THE BREATH

BREATHING and the ARTS: ...working with the breath is a time- honored and essential aspect of training in ALL of the Asian martial, meditative and healing arts- to one degree or another...in fact CHI is often translated as 'breath,' or, 'the breath within the breath.' This topic is so vital and essential, in fact, that we might summarize it like this: NO BREATH= NO CHI= NO POWER...regarding martial arts, and similar in other arts...now there are stages beyond the breath- a topic for another day- but the breath is A key gateway to and uniter of MIND, BODY, ENERGY, and SPIRIT...my teacher (s) emphasized the breath in EVERY CLASS/ TRAINING SESSION...some of our breathing methods include: CLOUD BREATHING, DAN TIEN BREATHING, NATURAL BREATH, POWER BREATHING, DYNAMIC TENSION BREATHING, LINE AND CIRCULAR/ SPIRAL BREATHING...as well as ANIMAL, ELEMENTAL, and GEOMETRIC breathing- tiger, leopard, snake, crane, dragon...earth, heat/ fire, air, water, space; methods utilizing form, shape, color, and sound ...I have also been blessed to learn rare methods from my studies with other teachers, such as the 'Protective Circle Breath' which great GM Dr. Maung Gyi shared with me, which he learned directly from H.H. Dalai Lama...a superb method of redirecting negative environmental energies so that they don’t become attached to us....ok, to get started you don’t need a million methods- just be aware, breathe for real, be in the moment, one with your breath- the true BREATH OF LIFE...enjoy