Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Spring Forest Qigong breathing in active exercise

I'm just wondering about the proper way to breathe while doing the active exercises. I find that the top of my lungs hurt while breathing in during exercise. Perhaps I'm breathing too deeply.

In the video Master Lynn give a brief description of the breathing. As you inhale bring your stomach in a little. I am not sure if it goes allong with SFQ, but in other books I have read with similar breathing exercises it says to use your diaphragm. When breathing correctly your shoulders will not rise and fall.

Hello Kerats

I wonder if you feel some tension because of the 'unnatural' feel of reverse breating initially. I recall finding it like this and now I find it very natural, even choosing to do it sometimes when I relax. I can only suggest that you try breathing less deeply since your intuition seems to be that this is a factor. Just be aware of you stomach going in however slightly and you might want to think of the out breath as just letting go, ie an absence of tension in the abdominal area. Take it very gently just to establish the principle of 'breathing back to front' and then experiment with breathing a little more deeply if it feels right, but take your time - there is plenty of good stuff going on energetically without you getting too focused on the breathing in the first instance. I suspect that you will naturally find yourself breathing more deeply.

It may be that you could do the exercises with normal breathing initially but I would want to defer to more knowledgeable forum members on the wisdom of this

Love, Kev

Thanks for the breathing information. I guess I'm trying to breath as he breathes, in with this movement, out with that, sometimes its a pretty long one and I find myself taking little ones in between. So, I just figured my techniques were incorrect. I will try to follow you advice. Thanks.

An important basic to remember: It is the mind that moves qi, not the breath.

Don't get too hung up on breathing. I would say relaxing is most important, and what you are visualizing. If you are really relaxed , and focused on your inner visualization, the breathing tends to take a back seat, as does the movement. It is a nice physical sensation to coordinate it all, but you don't want to get hung up on the breathing, to the point it interferes with relaxation.
Also, there is merit in slowing down the breath. Your state of being becomes more expansive.
How you 'coordinate'(how many breaths, or in with this movement and out with that), your breathing with the movement is not the most essential part. As I said, 'it' is not moving qi. You can hold your hand out and project qi, whether you are inhaling, or exhaling.
A good exercise for practicing reverse breathing, I think, is the breathing of the universe in level I. You might try feeling two levels of filling in of your breath too. As you do reverse breathing, filling in the lower area of your torso,or abdomen and you gently hold it in, then filling up the upper section of your lungs. Breathing slow, you can take in quite a long and full breath. Slowing down the breath can really put you in a meditative state.
There is flexibility in this. I could be doing the moving of yin and yang, say ten times as slow as you, and also breath in and out more, with each cycle, even if I am breathing slower. We both can still get benefit, as our 'mind' directs the qi, within our movement and breathing.
love,
gallen

Another way to look at this is to think of elongating the breath. Relax into it slow down the movement and think of the breath coordinated with the movements this will set the pace of the movement as well. As the others have mentioned don’t focus too much on the breathing. Sometimes what happens is we focus so much on the end result that we take into much or do too much.

Take it a step at a time, to much too soon will complicate the process and diminish the overall effects. When you become more comfortable with the pattern and the process you can then add the thought of reverse abdominal with the breath work then eventually bring in the actual process and so on. Think of bringing in the lower abdomen in the last 75% to 80% of the breath extent. In other words breath in normally, elongate the breath, visualize and then just at the end of the breath bring in the lower abdomen gently and slowly for the last bit of air. This will help you adjust to that process and eventually it will begin to feel natural and you will be able to start the movement of lower abdomen sooner. Remember the abdomen does not move much too much and to much effort can shift unnecessary pressure to the upper chest area. Remember everything is gentle and relaxing if you cross the threshold into discomfort then listen to your body and back off a little. If you take this approach in stages it will be much easier to combine them into one process later as you progress because you will have a better foundation to grow from. Good luck, I hope this helps. Wishing you well.

Kerats,
In the beginning if you have to take an extra breath in between, that is fine.
We don't all start on the same level of breathing. The important point is to relax and not to force the motion and that include the breathing. You will find improvement as time of practice goes on. When I first started, I just relax and as Kev suggested breath normally. At the movements where Master Lin tells us to hold the breath or to breath out, that you should follow.

I understand it is not easy even with all the good points given through the forum.
Just a little personal experience here to tell you many of us when through similar breathing questions in the beginning.

The small universe meditation help us training the mind to move qi. I have been doing it and thinking I am doing just fine.
However, lately it just like an awakening to know what it means when Gallen says "It is the mind moves qi". I can seat here and think about the qi coming in one point and move to another point of the body and actually have a physical sense of it.

Can not really put the whole process into words. It is like learning to swim or riding the bicycle... Learning the techniques and know what you have to do. In the beginning sometime you can do it and sometime you can not. One day, you master it and you just know how to do it from that point forward. Take your time to appreicate the steps you are taking.

[This message has been edited by Bluebird (edited January 12, 2004).]

Many thanks to everyone who as kindly given me insight and guidance. It helps alot to know you have experienced something similar and that 'baby steps' are needed at first. I will continue to practice and hopefully experience good results.
Cheers!!