A Basic Breathing Exercise : The Brick

Babies don't breathe using their chests but their bellies. When we grow up, we gradually learn how to use our chest rather than our abdomen to breathe. The reasons why this happens are mostly cultural. It is important to re-learn how to breathe with our abdomen rather than our chest. The Brick is the first in a series of exercises designed to develop the practice of abdominal breathing

There are 3 goals to this exercise :

• Teach you an easy way to breathe with your abdomen rather than your chest.
• Train you to focus your mind in the tanden area (Bring your mind there
• Teach you to pay attention to the sensations in that area (Listen to your mind there)

1^st ABDOMINAL BREATHING EXERCISE : The Brick

Lie on your back with your feet flat on the ground and your legs bent with your knees in the air. Place an object the size of a brick, a woodblock or a phone book on your belly. The weight needs to be enough that you feel it, but not so much that you feel uncomfortable.

As you breathe in, make sure the brick rises.

When you breathe out, let the brick go down.

Avoid any chest moves when breathing in, avoid any contraction of the abdominal muscles when you breathe out.

Focus your mind on your Tanden : an area 1 or 2 inches under your belly button, and concentrate on how you feel when your abdomen expands during inhalation (breathing in) and collapses as a balloon emptying itself when you exhale (breathing out).

The Tanden is an area localized 1 to 2 inches under the belly button, and 3 or 4 inches inside. It is approximately the center of gravity of your body.

There are actually several Tanden in the body, the Lower Tanden is the important one for our exercise. Unless otherwise specified, when we mention the Tanden, it is the lower Tanden.

Important points:

Avoid any chest moves when breathing in.

Avoid contraction of the abdominal muscles when breathing out.

Keep your mind focused on your Tanden 2” below the belly button.

Avoid muscular tension, try to keep your overall body relaxed. This will help you only concentrate on what you feel in the Tanden area.

Tips :

You may practice on your bed or a couch, however, it is better to practice on a firm floor or exercise mat. This helps better sense what is happening in your tanden area.

During breathing in, it may be helpful to visualize the air flowing from your nose up to the tip of your skull and then back all the way down through your spine to your sacrum (the tail bone) to then fill up your lower abdomen.

When you breathe out, visualize the air flowing up through your sternum (breastplate) toward your nose.

(Although in this above drawing, the subject is sitting in the lotus position, this visualization can be practiced in any position)

Naikan Tanden Seminar

On last Saturday October 16, I held our first seminar in our new Headland Dojo. The theme was Naikan Tanden.

I borrowed this term from Zen Master Hakuin, (1685–1768) who possibly borrowed it from older sources. One relatively accurate translation of it would be "Introspective Meditation at the Tanden"...

To tell a long story short we practiced a number of Qi Gong exercises centered on the Tanden, an area located slightly below the navel; and others designed to move energy around the body - limited to 3 points on the center line of the body (also known as Conception Vessel in Traditional Chinese Medicine). 

All these exercises were practiced using regular abdominal breathing.

In addition, we also practiced the mighty Reverse Abdominal Breathing.

Between each Qi Gong exercises we practiced Zazen (sitting meditation)for 10 minutes. 

The whole session lasted about 2 hours  after which we had a tea and a little discussion to evaluate the program and exercises.  This was not an easy class. I introduced lots of different and at times confusing exercises to my students. The Reverse abdominal Breathing is obviously not an easy thing to get into. 

I am very thankful for my students' input, their help and their patience.

From this first session I intend to build up more simple programs adapted to various audiences with different needs. (More later). 

In future articles I'll provide details about reverse abdominal breathing, as well as energy circulation in the body, and the importance of these practices for meditation and martial arts. 

Ken Zen Ichi Nyo

One difficulty for us Westerners who use an alphabetical system of transcription is that the a great number of Characters (Kanji) used in written Japanese sound the same. Hence the numerous misinterpretations and conflicts between self-appointed experts... I would like to address here the different forms of  "Ken Zen Ichi Nyo" often heard in Martial Art schools. 

  

剣 禅 一 如

The Sword and Zen are one.

Yagyu Munenori is credited with this formula in his work Heiho Kadensho. The meaning here is that the study of swordsmanship (Kendo or Kenjutsu) cannot be separated from the practice of Zen  meditation. In other words, do not even think you can become good at Swordsmanship if you don't Practice Zen. Munenori - a friend of Zen Master Takuan - considers that the practice Zen is a necessary condition to be successful in the practice of the arts of the Sword.

I have not found any indication that he would consider the other way around - that the practice of the sword could be a good way to improve one's Zen practice.

拳 禅 一 如

The Fist and Zen are one.

This formula is pronounced exactly in the same way as the previous one, however, here the Kanji 剣 (Sword), has been replaced y the Kanji  拳 (Fist). This formula is generally used in Karate Dojo.

A similar expression is “Ken Shin Ichi Nyo”.

剣 心 一 如

The Sword and Mind are one.

It is very close to Ken Zen Ichi Nyo (The Sword and Zen are one) because the Kanji 心 means Mind and Zen is interested in experiencing the universal mind. 

Why are the Chinese and Japanese using the same character for 2 concepts apparently so different as Mind and Heart ?

In fact, these concepts are not so different. Traditional Chinese Medicine considers the Heart as the seat of the Mind. And even in our Western languages, the word Heart refers not only to the blood pumping organ , but also as being involved with such mental activities as learning ( I learned it by heart), to emotions (My heart fills with joy), or will power (a strong-hearted person).

Numerous Martial Arts masters pointed out that the practice of Zen was beneficial to the practice of their Arts. 

There are fewer sources about the other way around :  how the practice of Martial Arts could be beneficial to the practice of Zen.

Therapeutic techniques such as the Naikan or Kikai Tanden described by Zen Master Hakuin are related to Qi Gong exercises (Some of them attributed to the first Chan Patriarch Bodhidharma.) developed around the 6th century in China. 

We are in good company...