Spherical Breathing
During my practice I have a tendency to get excited by (and focus on) "the cutting edge" of my experience... lately that has been feeling/building energy flows through my shoulders to my fingertips, and also spiraling rooting energy from my hips down through my legs and feet into the earth.
It's easy for me to lose myself in these extremities and disconnect from my core, which quickly sabotages my entire session! To progress further I have to reconnect! One powerful way to do this, of course, is breathing. Bringing awareness to the breath... deep and smooth... simple yet effective.
In a couple different books I've come across references to the lower back pushing outwards during inhalation... as a desirable characteristic... "you can recognize the old tai chi students because their lower back expands as they breath"... etc.. Although it felt rather awkward at first, I now find this concept of "spherical" breathing very powerful; it helps me relax (and properly orient!) my entire core/hip area.
Key points include feeling a slight expanding pressure in every direction (as if the balloon is inflating in the area below the belly button), allowing the slight pressure to adjust the position of your spine and muscles, relaxing your hip muscles and allowing your hips to rest naturally on your legs, feeling the weight being channeled directly down into the earth...
I find following these principles helps me find and maintain good geometry throughout my core/hip area, as described by Mantak Chia for his iron shirt exercises.
It's easy for me to lose myself in these extremities and disconnect from my core, which quickly sabotages my entire session! To progress further I have to reconnect! One powerful way to do this, of course, is breathing. Bringing awareness to the breath... deep and smooth... simple yet effective.
In a couple different books I've come across references to the lower back pushing outwards during inhalation... as a desirable characteristic... "you can recognize the old tai chi students because their lower back expands as they breath"... etc.. Although it felt rather awkward at first, I now find this concept of "spherical" breathing very powerful; it helps me relax (and properly orient!) my entire core/hip area.
Key points include feeling a slight expanding pressure in every direction (as if the balloon is inflating in the area below the belly button), allowing the slight pressure to adjust the position of your spine and muscles, relaxing your hip muscles and allowing your hips to rest naturally on your legs, feeling the weight being channeled directly down into the earth...
I find following these principles helps me find and maintain good geometry throughout my core/hip area, as described by Mantak Chia for his iron shirt exercises.
posted by Unknown at 1:30 PM
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