Margaret,
I may well be wrong on this, but I don't think you are doing the breathing correctly.
It is my understanding that the area to gently pull in, on the in breath, should be below the navel, not at the solar plexus.
My reasoning is as follows:
When you pull the lower abdomen in you also pull up slightly on the perineum (the area master Lin calls the "bottom"). I remember from studying Mantak Chia's techniques that pulling up the perineum on an in breath builds the chi up in that area, so it can be distributed through the small universe circuit.
Also, pulling in at the solar plexus would inhibit the action of the diaphram and severely limit the volume of the breath.
As this seems like a very important distinction, I would appreciate clarification on this.
Michael
