Breathing Technic...

[Wuji]

What is the proper way to breath and how many ways of breathing technic are there?

Where are the 12 channel located and how are they connect to the 8 gates???

What is the most effective way to store engery in the 5 organs?

[JerryKarin]

Wuji, I will try to relate to you what Yang Zhenduo teaches about breathing. Generally speaking, breathing in taiji should be natural, not forced. Don't hold your breath! Sometimes beginners are concentrating so much on getting all the details right that they hold their breath. Once I saw a student faint like this. Breathe through your nose. The mouth is closed but not sealed tightly and the tongue gently touches the roof of the mouth. There are many approaches to breathing in taiji and other martial arts, but in traditional Yang style the emphasis is on naturalness and spontaneity, so that we are not trying to consciously control the breathing. It is true that some movements are not conducive to breathing in and others not conducive to breathing out. For example the part of Needle at Sea bottom where you reach down and squat down to some extent. If you try this you can see it is hard to draw a breath because the position compresses the abdomen. However, it is not necessary to worry too much about when it is correct to inhale or exhale, because as you practice a natural rhythm will result without any conscious effort. Sometimes in the beginning of a student's practice, it may happen that the student's breathing will get stuck, the rhythm is destroyed and he will feel very distressed and uncomfortable. If that happens stop for little while and allow the breathing to become regular again and try to resume practice. In a short time problems like this, if they occur at all, will go away by themselves, especially if you can follow the ten essentials, and a good, strong, effortless rhythm will be established.

[ChiDragon]

The goal in breathing is try to breathe deep down to the abdomen. However, most people have lost their breathing habit. Nowadays, not may people can breathe down to the abdomen. Therefore, one must learn to establish a baseline. The baseline depends on how one can breathe deep down to a certain point. Some can only breathe down to the throat, some to the chest and some to the abdomen. Those who can only breathe down to the throat, then the baseline is at the throat. Thus during the practice, the normal breathing is to stop at the throat. Then, exhale when the breath reached at the throat. Try not to force the breath deeper than that. Eventually, the breath will go down deeper and deeper to the chest then to the abdomen.

To normal breathing baseline is also applied to the chest and abdomen. When the breath can reach down to the abdomen, the main goal for Tai Chi breathing has been accomplished. From then on, all breathing should be breathed to the abdomen at all times. Even one is not practicing. It is because this is the real normal breathing method.