the flash version is here:

 

http://www.zenmudra....respiration.swf)

 

- these stretches are initiated by the movement of the sacrum in the cranial-sacral rhythm, but the sacrum doesn't move freely without the support of the lower spine provided by the ilio-lumbar ligaments in the movement of breath.)

 

Oh, I didn't realize you made it... cool!

 

When the patriarch of my Chen lineage, Chen Zhenglei, was giving a workshop to our group, he made everyone draw the sign of eternity (the sideways figure 8) deep into the ground with the pelvis... over and over and over... as the correct way to shift the weight between the legs. The punch line being that the legs have to be already very strong to support this movement. Mine nearly fell off.

[TheSongsofDistantEarth]

Not sure what you're trying to demonstrate. Maybe the flash version is clearer. Thanks for posting this.

[dawei]

This is interesting to see since I am doing reverse breathing practice. The stretching ligaments is a good visual. Maybe you could show some more parts moving; On inhale the HuiYin and Diaphragm (which are energetically linked) should move upwards. I was taught to bring my breath up to meet with Heart Qi and then let some of that Qi come down with the exhale. It may not go all the way to the heart necessarily as I let the Heart Qi descend a bit to meet it. On exhale, I keep the HuiYin raised a little longer to let the Qi concentrate, then let it return to normal.

 

The sideways figure-8 idea with the pelvis is interesting and i can visualize it. I had learned a sacrum stretch from one of Mantak Chia's books and then modified it to stretch in different directions. I'll have to try the pelvis-8 but I'm going to guess I'll fatigue rather quickly!

[joeblast]

love the figure 8...done it for quite a while, need to do a little more, thx for the reminder helps make up for that lack of L5 spinous process

[Birch]

"The length of the movement of breath can be a guide to healthy stretch and the subsequent involuntary activity, both with the breath in and with the breath out."

 

I thought this was interesting. Thanks Mark! Yesterday I noticed as I was meditating and had slowed my breathing way down that my abdominal muscles were moving despite there being no breathing going on to move them. It carried that "tickling" sensation that curls up and under the heart. It's pretty pleasant

[Mark Foote]

When the patriarch of my Chen lineage, Chen Zhenglei, was giving a workshop to our group, he made everyone draw the sign of eternity (the sideways figure 8) deep into the ground with the pelvis... over and over and over... as the correct way to shift the weight between the legs. The punch line being that the legs have to be already very strong to support this movement. Mine nearly fell off.

 

That's so exciting to me to hear. When I was just starting out I practiced a figure-eight thing in the lower abdomen, walking around the panhandle in S.F. (1975); I thought of it as the hummingbird way (because I have a vivid imagination!), and although I've gone away from it over the years I still think it's an interesting practice.

 

Right now I think more about juggling three balls, so that one is always in the air and there's a sense of weight and gravity in continuous motion. Of course, this doesn't specify the direction of motion like the figure-eight practice! The three balls could be described (I suppose) as jing, qi, shen, although I think of them as impact of the occurrence of consciousness in the fascial stretch, activity generated out of stretch in support of the movement of breath, and single-pointedness of feeling. If I relax into the stretch as consciousness occurs, and look to realize the length of the movement of breath, I have a continuity of single-pointed mind- provided I exclude nothing! When I sit, I look to the sacrum and especially the sacrospinous ligaments, I look to the gastroc-soleus (in back of the calf), the sartorius, and the piriformis, I look to the extensors and to the attachments of the extensors to the temporal bones behind the jaw on either side of the head- and I hope to let go for the juggling. The juggling usually has a pointedness of mind or feeling that returns to the space around which the psoas muscles move, moving in alternation with the extensors- the tan-t'ien. Sometimes a figure-eight.

[Mark Foote]

Yesterday I noticed as I was meditating and had slowed my breathing way down that my abdominal muscles were moving despite there being no breathing going on to move them. It carried that "tickling" sensation that curls up and under the heart. It's pretty pleasant

 

That's an interesting point, Kate- my personal belief and experience is that the movement of breath never stops, and the moment where people think it stops is the moment where the body, the mind, and the balance meet- the entrance to the trance states, if the focus is on realizing through intuition the relaxed stretch and the shift of feeling necessary to the movement of breath.

[joeblast]

when I was working on longevity breathing, after you eliminate the turbulence, pretty much all that's left is just that motion. funny that the motion is the breathing, even though back there it doesnt really seem like it...but misplace your awareness long enough and it clues you right in

[joeblast]

ruptured L5S1 when I was 19, had 7 chunks of disc removed, bit of spondylolysthesis from impact(s) so...they removed the protruding portion of the spinous process...

[Mark Foote]

when I was working on longevity breathing, after you eliminate the turbulence, pretty much all that's left is just that motion. funny that the motion is the breathing, even though back there it doesnt really seem like it...but misplace your awareness long enough and it clues you right in

 

exactly, and I don't know if it's just my stage of ripeness or what (hope I don't stink too much), but my intuition for the length of the exhale, for the length of the inhale is my key to the stretch and activity to place awareness. In reality, I don't so much place awareness as my necessity in the breath, stretch, and activity places awareness. That's the trance, I guess; weight underside and extend, as Koichi put it.

 

L5/S1, nerves to the sole of the foot? If you have that motion that is the breathing connected with awareness, you have some support at l5 from ilio-lumbar on exhalation, and I wonder how that can be- I guess that's possible if they didn't remove transverse processes. I'm no anatomist, so I'm guessing at these relationships (but to read most anatomy books, they have no idea of the big picture, so I might as well guess). The dorsal fascia can provide support too; my guess is if the balance is right the fascial web is suspended in the correct locations, even though you have no disc l5/s1.

 

I can sit the lotus, but I lose feeling sometimes at the sole of the feet; I think I need to relax the extensors and let the head bones move more, I think I need to forget it. Ha ha!

[joeblast]

ahhh ya know I used to have an image of nerve transference down the legs, they kinda go in bands. I actually have a measure of hair loss on my legs in the affected areas that relate back up to those couple nerve plexuses.

 

 

 

"In reality, I don't so much place awareness as my necessity in the breath, stretch, and activity places awareness. That's the trance, I guess; weight underside and extend, as Koichi put it."

 

Very good point of view, a good tip for anyone around that hasnt reached that stage of breath previously. Once you get these things its kinda like riding a bike, not easy to forget but if you take a long time off you merely get a little rusty. I've spent different periods focused on longevity breathing; when I've been out of the practice it takes me but a week or so to re-ingrain it and begin experiencing those longevity breathing related phenomena again.

 

 

 

I do have my L5S1 still, thankfully - just about 2/3rds of it, not all of it. Doc said that while the MRI showed a bad rupture it all happened in the protruding areas and I still had a substantial main portion of it, so he didnt want to limit my range of motion since I had a good chance of regaining 95, 98%. Whoa boy, they didnt touch the transverse processes - just the tiny little bit they did (micro surgery, 4cm incision...contrast to dad having the exact same surgery in like '79 with a 6 inch incision and week & a half stay vs my overnight!) leaves me pretty feeble in that one little area on the anterior side; if they had to do much more then that whole track would have been out the window and I'd have a fused L5-sacrum right now!

 

 

Lotus actually REALLY helps my back, it is such a good stretch on the psoas, and a tight psoas is one of my worst enemies. My feet arent bothered often at all, actually my knees are the limiting factor most often since I've gotten my hips decently open.

 

(hopefully not derailing this thread too much )

[Mark Foote]

 

Lotus actually REALLY helps my back, it is such a good stretch on the psoas, and a tight psoas is one of my worst enemies. My feet arent bothered often at all, actually my knees are the limiting factor most often since I've gotten my hips decently open.

 

(hopefully not derailing this thread too much )

 

Not a'tall, not a'tall! I think I've spent most of my life hunched over, because I had no sense of the balanced activity between the psoas and extensors. Of course, that's an oversimplification; I just never got the bicycle-riding as far as the breath that coordinates stretches in the pelvis and lower back, and the "movement" of consciousness.

 

oh well. I hope I'm making up for lost time.

 

Glad to hear they didn't fuse ya, or otherwise overdo it- so many have had it overdone, OMG.

[Mark Foote]

I have cheated, and added to my initial remarks on this thread an explanation that should have been there from the first; the thread is about reverse breathing, but I really didn't explain what the illustration had to do with reverse breathing. For those who are opening the thread for the first time, I added it to my remarks at the start of the thread. For those who may be following this thread, I will repeat it:

 

We all know what it feels like to stretch, and how close stretch can be to pain; a lot of my practice is learning what is stretching at the moment, and how to relax and allow stretch and activity to reciprocate as consciousness takes place. The length of the movement of breath can be a guide to healthy stretch and the subsequent involuntary activity, both with the breath in and with the breath out.

 

 

With that in mind, the impact and feeling as consciousness takes place in inhalation tends to result in reciprocal activity that draws upward and inward, while the impact and feeling as consciousness takes place in exhalation tends to result in activity that sinks downward and forward. This is my experience, when the length of the movement of breath guides the stretch and activity as consciousness occurs, and I believe this is because the ilio-lumbar ligaments from the pelvis to the 4th lumbar vertebrae engage on the inhalation (they are vertical), and the ilio-lumbar ligaments from the pelvis to the 5th lumbar vertebrae engage on the exhalation (they are horizontal).

 

When the length of the movement of breath guides the stretch and activity as consciousness occurs, reverse breathing is already taking place, even though each breath is completely natural.

 

"...Miraculous power and marvelous activity

Drawing water and chopping wood."

 

(Pangyun, a lay Zen practitioner, eight century C.E.)

 

"Cleave a (piece of) wood, I am there;

lift up the stone and you will find Me there."

 

(The Gospel According to Thomas, pg 43 log. 77, ©1959 E. J. Brill)

Edited November 6, 2010 by Mark Foote

[joeblast]

Good stuff Mark, thanks! Sometimes the merest inkling of other techniques, vantage points, provides a great springboard. Conceptualizing for a moment breath as simple stretches is great - combined with letting go of all the air passageways above the diaphragm, its an excellent way to eliminate turbulence in the air passageways.