The Transformative Power of Deep, Slow Breathing Journal of Chinese Medicine • Number 116 • February 2018

62 The Transformative Power of Deep, Slow Breathing Journal of Chinese Medicine • Number 116 • February 2018 The Transformative Power of Deep, Slow Breathing Abstract By: Peter Slow, deep, lower abdominal breathing – for millennia a mainstay of Asian internal cultivation practices – Deadman is a powerful tool for healing and transformation. A wide range of emotional and physical problems can be helped by slow breathing and in the clinic it can be easily taught to patients - both while lying on the Keywords: couch and as home practice. For practitioners it is a tool to deepen into calm, centred and intuitive states Breathing, that will enhance our interactions with patients. For all of us, the growing understanding of the physiology qigong, daoyin, behind deep breathing offers a wonderful insight into the interplay of yin and yang in every aspect of our Chinese lives. This article examines the traditional Chinese medical and self-cultivation perspective on breathing, medicine, self- describes a simple breathing practice suitable for teaching to patients, delves into some of the burgeoning cultivation, science behind breath regulation, and gives an overview of research on the use of breathing practice for the vagal tone, treatment of mental and physical disorders. polyvagal theory, nitric Introduction may be hard – often to the point of profuse sweating oxide, carbon and exhaustion. Its martial application may involve dioxide ‘As for the vitality of all human beings large and dramatic movements, for example the It inevitably occurs because of balanced and aligned flying kicks and punches typical of Shaolin styles. breathing. Waijia is clearly similar to much modern exercise – The reason for its loss running, weight training, gym, high intensity interval Is inevitably pleasure and anger, worry and anxiety.’ training, boxercise, boot camp workouts and even Original Tao, 4th century BCE1 some modern forms of yoga practice. The advantages of external exercise include high This article stems from my growing curiosity about levels of fitness and muscular development, as well as why practices such as qigong, tai chi and yoga are so reliable mood-altering effects due to its rapid effect on good for us. After all, they are barely aerobic, don’t moving qi and blood. Disadvantages include the risk follow conventional strength training methods, and of acute or chronic injury and other physical damage in their original and authentic forms at least, may do due to over-training, the often short-term nature of little for body sculpting or weight loss – all seemingly the mood-altering and qi- and blood-moving effects, major preoccupations of modern exercise. Yet those and the fact that it may become increasingly harder to of us who have a regular practice, know the rich practise as we age. physical, mental and emotional rewards they offer. Internal exercise is more yin. In the Chinese As so often, traditional Chinese yinyang tradition it includes practices such as qigong, neigong, classification – in this case of exercise – offers useful taijiquan, baguazhang, yiquan and xingyiquan. More insight into some of these questions. widely it can be said to embrace yoga (sometimes called ‘Brahmin qigong’), Pilates, Feldenkreis method Waijia and neijia and more. The martial arts (more or less synonymous with The advantages of internal exercise include healing, exercise itself through most of Chinese history) are development of core strength and soft power, fluid often divided into two broad categories – external and integrated movement, improved balance and (waijia) and internal (neijia). This distinction dates alignment, minimal risk of injury, mental and emotional from the 17th century, and although not hard and fast, development, and prolonged mood-altering effects. can serve as a useful guide to understanding body- It can also be practised at any age. Its disadvantages mind-breath practices. include the fact that some styles are very slow and External exercise is more yang. It prioritises aerobic therefore frustrating for younger practitioners whose fitness, muscular strength, speed and agility. Training bodies and minds need more dynamic challenges. Journal of Chinese Medicine • Number 116 • February 2018 The Transformative Power of Deep, Slow Breathing 63 Indeed, without combining aspects of external exercise, yin that mindful movement may reduce uncontrolled mental neijia can be an incomplete form of cultivation and may wandering more easily than still meditation.5,6,7 The fully sometimes encourage excessive introversion in those prone present mind can explore internally and dwell in the to it, which means it may need to be practised with caution breath, the whole body or its particular parts. Alternatively in cases of depression. it can move out to connect with sky, earth, sun and moon, As always we need to flexibly balance yin and yang trees, birds, flowing water and so on – especially when according to our age, physical condition and health needs. we practise outdoors. Some qigong styles also incorporate If all our practice is internal, quiet and slow, it may be just as visualisations, repetition of sounds, healing words and imbalanced as if it was all fast, hard and external. In the taijitu phrases and so on. (yinyang symbol - see Image 1), of course, yin and yang each include a portion of their complementary opposites. Breathing ‘A day and a night of regulated breathing can [reverse] twenty years of chronic illness. Yuan Hao, 15th century CE8 Breathing is unique among autonomic functions such as the cardiac, digestive and hormonal systems, in that it is both automatic (most of us breathe without conscious awareness or intervention) and at the same time can Image 1: The Taijitu be consciously controlled. In traditional Asian self- cultivation traditions this ability to consciously control What is the essence of neijia? the breath is used as a powerful tool for emotional, mental There are three core components of internal exercise and physical health and wellbeing. – body, breath and mind - corresponding to the ‘three treasures’ (jing-qi-shen)2. While there are countless The Chinese perspective on breathing internal practices in the Asian traditions, they all cultivate these three to varying degrees. However, in my opinion ‘The perfected breathe all the way to their heels, unlike the highest forms – at least as far as health, wellbeing and ordinary folk who breathe only as far as their throats.’ the development of wisdom are concerned - cultivate all Zhuangzi, 3rd century BCE three equally. When body, breath and mind are woven up into a seamless whole, we enter an optimum physiological Qigong and the internal arts teach long, slow and deep state and can truly flourish. breathing down into the lower abdomen – a method that is widely taught nowadays to help manage anxiety, Body and mind depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. I remember one of my teachers in China laughingly ‘Once set in motion, the whole body is unified and must saying that the human body has a design fault – it is be light and filled with spirit.’ both vertical and alive. Its lively yang therefore suffers Tai Chi Ch’uan Classic, 12th – 14th centuries CE3 from a tendency to rise excessively, especially as we age, when yin weakens and can no longer hold and counter Before considering breath in more detail, it is worth the predilection of yang to soar upwards. Physically this briefly reflecting on what cultivation of the body and can give rise to disorders such as dizziness, high blood mind may involve. In internal training, body movements pressure, headache, migraine and stroke, accompanied by and postures are practised slowly and mindfully. They dissociation from the lower body, poor balance, weak legs are designed to develop integrated movement and full and increased risk of falling. On a mental and emotional body awareness, optimum alignment (top/bottom, left/ level it can give rise to an unrooted, unstable shen. The right, forward/backward), balance and rootedness, fluid result is a tendency to nervousness, anxiety, worry, fear, and relaxed lengthening and releasing, soft power and insomnia, a restless mind and general ungroundedness. core strength. Practising faithfully under the guidance of a In the upper body, emotional factors or faulty practice good teacher will slowly restore fascial/channel elasticity can lead to chest breathing, where the upper chest is lifted and natural movement, and promote healthy joints and and thrust out in the military posture on inhalation. Chest pleasure in the body. breathing increases feelings of stress, raises the centre of As far as the mind is concerned, the aim is absorption gravity, and further lifts qi to the upper body. in the present moment. This offers many of the plastic These varied physical and emotional manifestations brain benefits of meditation;4 indeed it has been argued of uprising of yang can be counteracted by sinking and 64 The Transformative Power of Deep, Slow Breathing Journal of Chinese Medicine • Number 116 • February 2018 grounding the lower body and by breathing slowly and breathing is often taught by asking people to rest one deeply into the lower abdominal core, keeping the chest hand on their chest and the other on the lower abdomen. (heart and lungs) empty and quiet. Since inhalation The idea is that the lower hand, but not the upper hand, descends qi, this can be a tool to counter rebellious should rise during inhalation. This method may be useful Lung qi, subdue uprising of Liver yang, and help lower when learning lower abdominal breathing, but expanding uncontrolled Heart fire into the cooling embrace of Kidney the lower belly outwards is unnecessary and not desirable water, restoring yinyang harmony. in the long term. Once slow, deep breathing is well established, it can These varied physical and emotional manifestations of be adapted to different clinical situations. For example, those who suffer from uprising of qi can be encouraged uprising of yang can be counteracted by sinking and to ‘breathe’ in and out of the soles of the feet.

Load more