Taoist Internal Breathing

[Anonymous]

Hi

I’m struggling with my monkey mind and have therefore decided to follow the Taoist Internal Breathing exercises in the book Relaxing into your being by Bruce Frantzis.Lesson 1, Feeling the breath mentions that I should eventually feel the breath all the way from my nostrils to my lower tantien. Anatomically the breath can only go as far as my lungs. In order to feel the breath in my lower tantien am I right in thinking that I should actually beware of my lungs moving, my diaphragm moving and my abdomen moving before moving on to lesson 2 or should I actually be feeling my central energy channel? Can anyone clarify this for me?

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Lesson 1 of feeling the breath was an excellent way to focus my awareness on my body rather than distraction into the ‘monkey mind. One of the easiest method to became aware of your breath is in a sauna. I have a much better feel of the warm air entering my nose, down my throat into my belly.

In module 1, Taoist Breathing is described in 3 levels; the movement of the diaphragm, movement of your entire belly, and lastly movement of the back. Again, sitting in a sauna with my back pressed against the wall, its easier to get a feel of your body moving warm air.

[Anonymous]

Hi Rich

Thank you for your reply. Reflecting on your answer I wonder if I’m confusing what I should be feeling here. I can feel the movement of air as far as the level of my collar bones (clavicles) but only the mechanical movement of my diaphragm and belly below this – no feeling of air at this level. I assume that this is the goal for lesson 1 and thus I can move on to lesson 2?

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Hi, Jeremy,

Have you checked out Bruce’s breathing CDs? I bought them around 10 years ago and still use them. The CD is called “Taoist Breathing for Qigong and Meditation. They accompany and also go beyond the book. They’re an excellent resource. I highly recommend them.

best wishes,
Matthew

[Anonymous]

Hi Matthew

Many thanks for bringing the cd “Taoist Breathing for Qigong and Meditation.” to my attention. Looking at the content it appears to cover my questions so I’ll give it a go. I’ve also enrolled on the new Taoist Meditation Circle so hopefully between the two resources and lots of practice I’ll finally overcome my monkey mind.

Thanks

Jeremy

[Anonymous]

Hi! Lao Tzu told us: can you be like a baby? Therer are many meanings for that, but, one of them, for this situation would be to act like a baby. A baby doesn’t think much about a situation, he wouldn’t care that much about the pathway. So, I suggest you change your mindset… Make it simple. Just do it. On time the pathway will reveal itself for you naturally (in your on body, no trough your toghts!). I always remeber myself that doing chi kung, in part, is like playing when your are a kid… I mean, if you are playing to be Buck Rogers, you just do it, live it. Hope this may be usefull for you. At., Marcelo.

[Anonymous]

Hi Marcelo

Thank you for your advice it’s definately worth bearing in mind. I know from past experience that I can sometimes suffer from paralysis by analysis. Sometimes letting things flow naturally is better. Although I often find this hard as my innate nature needs to understand what I’m doing in a very detailed manner. Also from past experience I’ve learnt that if I don’t fully understand what I’m doing I can end up following the wrong path and a lot of time is lost until I get back on track. I suppose this is the value of having a good teacher to guide one and also knowing when to analyse and when to just go with the flow.

Incidently I read on in in Relax into your Being and Bruce says that you are training your propriception. I now completely understand the physical sensations that I’m aiming to become aware of.

Thanks

Jeremy

[Anonymous]

Hi Matthew

I’ve started working through the Taoist breathing from the cds you mentionned and am finding that relaxing the breath and gradually eliminating the pause between inspiration and expiration is improving my concentation and awareness. The Taoist Meditation programme is helping very much too. I have a long way to go but definately feel I’m on the right track.

Thank you again for your suggestion.

Jeremy

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