The Tao of Natural Breathing Part 6

Closed: One feels dullness, burden, and suffocation. One may also experience neck pain.

Opened: One feels inspired.

Crown Center This center is at the top of the head, where an imaginary line from the top of one ear to the top of the other intersects with the midline of the head. This center has a special relations.h.i.+p with the pineal gland, as well as with the thalamus and the hypothalamus. The crown center is connected with the central nervous system, as well as with the sensory/motor system.

Closed: One may fall under the influence of illusions or delusions, losing oneself either in a false sense of pride or the feeling of being a victim. One may have erratic mood swings and headaches.

Opened: One radiates a deep happiness, and feels that one is receiving guidance from higher forces.

Pituitary Center This center, sometimes called the third eye, lies midway between the eyebrows approximately three inches inside the skull. This center produces hormones that govern a wide range of bodily functions. The Taoists believe that this center is the home of the spirit.

Closed: One feels a lack of aim, of decisiveness. The mind wanders and is unable to make decisions.

Opened: One feels a sense of real purpose, as well as a sense of direct knowing, of intuition.

Throat Center This center, which includes the thyroid and parathyroid glands, is located in the V-like s.p.a.ce at the bottom of the throat just above the sternum. The functions of this center include speech, dreaming, the production of growth hormones, and the regulation of the metabolism.

Closed: One feels choked up and unwilling or unable to communicate or to change.

Opened: One is able to communicate clearly, even eloquently, and one's dreams are more lucid.

Heart Center From an energetic standpoint, the heart center is between the nipples in men, and approximately one inch up from the bottom of the sternum in women. The opening to the heart center is very small, so this center can be easily blocked or congested. The heart center governs not only the heart but also the thymus gland, which is an important part of our immunological system.

Closed: One feels any one of a variety of negative emotions, including arrogance, self-pity, impatience, and hatred.

Opened: One feels joy, love, patience, honesty, and respect for oneself and others.

Solar Plexus Center This center is about three-quarters of the way up between the navel and the bottom of the sternum. This center is related to several organs, including the stomach, spleen, pancreas, and liver. It is in the cauldron of the solar plexus that Taoists believe that the s.e.xual energy (ching) and life-force energy (chi) are transformed into spiritual energy (shen). Mantak Chia believes that although it is important for the solar plexus center to be opened, "if it is too open, one may be overly sensitive to the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of others, to the point of being unable to shut off mental and emotional static when in the company of others."62 Closed: One feels panic and worry. One is overly cautious.

Opened: One feels a sense of inner freedom, and the ability to take risks on behalf of oneself or others.

NOTES.

1 P. D. Ouspensky, In Search of the Miraculous (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1949), p. 387.

2 Karlfried Durckheim, Hara: The Vital Center of Man (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1970), pp. 154-55.

3 Of course, hyperventilation can be a powerful tool in the work of transformation. On pages 170-184 of Stanislov Grof's book The Adventure of Self-Discovery (New York: State University of New York Press, 1988), the author, a well-known psychiatrist and founder of "holotropic therapy," points out that sustained hyperventilation helps to loosen psychological defenses and bring about a "profound emotional release and physical relaxation." Grof believes that this occurs not just through the traditional psychiatric mechanism of catharsis, but also because hyperventilation brings to the surface "deep tensions" in the form of "lasting contractions and prolonged spasms ... that consume enormous amounts of pent-up energy." In Grof's framework, it is the eventual burning up of this energy through these sustained contractions and spasms that brings about psychophysical transformation. This is usually intensely emotional work, and the person undertaking it may require a great deal of individual therapeutic attention. What's more, according to Grof, since hyperventilation initially amplifies and makes manifest the various psychophysical tensions in the organism, it is important to continue this form of breathing until resolution and release take place. As fascinating and important as Grof's work is, it is my intent in this book to show how it is possible to rediscover our natural, authentic breath in the ordinary conditions of life, without the need for psychiatric help. I will not, therefore, explore the therapeutic techniques of hyperventilation any further.

4 See, for example, The Jade Emperor's Mind Seal Cla.s.sic: A Taoist Guide to Health, Longevity and Immortality, trans. Stuart Alve Olson (St. Paul: Dragon Door Publications, 1992), pp. 69-71.

5 Lao Tzu, The Complete Works of Lao Tzu, trans. Ni, Hua-Ching (Santa Monica, Calif.: Seven Star Communications, 1989), p. 14.

6 This "ultradian" rhythm, long observed by medical science, is related to the functioning of the brain hemispheres and can play an important role in healing. When the left nostril is more open, the right hemisphere of the brain is generally more dominant; when the right nostril is more open, the left hemisphere is generally more dominant. One can intentionally open a nostril that is more congested and thus make the other hemisphere more active by lying down on one's side with the congested nostril above and continuing to breathe through the nose. If one is feeling out of sorts or has a headache, trying this experiment for 15 or 20 minutes can often bring relief.

7 Swami Rama, Rudolph Ballentine, and Alan Hymes, Science of Breath: A Practical Guide (Honesdale, Pa.: Himalayan Inst.i.tute, 1979), p. 41.

8 It is interesting to note that some diseases, such as diabetes, can increase the acidity of the blood without increasing carbon dioxide. Since the respiratory center is unable to differentiate the cause of this increase in acidity, it automatically increases the breath rate.

9 Even people with severe pulmonary problems can quickly benefit from work with breathing. In experiments at Shanghai No. 2 Tuberculosis Hospital, 27 people with pulmonary emphysema were able to increase the average range of their diaphragmatic movement from 2.8 centimeters at the beginning of their treatment to 4.9 centimeters after a year of training-an increase in diaphragmatic movement of more than 57 percent. The results are reported in 300 Questions on Qigong Exercises (Guangzhou, China: Guandong Science and Technology Press, 1994), p. 257.

10 Mantak Chia, private paper.

11 See, for example, Charles Brooks, Sensory Awareness: The Rediscovery of Experiencing (New York: Viking Press, 1974).

12 Ilse Middendorf, The Perceptible Breath: A Breathing Science (Paderborn, Germany: Junfermann-Verlag, 1990).

13 Rollo May, Love and Will (New York: Dell Publis.h.i.+ng Company, 1974), p. 237.

14 See, for example, Royce Flippin, "Slow Down, You Breathe Too Fast," American Health: Fitness of Body and Mind, Vol. 11, No. 5 (June 1992) .

15 For a further explanation of neuropeptides, see Candace Pert, "The Chemical Communicators," in Bill Moyers, Healing and the Mind (New York: Doubleday, 1993) pp. 177-94.

16 See, for example, Lawrence Steinman, "Autoimmune Disease," Scientific American, September 1993 (Special Issue on "Life, Death, and the Immune System").

17 Ernest Lawrence Rossi, The Psychobiology of Mind-Body Healing (New York: Norton, 1988), pp. 173-74.

18 Another effective way to turn on the parasympathetic nervous system is through special movement and awareness practices such as tai chi and chi kung. Among many other benefits, these practices can help release unnecessary tension in the back, especially in the spine, where the main neurons of the central nervous system reside. It is my experience that people with frequent lower back pain are often the same people who have trouble not only relaxing but even admitting that they need to relax. When carried out in the correct way, tai chi and chi kung increase relaxation not only by making the spine more flexible, but also through the deeper breathing that they promote.

19 For further information on the subject of anger, see David Sobel and Robert Ornstein, "Defusing Anger and Hostility," Mental Medicine Update: The Mind/Body Newsletter, Vol. 4, No. 3 (1995).

20 Moshe Feldenkrais, The Potent Self: A Guide to Spontaneity (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985), p. 95.

21 Peter Nathan, The Nervous System (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982), p. 48.

22 See James Wyckoff, Wilhelm Reich: Life Force Explorer (Greenwich, Conn.: Fawcett Publications, 1973).

23 See Moyers's book, Healing and the Mind, particularly the interview with David Eisenberg on the subject of chi (p. 255).

24 Andre van Lysebeth, Pranayama: The Yoga of Breathing (London: Unwin Paperbacks, 1983), p. 28.

25 Robert Ornstein and David Sobel, The Healing Brain: Breakthrough Discoveries About How the Brain Keeps Us Healthy (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987), p. 207.

26 For more information on ions, see Fred Soyka with Alan Edmonds, The Ion Effect: How Air Electricity Rules Your Life and Health (New York: Bantam Books, 1977).

27 See The Primordial Breath, Volume 2, trans. Jane Huang (Torrance, Calif.: Original Books, 1990), p. 13, for a clear description of this very esoteric practice. I will not go into this practice since it is extremely advanced and I have little experience with it. I will, however, discuss in later chapters an a.s.sociated practice, introduced to me by Mantak Chia, of breathing into and swallowing the saliva.

28 Mantak Chia and Maneewan Chia, Awaken Healing Light of the Tao (Huntington, N.Y.: Healing Tao Books, 1993), p. 41.

29 Awaken Healing Light, pp. 41 ff.

30 Awaken Healing Light, pp. 185-86.

31 Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, trans. Victor H. Mair (New York: Bantam Books, 1990), p. 69.

32 Taoist reverse breathing often occurs spontaneously for anyone making great physical effort, especially in sports, martial arts, and so on, since it can help to generate outward force through the various limbs. To intentionally activate this form of breathing is quite difficult, however, and can, if done prematurely, cause a great deal of tension and have ill effects on the organism. Before trying reverse breathing it is best to have worked with abdominal breathing for at least several months.

33 Tzu Kuo s.h.i.+h, Qi Gong Therapy: The Chinese Art of Healing with Energy (Barrytown, N.Y.: Station Hill Press, 1994), p. 35.

34 Robert B. Livingston, in Gentle Bridges: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on the Sciences of the Mind, eds. Jeremy W. Hayward and Francisco J. Varela (Boston: Shambhala, 1992), p. 174.

35 See pp. 47-54 of Qi Gong Therapy for a further discussion of some of the physiological results of respiratory exercises.

36 Chuang Tzu, Basic Writings, trans. Burton Watson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1964), p. 74.

37 Alexander Lowen, The Spirituality of the Body: Bioenergetics for Grace and Harmony (New York: Macmillan, 1990), pp. 37-38.

38 Pranayama, p. 31-32.

39 The Complete Works of Lao Tzu, p. 12.

40 Basic Writings, p. 138.

41 Tarthang Tulku, Time, s.p.a.ce, and Knowledge: A New Vision of Reality (Emeryville, Calif.: Dharma Publis.h.i.+ng, 1977), p. 5.

42 The Perceptible Breath, p. 32.

43 From an article by Magda Proskauer, "The Therapeutic Value of Certain Breathing Techniques," in Charles Garfield, ed., Rediscovery of the Body: A Psychosomatic View of Life and Death (New York: A Laurel Original, 1977), pp. 59-60.

44 Recent biomedical research, such as that reported in Moyers's Healing and the Mind, makes it clear that what we think and feel can have an immediate positive or negative impact on our whole body, including our immune system. Of course, Taoism and other traditions have been aware of the influence of our thoughts and feelings on our health for thousands of years.

45 Norman Cousins, Anatomy of an Illness (New York: Bantam Books, 1979).

46 Mantak Chia, Taoist Ways to Transform Stress into Vitality (Huntington: N.Y.: Healing Tao Books, 1985), p. 33.

47 William James, Psychology (Greenwich, Conn.: Fawcett Publications, 1963), p. 335.

48 Moshe Feldenkrais, The Elusive Obvious (Cupertino, Calif.: Meta Publications, 1981), p. 61.

49 Paul Ekman and Richard J. Davidson, "Voluntary Smiling Changes Regional Brain Activity," Psychological Science: A Journal of the American Psychological Society, Vol. 4, No. 5 (September 1993), p. 345.

50 Phone conversation with Candace Pert, May 9, 1995 (see also note 15).

51 Taoist Ways to Transform Stress, p. 33.

52 For a contemporary, detailed description of scientific findings and Taoist beliefs regarding saliva, see the Winter 1993 issue of The Healing Tao Journal, Healing Tao Books, P.O. Box 1194, Huntington, NY 11743.

53 In Search of the Miraculous, p. 181.

54 The Healing Brain, p. 202.

55 From an article ent.i.tled "The Body's Guards" in Living Right (Winter 1995), p. 23.

56 Master Mantak Chia writes extensively about the microcosmic orbit in his 1993 book Awaken Healing Light, and offers readers many practical techniques for opening the governor and functional channels.

57 Awaken Healing Light, p. 170.

58 Awaken Healing Light, p. 496.

59 See Mantak Chia's book Taoist Ways to Transform Stress for the complete six healing sounds practice, including physical movements and postures.

60 My first experience with bellows breathing was highly instructive, since I had not yet understood how to breathe naturally. It took place during a spiritual retreat. On the first day, advanced breathing exercises were given to all of us, even beginners. To be sure, everyone at the retreat was told that these exercises should not be done from the ego or the will, but rather from a state of relaxation and exploration. But being instructed how to do something is not the same as being able to experience it. When we were asked, for example, to do bellows breathing (called bastrika in the various Indian traditions), the result for many people, including myself, was almost comical-frantic, spasmodic movements of various muscles all over the body, movements that seemed more willful than skillful for most of us there. Even many of the more senior students had trouble carrying out the exercise in a harmonious way. As I looked both at myself and those around me, I observed tense faces, necks, shoulders, chests, and arms-psychophysical manifestations of the "upward pull" referred to by Durckheim (see the Introduction)-as many of us tried to do these exercises without the inner relaxation, sensory awareness, and muscle control that are necessary. What was amazing to me was that no one came around to help or correct us. The upward pull became even more evident when the teacher asked us to do bellows breathing, first through one nostril and then through the other. As we continued these pranayama exercises over the course of the retreat, with little visible transformation of these tensions, I began to feel that the teacher had generously overestimated the ability of many of his students to put his teaching into practice. Today, I would simply say that he had not prepared his students properly to be able to carry out such exercises in a beneficial way; he had not taken the time necessary to help them learn natural breathing.

61 Awaken Healing Light, pp. 173-74.

62 He discusses ways to s.h.i.+eld the solar plexus on pp. 245-46 of Awaken Healing Light.

PERMISSIONS.

The translation from Lao Tsu on page 9 is reprinted from Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu, trans., Feng/English, Copyright 1972 by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English. Reprinted by permission of Alfred A Knopf Inc.

The translations from Lao Tzu on pages 21 and 113 are reprinted from The Complete Works of Lao Tzu by Ni, Hua Ching. Reprinted by permission of Seven Star Communications, 1996.

The translation from Lao Tzu on page 84 is reprinted from Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, trans., Victor H. Mair. Reprinted by permission of Bantam Books.

The pa.s.sage by Tzu Kuo s.h.i.+h on page 85 is reprinted from Qi Gong Therapy: The Chinese Art of Healing with Energy by Tzu Kuo s.h.i.+h. Reprinted by permission of Station Hill Press.

The translations from Chuang Tzu on pages 99 and 113-14 are reprinted from Basic Writings of Chuang Tzu edited by Burton Watson, copyright 1964 by Columbia University Press. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.