On Breathing
An old and very wise teacher of mine in New York City..
Mr. Jou Tsung Hwa… used to start every class with an excited
voice proclaiming that he had had a “breakthrough” last
night.. and this morning, he was going to tell us THE MOST
IMPORTANT THING about Taijichuan. We would wait, with bated
breath… , to hear THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. … never mind
that, in the morning… it would be, again… THE MOST IMPORTANT
THING.. and it would be an entirely new subject… So, here
, this morning… to me, is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING…
BREATHING!!!!!
The work with breathing starts with awareness of the inner
atmosphere of this body we live in… Breathe with your entire
body!!!
Empty your entire body with every exhale and take in the
breath… filling the entire body as you inhale. Letting the
body expand when you breathe in and contract as you breathe
out.
Now, we are talking about the whole body… every inch of
it… with EVERY IN and OUT breathe. I see many Taiji teachers
who never speak of Breathing… perhaps because we all think
we know how to breathe… After all, we have been breathing
ever since we were born. And, as the years went by, it became
easier and easier to halfway breathe… moving hurriedly into
other things that seemed to be more important.
But, nothing is more important than FULL BODY BREATHING!!!
Of all the organs in the body, the skin is the most functional
for releasing toxins and poisons… So breathing total body
breathing… in and out and through every pore in your skin
is a MOST HEALTHY way to get rid of the poisons and toxins
hiding in our bodies.
WORK ON THAT… PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY!!!
As
you push the breath out… tightening the abdomen muscles
and pushing out toxins… also release the stress built up
in the body cavity… in your muscles and tendons!!! … within
your very arteries and veins.
NEVER… EVER… HOLD YOUR BREATH.
Breathing should be a continuous motion… DO NOT STRESS THE
BODY BY HOLDING THE BREATH…make breathing a circular motion…
slowly and gently… in and out…
DO NOT GASP IN YOUR AIR… BRING IT IN SLOWLY AND GENTLY…
AND OUT SLOWLY AND GENTLY.. COMBATTING TENSION AND STRESS
CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED BY BREATHING!!!
EVERY MOMENT, BREATHING CAN SHOW US THE WAY TO LET GO OF
THE OLD AND OPEN UP TO THE NEW… WHETHER IT BE THE OXYGEN/CARBON
DIOXIDE YOU ARE BRINGING IN AND PUSHING OUT… OR OPENING
UP TO NEW IDEAS AND PUSHING OUT OLD ONES…
REVERE THE BREATH!!! I ALWAYS REMEMEBER A VERY WASTED PATIENT
I WAS TALKING TO IN A NURSING HOME ONE DAY AND HE SAID…
HE HAD EMPHYSEMA… AND EVERY BREATH WAS A STRUGGLE… HE WANTED
EVERYONE IN THE ROOM TO KNOW HOW LUCKY THEY WERE JUST TO
BE ABLE TO BREATHE WITHOUT STRUGGLE… HE USED TO BE ABLE
TO DO THAT TOO AND HE REMEMBERED THE EXPERIENCE WITH FONDNESS…
SO, TODAY, START YOUR TOTAL BODY BREATHING…..
HAVE A LOVELY FALL DAY… TEACHER JEAN
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Thoughts Concerning Poor
Circulation Of Energy
There are questions about experiences of feeling no warmth
in one hand … or both hands… or feet…
or other parts of the body when every other part is warm.
For
the very first suggestion… the Yellow Emperor’s
chronicles say that if the body has an internal problem..
that is.. the organs in the trunk of the body… the
system will not allow the warmth (or Chi) to circulate to
the outer regions because it is required in the healing
process of these organs. So, first, consider the Chi may
be involved in a healing process.
Second,
so very often , energy can be blocked through the system
by some physical, or even mental, trauma. “Jumper
cabling” as termed in Jin Shin may be very helpful
in clearing the blockages. If it seems to be in the hands…
hold with your opposite hand… fingers… each
finger and mentally bring the flow of the blood to the end
of the fingers… one at a time. Hold the indention
on the outside of the wrist with your other hand (fingers)
to encourage the flow to the hand or if it is your foot,
use the toes.
Visualizing
the flow of your blood to these cold extremities is very
important… USE YOUR MIND TO ENCOURAGE THE CIRCULATION
TO IMPROVE. Also, notice if you are holding tension in your
arms or hands… in your legs or ankles or feet …
that may be blocking your circulation. Relax! Relax! Relax!
Open your vessels… soften them.
Remember
the first posture of the Taiji form: Beginning … and
just over and over… lifting the hands to shoulder
height… relaxing fingers.. and then bringing them
back toward the body and then down again… USE THE
MIND… to encourage blood flow.
One
exercise that I like very much is “Lifting the Elephant’s
Trunk”… dealing with the pituitary gland…
in the very center of the skull… pretend your arms
are elephant’s trunks… first inhale: lift the
right hand slowly imagining it is an elephant trunk…
to above the head… hold the breath while focusing
the mind on the pituitary gland and as your trunk moves
down the body… exhaling..… visualize the blood
flow into the hand…second inhale: lift the left hand,
hold the breath and visualize the pituitary gland.. then
exhaling lower that elephant trunk with the blood flowing
into the fingers and always imagining the pituitary sending
the energy down the trunk… then third inhale: use
both hands (trunks) lifting them slowly… hold the
breath while you visualize the pituitary… and then
slowly exhale and let both trunks move down the front of
the body.
REMEMBER;
BEFORE YOU GO TO ANY EXTREMES, TRY TO LET YOUR OWN BODY
SOLVE THE PROBLEM… THINK ABOUT YOUR PROBLEM…
THINK ABOUT YOUR BODY… ANY QUESTIONS???? JUST ASK…
Teacher Jean
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Discipline
When I was growing up, that was a common word. These days
it is a common dirty word to most of our younger population.
It is considered a “punishment”, a corrective
measure – not something to be proud of anymore.
Our
parents had lived through the years of being born poor –
they knew how to suffer through hard time. They knew about
world wars and being without. They knew what boundaries
and expectations of our system were.
We
just couldn’t wait to be free of all discipline. But,
interestingly enough, we became interested in eastern arts.
Arts that were built on personal discipline; following a
guru; daily practice; diets; punctual routines; religious
worship, etc. All provided the same rigid structures and
demands against which we rebelled! We refused to discipline
ourselves and at the same time we sought it diligently!
You
must consider your taiji practice a discipline. It is truly
that!!! We CAN NOT advance in our form practice or meditations
endeavors without being disciplined. We need teachers, we
need traditions, we need communities – and we need
some amount of discipline. It builds character. It enhances
your personality. It instills in you pride of accomplishment
that you can get only with discipline.
Be
proud that you take time every day to embrace your discipline.
Regards,
Teacher Jean
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The Half
Smile
Since
the recent atrocities in Tibet, I have been re-reading some
of my books on Tibet...just to refresh my outlook.
One
of these books is: Cave in the Snow by Vickie MacKenzie.
The story of theTenzin Palmo’s guide for enlightment.
This is a Buddhist nun from England who decided she wanted
to become enlightened in a woman’s body and there
were so few opportunities for this. She was very adamant
she was going to do this as a woman in this incarnation.
As
I was reading, there was a delightful little exercise we
can all do to help our bodies feel better -- and help our
minds/souls feel better as well.
“The
Half-Smile”
Slightly
lift the corners of your mouth and hold it there for three
breaths. If you do it six or more times a day within three
days it makes a surprising difference to the body and mind.
You can do it during any time of waiting -- when you are
kept on hold on the telephone, at the grocery store, in
the airport, at the stop lights…TRY IT!!
A
very small effort...a BIG Lift...
Regards,
Teacher Jean
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Wisdom
from Teacher Jean