subject: the many ways to breathe [print this page] Breathing is often taken for granted- and well it should. After all, if one had to think about breathing all of the time, life would become pretty onerous. However, one can significantly increase one's total well being- by now and then focusing on HOW to breathe in the manner most suited to the full exhalation- and inhalation of air into and out of the lungs. It turns out that most people rarely empy their lungs fully, and as such, the lungs are almost never fully refreshed. Here is how to breathe: focus on expanding the abdominal muscle area- this causes a lowering of pressure in the lungs (just cause your abdomen area to become a balloon)- as a result, air rushes in- not by sucking it in with your throat muscles- but again- by using your abdomen and causing that area to draw air in- then, when the lungs are filled- hold them full for a few seconds, and then, to expel that air, use those same abdominal muscles to compress the ab area and this will force air out of the lungs. In other words, focus on using your abdominal muscles to not only inflate your lungs- by expanding that abdominal area like a balloon- causing a drop in pressure- and subsequently and inflation of the lungs, and then, acompression of the lungs by those same ab muscles- causing air to be expelled.
This all takes a little practice- but not much. You can't do this all of the time of course. However, if you take a few minutes out of each day, and take a good 15 to 20 breaths in this manner, you will notice that you have never breathed really deeply before. This method of breathing, which is central to many martial arts- and also yoga- is a real key to understanding both the basic and advanced techniques of many of the eastern arts- and it is also a way to really invigorate your respiratory system. In addition, from a philosophical point of view, it is interesing when you discover that you may never have breathed really deeply in your life.
This is but one of many breathing techniques that make up both the martial arts and yoga- but it may be the most central technique of all- because it illustrates the way to fully inflate the lungs and then, how to fully expel the air- and that is very basic and key to the understnading of one's life force and full power.
