Tai Chi - Minding the Breath...Many questions, many answers

Many questions have been asked about the "Minding the Breath" principal in Tai Chi training.

• Do you breathe with or independent of your movements?
• Does the breath come from the upper, middle or lower Dan Tien?
• Is it in through the nose and out through the mouth?
• What happens to your tongue during all of this?

I will try to answer these questions as simply as possible. OK, ready... here goes...

YES!

Whew! There... Happy? Feel better? I sure do.

OK, lets get serious... or at least as serious as I can get...

In my experience, there are many layers of answers to these questions because there are equally as many layers to your Tai Chi training. I will pick them apart and try to share some of my insights with you.

Do you breathe with or independent of your movements?
Some instructors teach tying the breath to your movements early and some (like myself and my teachers) simply provide guidance and allow the student to find their own natural breath, over time. I find that if you put too much emphasis on your breathing patterns when you are still learning the form, you will not be able to focus your attention on the critical fundamentals such as grounding, supporting the sky, slow relaxed movement and silk reeling. Breathing properly is very important so we use Qigong exercises, to help train the breath. During our Qigong training, we place a significant amount of attention on tying breath and movement together so as to train the body to recognize this natural Mind/Body union. Once we are practicing the form, our attention turns to a relaxed, circular breathing pattern that does not intentionally coincide with the movements. This allows you to focus on a simple breath while drawing attention to internalizing (learning) the form movements.

Does the breath come from the upper, middle or lower Dan Tien?
Some technique of focused breathing is present in virtually every style of martial arts. For most Chinese arts, there is specific focus on three centers; the lower, middle and upper Dan Tien. Usually we start training at the lower Dan Tien, located about two fingers below your navel and three fingers in towards the center of the body. Drawing attention to breath in this area allows our high (upper chest) energy to slowly settle down into its natural, healthful place. High-level energy leads to irritability, depression, anxiety, hypertension, arrhythmia, migraines and many other even more serious, stress related diseases. While Western Medicine tends to focus on the symptoms (IE: stimulants for depression, aspirin for headaches), Eastern Medicine's focus is on relocation of the energy to it rightful place, so that the body can return to its natural balance. From a martial perspective, having a higher energy center makes you unstable, weakening your foundation. Your muscles are tense, which slows you down, your heart rate may be erratic and your breath will be easily disrupted; any and all of which makes you very vulnerable to attack.

Is it in through the nose and out through the mouth?
Yes...No...OK, Maybe... Believe it or not there are 7 different techniques for breathing in Tai Chi training. For my students, I prefer to keep it simple. They often hear me say...
"Pick a hole and stick with it..." I feel that early in training, to focus too much on a specific breathing pattern causes a significant loss of attention to the physical layer of Tai Chi. However, once the physical movements become comfortable and relaxed, then working on the various types of breath can be very effective at helping you reach deeper levels of Tai Chi. There is much to cover related to the different breathing techniques so I will have to write an entry specifically for that purpose. Within this discussion, I will say that you should create a relaxed, comfortable circular breath as mentioned above. Working to keep your breath smooth, flowing...uninterrupted is in my opinion the most effective way to relax your body for training. If you want to practice a specific pattern of breath, Qigong is a much better arena for that focus; simply repeat a specific, comfortable Qigong exercise until it becomes automatic and then turn your attention fully to the breath.

What happens to your tongue during all of this?
When you are working on relaxing and smoothing the breath, I feel that the best place for your tongue is to have the tip of it at the back of your upper teeth, resting comfortably. This connects an energy meridian on the front and back of the body creating a circle for the flow of energy to travel. In addition, when breathing from the nose, it allows you to use your tongue to manage your inhale and exhale flow, which can help in slowing down your breathing rate.

If we concentrate too much on too many details, often we tense up and hold our breath. Relax, breath and enjoy your practice time with Qigong and Tai Chi. Give yourself the gift of patience to learn all the tiny little details and you will be well rewarded for your efforts.

As a wonderful Buddhist Monk once wrote…Breathe! You are alive!”