Kunlun One Breath Question

[Tibetan_Ice]

Hi,

I have been studying the "Kunlun System" by Max Christensen. I've had the book for a couple weeks now.

 

What I would like to know is this.

Are there any experienced Kunlun practitioners out there where I can find out about how exactly to perform the One Breath?

When I took the Kunlun Level 1 seminar, the type of breathing was just normal breathing but not letting it pause. You did not elongate the in or out breath, nor did you slow it down or change the cycle.

Well, in that latest book "Kunlun System", Max talks about the One Breath. He says to just breathe gently and not have any pauses or gaps between the in and out breaths.

 

What I would like to know, from a practiced Kunlun practioner who knows, the following:

 

In the One Breath, do you slow down your breathing? Or are you just supposed to leave your breathing the same as normal, except you give a little push at the top and bottom of the breathing cycle so that there is no pause or gap?

 

Is it ok to slow the breathing down and not have any gaps? For example, could you do a 9-0-9-0 breathing cycle? (9 for inhale, 0 is no pause, 9 for exhale etc) Breathing like that is very powerful and seems to balance and accumulate the energies very efficiently.

 

Max says that breathing with no gaps builds up the Wu Chi.

 

The reason I ask, is because in chapter 7 called "The Gold Flower Method of Maoshan", he activates the three dantiens with the help of a hand mudra and the One Breath. He says you can do 12, 24 or 36 counts of the One Breath at each dantien. Well, if you are just breathing normally, which for me is about 1 or 2 seconds in-breath, 1 or 2 seconds out-breath, then it goes by very quickly. So I started thinking that maybe the teacher that I took the Kunlun Level 1 seminar didn't give accurate instructions? I don't know..

 

I would really like to know the answers to the One Breath technique. Anyone out there know the answers or where I can find out?

 

Greatly appreciated..

Thanks.

 

TI

 

P.S. It is so nice to also see that Max refers to the Heart Mind channel called the Katika channel many times throughout the book, and emphasizes the importance of developing and opening it up. He even explained that it is a "bliss plasma vapour" that fills the katika channel to the heart center.

 

It is also interesting that he says that two microcosmic flows, water and fire, "provides a new element, the super-heated steam that is the gaseous state of water with high kinetic energy transferred from fire". And the "Gold Flower Method of the Maoshan" sounds very similar to tummo practice to me. So, perhaps in a roundabout way, Max is now combining the fire and water methods.. Also, since he recommends not mixing in Kundalini, Kundalini must not be the fire method, but something else.. Something to think about.

[Songtsan]

That's awesome - it will take me time to incorporate into my plan...but it's on. The switch has been set. and levered. thank you!

Edited June 28, 2013 by Songtsan

[Songtsan]

That's awesome - it will take me time to incorporate into my plan...but it's on. The switch has been set. and levered. thank you!

 

Everyone's of the world unite!

[Tibetan_Ice]

Bump

[liminal_luke]

Hi Tibetan,

 

I don't know what Max would say though it makes sense to me that elongating the breath would be a good thing. If you don't get a more autoritative answer here I suggest just asking Max through his website. He's a pretty approachable, low-key guy.

 

Liminal

Edited June 29, 2013 by liminal_luke

[Tibetan_Ice]

Hi Tibetan,

 

I don't know what Max would say though it makes sense to me that elongating the breath would be a good thing. If you don't get a more autoritative answer here I suggest just asking Max through his website. He's a pretty approachable, low-key guy.

 

Liminal

Thanks for your response. Do you mean at the Primordial Alchemist website? :

http://www.primordialalchemist.com/contact/

 

I will try and see if I get a response..

 

Thanks.

[Songtsan]

sometimes i wonder about all these breathing techniques though - cant one just relax the diaphragm and let the body do its thing?....I do believe in pranayama though

[joeblast]

Funny I did this before Max taught it to me, got it out of studying the YMAA embryonic breathing stuff, although I dont know that it was specifically referred to, just a logical something.

 

Work on the transitions between inhale and exhale. Make them disappear, roll the inhale into the exhale and vice versa. This should basically be part and parcel of anapana. Eventually with the muscle memory well integrated, the pause between inspiration and expiration is gone, slow the breath down enough and that's where you truly disappear, no cranial nerve input at all. Ya know that little silence you get from the pause...work on the transitions and make them smooth enough and it becomes basically "one big pause" in a sense that the quiescence and differing signal to noise ratio is very prevalent, but doing the one breath you sidestep the attack of hypoxia altogether, unles of course you move too quickly in slowing things down, then you hit the body's feedback mechanism that prompts the heart to beat, desire for inhale, etc.

 

Slow it naturally, dont force it too much otherwise you hit the feedbacks. But then again if you're not hitting the feedbacks occasionally then you're probably not pushing yourself for progress as much as you could be. Plenty of attention can be paid to smoothing the transitions, that is the key for the one breath. Wu Ji in that once well integrated, all is one.

 

 

[ChiDragon]

...............................

[Tibetan_Ice]

Funny I did this before Max taught it to me, got it out of studying the YMAA embryonic breathing stuff, although I dont know that it was specifically referred to, just a logical something.

 

Work on the transitions between inhale and exhale. Make them disappear, roll the inhale into the exhale and vice versa. This should basically be part and parcel of anapana. Eventually with the muscle memory well integrated, the pause between inspiration and expiration is gone, slow the breath down enough and that's where you truly disappear, no cranial nerve input at all. Ya know that little silence you get from the pause...work on the transitions and make them smooth enough and it becomes basically "one big pause" in a sense that the quiescence and differing signal to noise ratio is very prevalent, but doing the one breath you sidestep the attack of hypoxia altogether, unles of course you move too quickly in slowing things down, then you hit the body's feedback mechanism that prompts the heart to beat, desire for inhale, etc.

 

Slow it naturally, dont force it too much otherwise you hit the feedbacks. But then again if you're not hitting the feedbacks occasionally then you're probably not pushing yourself for progress as much as you could be. Plenty of attention can be paid to smoothing the transitions, that is the key for the one breath. Wu Ji in that once well integrated, all is one.

Hi Joe

Thanks for your response.

I'm kind of confused now by your post. Did Max teach you this method in order to slow the breathing down and make it stop?

 

If that is the case then it sounds like the opposite of what Max is saying in his last book: "Kunlun System".

 

He says that when a body pauses the breath it is an indication that it is sick. He says that one should not prolong any gap or pause between breaths, but aren't your instructions a method to slow the breathing right down and bypass the hypoxia stage?

 

When I am asking about doing a 9-0-9-0 breathing cycle, although the number of breaths per minute slows down, the breathing is much more deep therefore hypoxia should not occur.

 

I could do a 9-0-9-0 breathing cycle for hours. It is charging. The only time I get the "body's feedback mechanism" to breathe is when I start putting in gaps or pauses between the breaths. Usually, 3 second pauses results in the lower dantien kicking in with 'energy', and only after the out-breath.

 

I'm more interested in what Max's book is saying about the One Breath practice as having the ability to resonate the skull bones, which produces a frequency said to activate the higher functions, preparing the mind for enlightenment and Heavenly Way. Max's "tao brother" says: "This vibration can be created by the body naturally using the natural process of breathing, in particular the One Breath or circular breathing". (page 75) In the book there is a long technical discourse about the mechanics of how exactly this works, but after reading it, it didn't seem to me that stopping breathing was desirable because you would no longer be creating the vibration from the air passing through and stimulating the parts of the skull. Further, it says that this type of breathing will 'marry' the pineal to the pituitary and activate the sushumna (central thrusting channel).

So, it seems inuitive to me that this vibration would be more powerful as one deepened and lengthened the breathing cycle, hence that is why I'm suggesting a 9-0-9-0 breathing cycle. It's not about stopping the breath but making the results more powerful by breathing deeper which makes the number of breaths per minute fewer, but the efficiency of the breathing cycle is greatly increased.

 

I hope I've explained this adequately. Nowhere in the book does it say that you can breathe deeply during the One Breath. It just says to breathe "naturally". I just want to know if Max ever said that you can breathe deeply during the One Breath, and if doing so augments the effects.

 

Thanks.

 

TI

Edited June 30, 2013 by Tibetan_Ice

[Songtsan]

When we breathe, do we inhale chi energy?

[ChiDragon]

When we breathe, we inhale air(氣,chi) into the lung. The oxygen(氧氣) flows in the blood and deliver to the body cells to produce energy(氣,chi). The body energy was generated by the body cells. Hence, the source of energy was breathed from the air into the body. During cell respiration, the oxygen was use to generate the energy for the body to function. The more air/oxygen we breathe the more energy that the body can be generated.

People get confused and thought that Chi Kung was breathing energy from the air. Actually, Chi Kung is to learn and practice how to breathe more efficiently to provide more oxygen for the body to generate a maximum amount of body energy as it possibly can.

[joeblast]

Hi Joe

Thanks for your response.

I'm kind of confused now by your post. Did Max teach you this method in order to slow the breathing down and make it stop?

 

If that is the case then it sounds like the opposite of what Max is saying in his last book: "Kunlun System".

 

He says that when a body pauses the breath it is an indication that it is sick. He says that one should not prolong any gap or pause between breaths, but aren't your instructions a method to slow the breathing right down and bypass the hypoxia stage?

 

When I am asking about doing a 9-0-9-0 breathing cycle, although the number of breaths per minute slows down, the breathing is much more deep therefore hypoxia should not occur.

 

I could do a 9-0-9-0 breathing cycle for hours. It is charging. The only time I get the "body's feedback mechanism" to breathe is when I start putting in gaps or pauses between the breaths. Usually, 3 second pauses results in the lower dantien kicking in with 'energy', and only after the out-breath.

 

I'm more interested in what Max's book is saying about the One Breath practice as having the ability to resonate the skull bones, which produces a frequency said to activate the higher functions, preparing the mind for enlightenment and Heavenly Way. Max's "tao brother" says: "This vibration can be created by the body naturally using the natural process of breathing, in particular the One Breath or circular breathing". (page 75) In the book there is a long technical discourse about the mechanics of how exactly this works, but after reading it, it didn't seem to me that stopping breathing was desirable because you would no longer be creating the vibration from the air passing through and stimulating the parts of the skull. Further, it says that this type of breathing will 'marry' the pineal to the pituitary and activate the sushumna (central thrusting channel).

So, it seems inuitive to me that this vibration would be more powerful as one deepened and lengthened the breathing cycle, hence that is why I'm suggesting a 9-0-9-0 breathing cycle. It's not about stopping the breath but making the results more powerful by breathing deeper which makes the number of breaths per minute fewer, but the efficiency of the breathing cycle is greatly increased.

 

I hope I've explained this adequately. Nowhere in the book does it say that you can breathe deeply during the One Breath. It just says to breathe "naturally". I just want to know if Max ever said that you can breathe deeply during the One Breath, and if doing so augments the effects.

 

Thanks.

 

TI

Hey TI

No, he didnt teach it with the explicit intention on slowing things down, that came from me and my studies. Actually, BK's energy gates was the first I heard of longevity breathing, I took to that idea and considered it an important one. There is no stoppage or pause - I just mentioned the glimpses of quiescence one gets in those pauses as somewhat of an analogue to what happens when the concept of "no stopping one breath" gets slower and slower - you get that same sort of effect but it is not momentary, it lasts as long as you can maintain the focus of your awareness! So no stoppage of anything, in fact, smooth and continuous is important, just like focus of awareness.

 

There's a difference between slowing things down and having a stoppage manifest...ime times where energy has surged and breath has stopped have come from active energetic exercises and basically the body's energetic system isnt smooth enough to integrate it all at once - one breath, never, at least for me.

 

Anapana continues well after "the breath has stopped" - I recall it being said somewhere recently about if you really consider the wider full scope of Anapanasati, even once you can no longer feel yourself breathe and you are suspended in shining awareness, anapana is still very very relevant even though it may in some sense be more sati than anapana My experiences in practice have been entirely consistent with that - keep observing, keep maintaining, keep the focus of awareness, keep the mindfulness going of those signals that still happen to be present even at a very deep stage.

 

Learn that well and you wont have any problem integrating any energetic practice no matter how potent.

 

Hypoxia is not really a stage, it is more just an outcome of mitigating the body's physical processes (unsuccessfully ) The one breath is a way to get to those very deep stages and not encounter hypoxia. Its a pretty good concept to prevent it, and also if you've read Pietro's learning to breath thread in his pp section, his approach was BK all the way and he'd often talk about trying to eliminate the mental gaps where the focus of awareness would leave and return - well the One Breath is a method to help prevent such awareness gapping also since those pauses between inhale and exhale can contribute towards the gapping - so recall I mentioned the quiescence in the pauses - that's where people are grasping and trying to go further or deeper than they can really sustain at a given time by exploring those pauses. But in a larger context, those pauses become a detriment when you are trying to get to those very deep stages of anapana! Its quiet, and when quiet enough, where does time go? This is the essence of the gap. Now in having eliminated the gap where the transitions roll smoothly into one another, where is the place for the gap? Nowhere. Thus one is able to extrapolate and make the breaths longer and that same superlative quiescence is obtained and maintained but the body's muscle memory on this is continuous so no extra "on/off" protocol is present....there is no "ok, now start inhale"...just rollin' rollin' rollin'....

 

Considering dantien breathing in this context...well...ok, One Breath, start and end a session with it. I'll start with it, then once smooth, do some lower dt breathing and that mindfully ups the potential there...and depending on the session, once the potential at the LDT is good, then MCO to propagate the cultivated potential in the ren du loop, then when done, One Breath to wrap it all up, the energetics cultivated from the active portion of the sitting help one maintain longer breaths. No different whatever the active is, whether its lower dt breathing, MCO, kunlun 1, pranayama, whatever the heck one is doing with his session.

 

The flow of air isnt what's important for the skull. Really when you feel the flow of air, that is contributing towards the olfactory nerve resonating, and since the olfactory web in the nose bypasses the thalamus that means you have direct left and right stimulation to the brain - so if you want to stop stimulating ida and pingala, here is where dropping the flow of air beneath the threshold of turbulence shows its strength, because when you cant feel yourself breathe, you are not stimulating ida pingala and it goes shushumna instead. So there is where the efficacy of alternate nostril breathing lies, because you are closing the central and then doing exclusive left, exclusive right, it produces a certain pattern. And for kundalini breathing seal off the nose altogether - but for the purposes of the One Breath if you are to have that same centrally focused effect then it really can only properly be done by dropping the flow of air beneath the threshold of turbulence, where the olfactory stimulation naturally disappears. One other curious note, at deep levels...somewhere way back there, the sphenoid sinus will naturally open a bit more as a result of correct practice when needed...but interestingly this does not lead to olfactory nerve stimulation since the sphenoid sinus is innervated by branches of the trigeminal nerve and far as I've been able to tell from studies, no olfactory nerve endings in the sphenoid sinus.

 

I think he doesnt say "breathe deeply" because that kinda puts too much focus on lengthening the breath as opposed to getting things very harmonious right where you are now - and if you try too hard to make the breath deeper it gets counterproductive, i.e. the body's feedback mechanisms. So the intent to lengthen and deepen is subtle - one can only breathe so deeply before one has to start putting a bunch of extra energy into maintaining the wall-pressure of the balloon (lungs) and one can only lengthen the breath so much before hypoxia comes knockin'. The lengthening gets done over the course of many many sessions - like plunging a sponge into a bucket of water, you're only going to absorb so much water on a given plunge.

 

[joeblast]

The more air/oxygen we breathe the more energy that the body can be generated.

just to expand on that a little bit, true if considering physical-ness, like running or some such thing...but counter to that, in deep meditation there is much less oxygen being breathed - therein lies the importance of streamlining the breath and calming bodily processes, for it they arent calm then their oxygen requirement is that much higher. when streamlined well, the oxygen requirement is much less.

 

p/c=e

production/consumption=efficiency

higher e, able to have much longer breaths. p/e is ongoing and dynamic.

[ChiDragon]

Thanks! It was very impressive but it is still very specious........

Edited June 30, 2013 by ChiDragon

[joeblast]

hehe...if you think that information is lacking any sort of merit or practical experience, feel free to ask any questions if you need clarification on something

 

 

 

one minor clarification I noticed, I didnt meant when breathing has stopped when talking about anapana, I was referring to the sensation of breath or perhaps also when "the breath externally disappears" at the stage where the processes have been well internalized and the diaphragm-psoas-perineum encompasses just about all of the breathing from a physical standpoint.

Edited June 30, 2013 by joeblast

[ChiDragon]

There is nothing that need to be clarified.
The clear is always transparent.
The muddy becomes more muddy when disturbed.

Edited June 30, 2013 by ChiDragon

[joeblast]

lol. I'm assuming you know what specious means, if you're going to insult me, then at least say what you feel is of dubious value. you have a tendency to say that about things that appear to go beyond your experience, but then dont have the fortitude to say what or why.

[Tibetan_Ice]

The flow of air isnt what's important for the skull. Really when you feel the flow of air, that is contributing towards the olfactory nerve resonating, and since the olfactory web in the nose bypasses the thalamus that means you have direct left and right stimulation to the brain - so if you want to stop stimulating ida and pingala, here is where dropping the flow of air beneath the threshold of turbulence shows its strength, because when you cant feel yourself breathe, you are not stimulating ida pingala and it goes shushumna instead. So there is where the efficacy of alternate nostril breathing lies, because you are closing the central and then doing exclusive left, exclusive right, it produces a certain pattern. And for kundalini breathing seal off the nose altogether - but for the purposes of the One Breath if you are to have that same centrally focused effect then it really can only properly be done by dropping the flow of air beneath the threshold of turbulence, where the olfactory stimulation naturally disappears.

 

Hi Joe,

That part is very interesting. I will have to think about that. I have heard the mouth breathing is for realizing space.

I am also aware that very slow breathing in through the nose, as one were lightly sniffing a delicate scent, rapidly becomes highly ecstatic when both sinuses (right and left) are fully open.. It also produces a magnetic hole at the brow that can get to be quite intense.

 

 

TI

[joeblast]

if you really want to get the one breath down good and to its very effective depths of the practice, forget you have sinuses and do not use them or exert muscular input anywhere air actually touches to move air. mouth breathing not necessary to isolate the center. learn the diaphragm-psoas-perineum dynamic and streamline until you are basically only using those 3 structures to facilitate the movement of air. when I first learned the ingredients it was basically a further 2-3 months of nightly 1-2 hour meditation to realize and accomplish this result. you dont need the sinuses - when you use them you are using energy to buffer the air pressure and are taking emphasis off the diaphragm and the other more energetically pertinent locations. so dont buffer the air pressure with them, let it all rest on the structures below. you've read my musings on cranial nerve stimulation, right? that's very important in calming the heartmind.

[Tibetan_Ice]

Been working on this myself man. JB posted some good stuff on this thread. I realized that although I was going 70 percent on the inhale, I was going 100 percent on the exhale. Thus there was a slight pause between the inhale and exhale. Once you clear it out a little, it's like you're breathing up and down the spine. Trying to put in the abdomen with it and the perineum is a challenge because each point have their own limits. Like I may have got the diaphragm-psoas down but the perineum and the qihai point (front of the abdomen) are out of wack.

 

Chidragon, I don't know why you're so skeptical of the work put out on this thread. You act like there aren't methods that don't utilize breathing through the nose. Take a look at the Taoist Yoga book, they have the practitioner plug his nose with a clothes pin. I found other sources where they say not to use the nose to breathe and they call just using the abdomen completely, thus breathing without breathing.

 

If one wants, read the Anapana Conversations with Master Nan. Also the Anapana Sutra with genuine commentary.

 

Interesting comments, but I do have to ask. "Master Nan" is the person that wrote that letter renouncing everything he taught and falsely projected, who died recently at the age of 95 (even though he taught how to be imortal), who emphasized the pauses between breaths?

 

http://thetaobums.com/topic/26671-master-nan-huai-chin-dead-at-94/?p=417647

 

7. You want to become a buddha after learning from me? I'm 90 already, and I still haven't seen a real Buddha or immortal yet. Stop being superstitious. All the books I wrote are only book knowledge and intellectual. Don't get tricked by those books. Lwen Yu Summary is my main effort. There are many places to learn Zen. Go over there to meditate. I've never promoted Buddhism. When I did have Zen classes, those were just organized by colleges, and the people were screened vigorously. We just did some research together. Afterwards, everyone still had to go back to live normal lives, to rub against the difficulties of life to strengthen their heart, and to improve their habits. Everyone must walk their own paths.

You want help from other people? Help yourself! If you really believe in cause and effect, start by using proper motivation and personal inspection is the intelligent way to begin. This is cultivation's heart. Your eyes are always looking outward, blaming heaven and earth, relying on gurus and saints and teachers to worship. This is self-deception and playing a joke on the world.

 

[Tibetan_Ice]

if you really want to get the one breath down good and to its very effective depths of the practice, forget you have sinuses and do not use them or exert muscular input anywhere air actually touches to move air. mouth breathing not necessary to isolate the center. learn the diaphragm-psoas-perineum dynamic and streamline until you are basically only using those 3 structures to facilitate the movement of air. when I first learned the ingredients it was basically a further 2-3 months of nightly 1-2 hour meditation to realize and accomplish this result. you dont need the sinuses - when you use them you are using energy to buffer the air pressure and are taking emphasis off the diaphragm and the other more energetically pertinent locations. so dont buffer the air pressure with them, let it all rest on the structures below. you've read my musings on cranial nerve stimulation, right? that's very important in calming the heartmind.

 

Hi Joe,

Well, perhaps that is an effective way too, but it sounds like allot of work. What are the benefits? Do you hit any jhanas or samadhi? The void?

When I do anapanasati breath meditation, I follow the breath until I can focus on the mental representation of the breath (without any form of controlling the breath). Then, as I relax and let go even more deeply, the body and body sensations fall away. When this happens, you no longer feel any physical sensations or have any need to control anything (other than focusing on the mental 'knowing' of the breath. This is usually the point when the nimittas or the counterpart sign start(s) appearing. Usually, it takes about 20 minutes for this to occur. Just before that point, there is a remarkable "slowing of the breath", which occurs all on its own. I've had similar experiences with the One Breath, by just giving a little nudge in the pauses, if there are pauses or gaps. But most of the time, I don't have to give the nudge because the breathing is circular all on it's own. Nothing to do but watch, stay focused and don't stray..

 

[joeblast]

Hi Joe,

Well, perhaps that is an effective way too, but it sounds like allot of work. What are the benefits? Do you hit any jhanas or samadhi? The void?

When I do anapanasati breath meditation, I follow the breath until I can focus on the mental representation of the breath (without any form of controlling the breath). Then, as I relax and let go even more deeply, the body and body sensations fall away. When this happens, you no longer feel any physical sensations or have any need to control anything (other than focusing on the mental 'knowing' of the breath. This is usually the point when the nimittas or the counterpart sign start(s) appearing. Usually, it takes about 20 minutes for this to occur. Just before that point, there is a remarkable "slowing of the breath", which occurs all on its own. I've had similar experiences with the One Breath, by just giving a little nudge in the pauses, if there are pauses or gaps. But most of the time, I don't have to give the nudge because the breathing is circular all on it's own. Nothing to do but watch, stay focused and don't stray..

 

LOL...of course its a lot of work but how robust do you want to train? the rote method is robust and carries a good amount of inertia to the practice. I got to the point where things I was eating would affect the quality of my meditation, all layers of purification. imho I didnt finish what I was doing yet. I've read jhana descriptions and it all sounds familiar, joy to the point you want to leap up and yell yahoooooo for no reason, light starting at the dantien, encompassing the gut, to the skin, and beyond perception where time doesnt exist.

 

when you roll the one breath over well and establish the habit of it well enough - well, remember how the parents in peanuts sounded? the attenuation continues until the volume is at zero for many things, continue stripping away until its just shining awareness. but there is plenty of work to be done before one can just focus on the shining of awareness that will make focusing on it at the proper time that much more efficacious.

 

again, if you put in the time practicing. at 50 seconds session depth my metabolism goes wild and surges with energy, at 1:10 I cant tell the difference between sitting twenty minutes or two hours. there is so much energy consumed on mundane matters - only if you really set the force of your will about the rote method and put in the time to realize the fruits of it will you understand experientially what words are a crayon drawing of.

 

that's still not to say it isnt easy to descend back into worldliness though

 

where is the circle of your focus? focus on the process and not the outcome...understand the process, enhance the outcome.

[ChiDragon]

What I would like to know is this.

Are there any experienced Kunlun practitioners out there where I can find out about how exactly to perform the One Breath?

When I took the Kunlun Level 1 seminar, the type of breathing was just normal breathing but not letting it pause. You did not elongate the in or out breath, nor did you slow it down or change the cycle.

Well, in that latest book "Kunlun System", Max talks about the One Breath. He says to just breathe gently and not have any pauses or gaps between the in and out breaths.

 

What I would like to know, from a practiced Kunlun practioner who knows, the following:

 

In the One Breath, do you slow down your breathing? Or are you just supposed to leave your breathing the same as normal, except you give a little push at the top and bottom of the breathing cycle so that there is no pause or gap?

 

Is it ok to slow the breathing down and not have any gaps? For example, could you do a 9-0-9-0 breathing cycle? (9 for inhale, 0 is no pause, 9 for exhale etc) Breathing like that is very powerful and seems to balance and accumulate the energies very efficiently.

 

The reason I ask, is because in chapter 7 called "The Gold Flower Method of Maoshan", he activates the three dantiens with the help of a hand mudra and the One Breath. He says you can do 12, 24 or 36 counts of the One Breath at each dantien. Well, if you are just breathing normally, which for me is about 1 or 2 seconds in-breath, 1 or 2 seconds out-breath, then it goes by very quickly. So I started thinking that maybe the teacher that I took the Kunlun Level 1 seminar didn't give accurate instructions? I don't know..

 

I would really like to know the answers to the One Breath technique. Anyone out there know the answers or where I can find out?

 

I am not a Kunlun practitioner, but I do know the fundamental principle of breathing. When it comes to breathing, everybody has something to say about it. The normal breathing is inhale and exhale, of course, there is no art about that. It is simple as that. However, in the martial arts industry, there is an art of breathing. The art of breathing is the emphasis on the duration of inhalation and exhalation. The gap in between inhalation and exhalation may be significant only to those who are not familiar with Chi Kung breathing. It may cause a little lightheaded, drowsiness or nausea. Thus breathing without a gap will be given a smooth transition for respiration. Then, why the duration in both inhalation and exhalation is so important....???

 

First of all, one need to know why do we need to breathe....??? Well, the reason one needs to breathe is to absorb the source of energy in the air. Whatever one might want to call it, perhaps called it Chi or oxygen. One might want to provide as much Chi/oxygen as possible for the body to collect. For the purpose of easy explanation, let's call the source of energy as oxygen. We all know that the red blood cells collect the oxygen from the lung and delivered to the body cells.

 

To increase the amount of oxygen to be collected by the red blood cells, it can be done by prolong the duration of inhalation and exhalation. If one inhale slowly, then it will allow more oxygen to be breathed in and more time for the collection by the red blood cells. In the same token, by prolonging the exhalation, the unused oxygen will be leaving the body slowly which will allow more time for the red blood cells to collect the remaining.

 

I always use this fundamental principle of breathing as a guide when I was in doubt. I think this may answer your question on the 9-0-9-0 breathing cycle is a yes. Your Kunlun instructor did give you the proper instructions.

 

[ChiDragon]

Sorry, I was only responding to the OP.