Abdominal Breathing - the Brick exercise

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)

1st 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 from air when you exhale (breathing out)

The Tanden

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.

Note : There are actually 3 Tanden in the body, the Lower Tanden is the important one for our exercise.


Important points for proper practice :

• Avoid any chest moves when breathing in
• Avoid contraction of the abdominal muscles when breathing out.
• Keep your mind concentrated on the Tanden area about 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 for it helps better feel what is happening in the tanden area.

Visualization : When you breathe 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.

 

 

(In this drawing, the subject is sitting in the lotus position:  such visualization can be  practised in any position)

Practical Exercises for Zen Meditation

I am just back from a zazenkai retreat at the Atlanta Soto Zen Center.

Michael Elliston Roshi, abbot of the center and founder of the Silent Thunder (Mokurai) had invited me to teach at this event.

In my presentation of actual exercises to help the practice of Meditation I put emphasis on the 2 following aspects of Zazen:

• Focusing (Thinking of Non Thinking)
• Relaxing (to help focusing) 
  
  

I introduced to my audience a set of physical practices inspired from Traditional Oriental Martial Arts and Medicine. (Tai Chi, Chi Gong, Taoist exercises...) which I have been using  for several years in my own practice.

These exercises are designed to improve :

• Body awareness,
• Breathing,
• Balance,
• Physical Relaxation.

I addressed in particular :

1. How strength and mental energy follow Awareness and Mind. And how the Chinese concept of Chi explains this.
2. How to channel awareness and one's mind to parts or points of the body to tame one's monkey mind.
3. How to practice regular and reverse abdominal breathing to calm the mind.
4. How Tai Chi can actually remove muscular tensions and joint pains during long meditation sessions.

In the next weeks, I will get into the details of my presentation.  Stay in touch ! 

Mechanics of breathing

The following is a very simplified explanation of the mechanics of breathing. To get this kind of understanding may help you develop greater awareness of what you actually do when breathing. 

There are 3 basic ways to breathe. Some are better adapted to different types of activity. 

Read this and experiment. In a later post I will propose some basic exercises.

Basic Architecture of the Torso :

The Chest at the top contains the Lungs and Heart. The Chest is a cavity formed by the spine in the back, the sternum in the front, and 12 pairs of ribs on the sides.

Under the Chest the Abdomen contains the digestive organs : stomach, liver, spleen, pancreas, intestine; the kidneys and bladder, and the reproductive organs.

Chest and Abdomen are separated by the Diaphragm, a flat muscle shaped as a dome. In the center of the diaphragm is a hole through which run the esophagus and some veins and arteries. The shape of the diaphragm is modified during breathing. Inhalation corresponds to a flattening of the diaphragm. 

 

The lungs located inside the ribcage have the general shape of a bell. Their structure is similar to that of a sponge and they are elastic. Muscular action can stretch or compress the lungs, (exhalation or inhalation). When the muscular action ceases, the lungs revert to their original shape and volume. If you try to force yourself into inhaling lots of air, and then relax, your lungs will naturally empty. If you try to force yourself into emptying your lungs as much as you can, when you relax, air will naturally fill them up again.

The digestive organs in the abdomen are not elastic. Their shape and position can be changed by muscular action, but not their volume. Separated from the lungs by the diaphragm, they act as a sort of piston which can move up or down under the lungs, pushing or pulling them up or down.

There are 3 basic ways to modify the shape of the lungs :

1. lifting or lowering the chest.
2. expanding or squeezing the bottom of the chest.
3. raising or lowering the digestive organs.

1. Lifting or lowering your chest : Inhale by raising your chest : straighten your spine and lift your ribs; exhale by letting your ribs fall and rolling your spine down. This is the shallowest kind of breathing, there is not much room for expansion of the top of the lungs.

2. Vary the diameter of your chest. By expanding or squeezing your lower rib cage sideways. This is a deep way to breathe. The ribcage can expand quite a bit sideways, and the bottom of the lungs can expand a lot to inhale lots of air.

3. Upward or downward movement of your abdominal organs, through action of your abdominal muscles..

Exhalation happens by contracting one's lower abdominal muscles. This action lifts the guts. They push the diaphragm and the lungs upward. This type of breathing is very adapted to intense activity such as fighting where emphasis should be made on short forced exhalation through contraction of the abdominal muscles. Inhalation just happens by itself in between each exhalation. 

 

Inhalation is produced by contracting the higher abdominal muscles. This pushes the guts downward, which pulls the diaphragm and the bottom of the lungs down. This way of breathing is less common. It does not allow for a very deep breathing, because the same action that pushes the guts down also limits the ability of the chest to expand laterally, but for some non-mechanical reasons, it is very interesting for meditative purpose.

Of course, it is possible to combine these actions, and practically we very often do it. For example, when we are out of breathe, we combine lifting and lateral expansion of our ribcage in order to inhale huge quantities of air. Or when we sneeze, we roll our spine to the front to lower our ribcage, and contract all muscle groups that squeeze the chest and push the guts upward.

In a later post, I will propose a few exercises. for now I suggest you try to figure these 3 modes out by yourself. 

Have fun...

Moderation in training

I am a firm believer in hard and serious training. I am also a believer in common sense. There seems to be a tendency in certain young people to train extremely hard to the point of ruining their health by negating the needs of their bodies. Although this seems to be more true for Japanese people, it is true of all ascetic practice. Even the historic Buddha experienced this denial of one's earthly nature and almost starved himself to death. The Chinese, possibly because of the influence of Taoism, seem to be less prone to this kind of exaggerations.

Toru Shirai was born in Edo in 1783. He was a renown Kenshi. He had opened a dojo at the age of 28 and taught around 300 students. But he worried about his own kendo. In the fencing world at the time, there were many fine kenshi. After the age of 40, however, they often became weaker or slower and became a mere shadow of their former selves. Not wanting this to happen to him , Shirai left his dojo and his 300 students, went back to his hometown of Edo (presently Tokyo), and sought out his Itto-ryu sempai Terada Goroemon.

Terada was also a Zen priest and Shirai practiced zazen under him. He also underwent Terada’s severe training methods. This included the practice of cold-water ablutions.

Okunojo Yoshida, a later student of Shirai, writes:

“Shirai Sensei abstained from liquor and meat, and poured a hundred, two hundred, even three hundred pails of water over himself a day. He dipped his pail so often that the water in the well he used would become stirred up and muddy, so he would go to the Sumida River to continue. He repeated this day after day for years—in the morning in the hottest weather, at dawn in the depths of winter, and even at inns during journeys to Bishu, Kyoto, and Setsu. On two occasions he fasted and performed his ablutions for seven days—once at Mt. Yuga in Biyo and once again at his home.”

Unfortunately, Shirai’s extraordinary dedication to Terada's ablution method did little or nothing for him. Actually it ruined his health and Shirai finally broke down.

Shirai writes in Heiho Michishirube, “My efforts were fruitless. Worse, they put me in such ill health that neither acupuncture nor medicines had any effect. Eventually my mother and other close relatives begged me to ‘cease those baneful ablutions.’ Unable to bear my mother’s lamentations, I was finally convinced to give up the practice.”

Compare this with Master Hakuin's passage in Yasenkana :

... I began devoting myself single-mindedly to my practice, forsaking food and sleep altogether. Before the month was out... I became abnormally weak and timid, shrinking and fearful in whatever I did. I felt totally drained, physically and mentally exhausted. Strange vision appeared to me during waking and sleeping hours alike. My armpits were always wet with perspiration. My eyes were watered constantly. I traveled far and wide, visiting wise Zen teachers, seeking out noted physicians. But none of the remedies they offered brought any relief.

Hakuin himself had fallen gravely hill from "meditation disease". No doctor was able to help him. In despair Hakuin had gone on a quest for a cure and had finally met Master Hakuyu, a mountain hermit, who had taught him an abdominal breathing Qi Gong that would finally cure him.

Giving up the ablution practice, Shirai began practicing Rentan no Ho: the same style of abdominal breathing practice described by Zen priest Hakuin in his work Yasenkanna. Not only did it restore his health, it also instilled in him the self-awareness and ability to take the first steps toward the establishment of his Tenshin Shirai-ryu.

In Heiho Michishirube, Shirai describes his cure. 

“At the age of thirty-three, on January 18, 1815, I abandoned cold-water ablutions once and for all and adopted the abdominal training method. I had previously read a number of the posthumous works of Hakuin and I had heard from my teacher Terada about the effectiveness of rentan no ho, but I had neglected it in favor of the more arduous practice of ablutions. Now I practice rentan no ho exclusively. I have rallied my spirit and, as Hakuin did, integrated rentan no ho into every part of my life and ways—into my prayers to Buddha, into my studies, into my swordsmanship. Within two short months of such practice I felt my health return as energy flowed into me and filled my abdomen (seika.) My illness has melted away and I feel myself as bouncy as a brand-new ball.”

What Shirai gained from his practice of Rentan no Ho allowed him to take some distance from the treachings of his teacher Terada and develop his own style Tenshin Heiho. In Heiho Michishirube Shirai writes : “the exclusive practice of Rentan no Ho advocated by Hakuin is quick and effective, while the method of ablution has little effect.”

Shirai had become utterly disgusted with cold-water ablutions as a means to enlightenment and it seems that in his later years he even told his pupils that “dousing oneself with cold water and fasting are poor ways to achieve Tenshin (understanding one’s own Buddha nature).”

Common Sense, the Middle way...

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.