Qi Kong (QiGong)

Respiration-qi kong(qigong) breathing
The breath is one of the most influential aspects of qi kong(qigong), both for the extensive health benefits of qi kong(qigong) breathing as well as its central role in meditative practice. Awareness of the breath serves to bridge body and mind and as a sensory focus assisting the mind in guiding the qi.
In Chinese medicine the breath is qi in its most tangible and accessible form. Spiritual and healing traditions of China and India teach awareness of, and to varying, degrees, control of the breath, as a natural starting place for calming the mind and regulating the body.
A silk scroll entitled “Dao Y ill illustrations” was discovered in an archeological excavation of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 8 CE) tomb at Mawangdui. The scroll depicts 44 figures in various qi kong(qigong) postures. One of the few captions still legible instructs: “look skyward and exhale.”
Returning to the soft, full abdominal breathing pattern of a baby is key to qi kong(qigong). This natural breath can be regained by developing awareness of one’s current breathing pattern and gradually shifting to a smoother, more relaxed, deeper way of breathing. Abdominal breathing is also called natural or diaphragmatic breathing or dan tian
breathing.
By becoming increasingly aware of body and breath, the qi kong(qigong) practitioner learns to relax muscular tension and allow the low abdomen, low back and sides to gently expand and contract with each inhalation and exhalation.
The natural movement of the breath also engages the rise and fall of the dome shaped muscle of the diaphragm above the viscera. Movement of the low back stimulates the mingmen or “gate of life” an important acupoint between the kidneys, responsible for kidney function and overall vitality of the body. The mingmen is comparable to the lower dan tian (Sea of Qi) in the low abdomen. This way of breathing provides the internal organs and parasympathetic nerves in the low back with a gentle massage and increases the circulation of oxygen rich blood and qi.
The nourishing and toning effect of this massage is maximized by the fact that qi kong(qigong) movements are done in a relaxed manner, which allows the viscera to be well supplied with blood; this is in contrast to strenuous exercise during which the limbs demand more blood at the expense of the viscera.
With deep breathing, oxygen is drawn to the lower portion of the lungs, where due to gravity, more blood is present, making the transfer of oxygen to blood more efficient and enhancing oxygen availability; the cells are nourished and waste products transported. During qi kong(qigong) the rate of respiration decreases as the depth and volume of respiration increase.
Many people have adopted shallow, chest breathing as an unconscious habit. qi kong(qigong) instructor and author Wong Kit Kew estimates that most people use less than one third of their lung capacity. qi kong(qigong) enhances lung capacity, increasing the intake of air from 500cc to 1500cc per breath. (Wong, 1993: 57)
Ken Sancier, Ph.D. has reviewed and summarized much of the significant Chinese research on qi kong(qigong). In one study conducted to learn if qi kong(qigong) exercise would help prevent altitude sickness in pilots flying rapidly from low into high altitudes, the following was found regarding lung function:
In a lung function study 120 young men were divided into three groups of 40 each. Group one practiced Qiyuan qi kong(qigong) for four weeks prior to entering the highlands; group two, the control group, exercised to radio music for four weeks prior to entering the highlands; and group three was composed of residents living at high altitudes. The results showed that the integral value of symptoms of acute mountain sickness was lower in the
qi kong(qigong) group than in the control group (P<.05-.01). Pulmonary ventilation of the qi kong(qigong) group was significantly improved compared with that of the control group (P<.05-.01), and nearly equal to that of the resident group.
(Sancier, 1996: Vol. 2, No.1)
Diaphragmatic breathing promotes physical relaxation and mental tranquillity by balancing the parasympathetic and sympathetic functions of the autonomic nervous system. The restorative parasympathetic function of the ANS is associated with the “relaxation response” and is qualitatively yin in relation to the sympathetic, yang activity which in excess represents stress or “the fight or flight response.” Tzu Kui Shih explains this balancing effect of the breath:
Clinical and physiological experiments have demonstrated that inhalation in Qi Gong breathing promotes the excitation of the sympathetic while exhalation increases excitement of the parasympathetic nervous systems.
Based on these findings, it is clear that people can regulate and balance the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems through strengthening their inspiration and expiration.
(Shih, 1994:81)
Many chronic and degenerative diseases are exacerbated by or in some part due to oxygen deficiency or disturbances of the autonomic nervous system. Changing a limited breathing pattern can be a fundamental step toward regaining health. Shallow breathing is associated with anxiety while the opposite is true of natural breathing. Practitioners of meditation, yoga and qi kong(qigong) often find the value of relaxed breathing integrated into their daily lives. Learning to work with the breath can be a source of relief for someone coping with pain or the stress of a threatening medical condition. (Kabat-Zinn, 1990:292, 50)
Dr. Yang Iwing-Ming emphasizes the primacy of the breath throughout the development of the practitioner:
In Chi Kung practice, regulating the breath is the most important training. The first step toward maintaining your health involves increasing your oxygen supply. You must resume breathing deep down in your abdomen like a baby does … Once you have a sufficient supply of oxygen, you are able to relax, clear your mind and circulate the chi. (Yang, 1989:113)
Deeply relaxed movement and breathing support oxygen metabolism and energy
generation. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the fuel of cellular activity generated by the metabolic process. A study presented at the 1988 World Conference on the Academic Exchange of Medical qi kong(qigong) made the comparison between ATP and the zheng qi of the
body. Blood ATP content was found to increase after internal qi cultivation exercises done by a group of qi kong(qigong) masters. After emitting qi, blood ATP content of the qi kong(qigong) masters decreased, to be recovered after rest. (Liu, Tehfu et all, 1988: 60)
Meditative awareness of the breath was recommended by the early Taoist philosopher poets Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi as a way of attaining the Tao or transcendental wisdom. All techniques are abandoned, however, at the highest stage of spiritual insight,
liberation or enlightenment. Returning full circle to the naturalness of a child after comprehending the spirit through discipline is a frequent theme. An attitude of open expectancy seems to guide the practice of “listening with the breath.” Lao Tzu discusses breathing exercises in connection with meditation:
Can you concentrate on your breathing to reach harmony And become as an innocent babe? Can you clean the Dark Mirror within yourself And make it of perfect purity? ..
To achieve inner harmony Lao Tzu himself recommends breathing exercises for concentration and purification. The idea of the exercises for concentration and purification. The idea of adoption of breathing exercises in order to attain to transcendental wisdom is referred to by Chuang Tzu as hsin chai or fasting mind. He describes it in Chapter IV of his work as follows:
Concentrate on the goal of meditation.
Do not listen with your ear but with your mind; Not with your mind but with your breath. Let hearing stop with your ear,Let the mind stop with its images. Breathing means to empty oneself and to wait for Tao. Tao abides only in emptiness. Look at the void! In its chamber light is produced. Lo! Joy is here to stay.
(Chang, 1963:129)
The “Dark :Mirror” to be cleaned is the mind. A clear mind, like a mirror reflects things without retaining them. Meditation and breathing exercises are meant to bring about the spontaneous remembering of this lost clarity.