Simple Chinese breathing exercises offer many health benefits. If you are combating stress, dealing with anxiety, have difficulty sleeping, lack energy, or want a boost for your immune system, these breathing techniques offer a drug-free method approach.
Jump Start Your Day
Clear your lungs and start your day relaxed and filled with energy, with this exercise from the website Chinese Holistic Health Exercises.
Sit in a comfortable position at the edge of a chair with your back straight, shoulders relaxed, hands resting comfortably on your knees or thighs, eyes looking directly ahead.
Push the air out of your lungs through your mouth while tightening your stomach muscles and bending forward to completely empty the lungs.
Relax your stomach muscles and begin inhaling through your nose while returning to your starting position. Fill your lungs only about halfway.
Completing this procedure 10 times equals one set. Start with one set and work you way up to three sets, two or three times per day. Stop between sets for a couple of slow, deep breaths.
Goodbye to Stress
Relaxation and breathing techniques have been used in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years, according to Allina Hospitals & Clinics. That website describes a vital connection between breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, stress, muscle tension and other functions. You might find the abdominal breathing technique helpful for dealing with stress.
Begin by placing one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. Practice inhaling and exhaling using only the abdominal muscles, with no movement of the chest. Once you are comfortable breathing in this manner, inhale to the count of four, hold for a count of seven, and slowly exhale while counting to eight. Do this every day until you can perform this abdominal breathing technique for 5 to 10 minutes.
Vitality and Energy
The Yang's Martial Arts Association website of Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming, describes Daoist breathing techniques, another form of Chinese breathing useful for meditation or as part of martial-arts exercises. One of the Daoist methods, known as Dantian breathing, focuses on the lower Dantian, an energy center just below and behind the navel. It uses the abdomen and lower back during inhalation and exhalation, with no movement of the chest. This technique is said to improve vitality and energy by stimulating the kidneys.
As you inhale, concentrate on your Dantian energy center while expanding your abdominal muscles and lower back. When exhaling, contract the abdomen and lower back. By focusing on the Dantian energy center instead of directing your attention to your abdomen, your breathing will flow in a natural manner and you will soon reap the benefits of increased vitality and energy, according to information on the YMAA website. Continue to inhale and exhale in this manner until you are completely relaxed.
There is usually no sensation of the lower back expanding and contracting. If you place your hand on your lower back, you might be able to feel the slight expansion of your ribs as you inhale and exhale.
Warning
Breathing exercises can make you dizzy or faint. Stop until the dizziness passes. If you are being treated for any medical condition, especially if it is breathing-related, consult your health-care provider before beginning these exercises.
Tags: lower back, breathing techniques, Dantian energy, Dantian energy center, energy center, your lungs, your stomach muscles