Qigong Meditation: Embryonic Breathing book by Dr. Yang

[leighspost]

Hello everybody,

I am glad that I found this topic as I am beginning to learn Embryonic Breathing Meditation and wanted to hear of other peoples experiences.

I learnt normal abdominal breathing first and when I felt comfortable with it I progressed to reverse abdominal breathing (daoist breathing).

I think next I have to locate the dan tians, but I need to feel comfortable with daoist breathing first.

I would like to know peoples experience with this type of meditation and any helpful advice or hints that can help me along the path.

Leigh

[Dvivid]

The two dan tians you need to 'find' are:

the center of your brain, in the area of the pituitary and pineal glands.

AND, the center of your guts, the large and small intestines.

There, you found them.

Now just practice putting your mind in these two places and concentrating on them. The Yi leads the Qi. And your gradually build a stronger sense of each dan tian. Once you can physically feel them, its just a matter of holding your attention there often, and especially after your Qigong/Taiji/Kung Fu/whatever practice. Energy follows consciousness. And slowly the dan tians get conditioned to the habit of conserving Qi, and they slowly can store more and more.

It doesn't matter which, as long as you coordinate the movement of your abdomen and pelvic floor/perinium/hui yin with the in and out of your breath, and relax, and concentrate without too many random thoughts rising, the results will come.

All there is is practice.

[leighspost]

Is anyone else practicing embryonic qigong except for me?

I would like to know their experiences and how far they have got.

I am learining reverse breathing in preparation for locating the dan tians. the posts above have helped me but I have not progressed to the point where reverse breathing feels natural.

Please share how often you practice.

[Dvivid]

Leighspost, hi. Thanks for writing.

Maybe if you are not yet feeling the dan tians during your practice, you might slow down a bit, and practice first using Normal Abdominal Breathing. It is easier to build the habit of this breathing, so you can do it naturally without thinking, and your mind can then be concentrated on 'feeling more'. When you practice NAB, you become very relaxed, your sensitivity gradually increases, and you should be able to have a stronger sensation of the upper and lower dan tians after some regular practice.

Try it for a while, a few times a week. Inhale slowly, deeply and quietly. As you inhale, expand the belly and gently push down the pelvic floor, or perenium. Then exhale, slowly, deeply, quietly, and draw in the belly and gently lift the pelvic floor.

Hold the mind in the center of the belly. Energy follows consciousness. The Yi leads the Qi. Then, hold the mind in the center of your head, between your two ears.

It is recommended to start with this breathing for 6 months before moving into Reverse Abdominal Breathing. During this first 6 months, you should definitely feel the dan tians.

If you are male, and still having trouble with this - try to abstain from sexual activity for a couple weeks (impossible, I know). This changes the level of your Qi faster than any other method. Once you've done this once or twice, you can more easily recognize your Qi status and build the habit of conserving Qi, and then your sex life doesn't affect your Qi status as much.

And, its always good to 'start over', even if you've moved on from NAB to other breathing techniques, because when go go 'back' to using NAB you will experience it on another level...

[joeblast]

Great replies!

I'm ostensibly just getting started, though I have been reading and pondering for a year and some. I definitely have to say that reading embryonic breathing has helped my meditation immensely, its absolutely a sipper to read and re-read. (then after you've pondered and practiced, practiced and pondered, read some more...as Dr Yang has said, there's tons of stuff in the ancient documents and sometimes by going back over it, some new facet of training will pop out at you simply because you didnt understand the prerequisites fully before. I like the ancient docs.)

I know there is much I have not accomplished, yet I dont really feel that I have much in the way of questions as of right now - at least not anything that cant be answered by going back to the basics; sticking with the fundamentals of training. Glad I found these forums, there's always the chance to come across more info that I would not find otherwise...
Of course, I did sort of pick up books in an ass-backward manner...I came across The Secret of Youth a couple years ago in a bookstore and bought it mostly out of curiosity - I was more into studying martial arts (did a little WC) but was beginning to see the necessity of internal training. After reading most of that (I have since came back to it twice,) I went back and got the Root book, qigong for Back pain, and Massage. Then went searching for exercises (bought 8 pieces of Brocade and qigong for martial arts.) Recently I also came across a really good book by Bruce Frantzis called 'Opening the Energy Gates of your Body' which has some great posture work, some good explanations of sinking qi and dissolving qi, and the taoist swing exercises are absolutely awesome. Though I have never had trouble understanding Dr Yang, Frantzis' writing is an easier start on the subject for an american, imho. He also provides clearer cautions regarding advanced practices where beginners are concerned.

After all of that I bought Embryonic Breathing and Small Circulation; I'm almost done reading EB and have read roughly 1/3rd of SC. Big difference between just doing qigong exercises and doing qigong exercises with the proper emphasis on the breath, and meditation has 'rounded out' what the exercises provide!

(I also bought Mantak Chia's Bone Marrow Nei Kung....but after skimming through it, I put it right back on my bookshelf where it belongs at this point in my training. I didnt even want to tempt myself with the techniques in there...almost a parallell level as the training in The Secret of Youth. I know it will be perhaps years before I am ready for that training...as a beginner with no master right now, I'm just taking it slow and....taiqiman, love the saying - take your time and savor still meditation.)

[SageMorpheus]

Darth,

Ever since I read your signature line: "turn your butt", by Master Yang, I have contemplated what it might mean, and hunted for its source. Its time to come right out and ask ...

Can you give me some references where this originated and maybe it has some further clarification, or even tell me what it means and why you've chose it as a "statement" line.

Its facinating, and has my curiousity.

Thank you.

SM

[Inga]

SageMorpheus,

This was answered recently on another thread, I wish it would spring to mind which one, but the brain is not cooperating. Master Yang frequently says to his students "Turn your butt". It very simply his way of letting one know that their hips are not positioned correctly in particular in the stance of deng san bu. When in deng san bu or mountain climbing stance, the hips should be fully turned; to illustrate, if the stance is such that the bent front knee is pointing at a wall, the chest should also be fully rotated around and facing the wall as well, not angled off to the side. So if the bottom half of the body is not in line with the top, Master Yang will tell us to turn our butts (or bottom) thus making the hips move into the correct position. I hope I have explained this okay. Last time Darth and I team tagged the question, you are not the first to ask. The source is from the Master himself, it is just one of his regular expressions, one I have heard many, many a time as I am sure Darth has as well :) Of course I leave it to Darth to explain why it is his signature, but I can guess.

Cheers Inga

[joeblast]

Frantzis puts a lot of emphasis on the same concept in his Energy Gates book...I dont know that I would have made the 'turn your butt' connection either!
thanks

[Yue]

Quick question. I thought that coordinating huiyin with your breathing during EB causes qi to accumulate in the lower Dan Tian. But if you do buddhist breathing for six months and then doaist breathing for six months like it says in the book, do you coordinate your huiyin? Wouldn't that build up a LOT of qi? I thought you were supposed to start SC with a very small amount of qi. Did I miss something?

[Dvivid]

Coordinating those movements are very important for accumulating Qi. But, the MIND needs to be focused on that area for Qi to accumulate. The Yi leads the Qi. Energy follows consciousness.

You coordinate your huyin with all breathing, Buddhist or Taoist. Whenever the abdomen is out, the huyin is out. All day, every day.

Qi builds slowly, depending of course on each individual. By ancient standards, you will not be circulating a tremendous amount of Qi, unless you train very seriously during that year.

Even so, by following Dr. Yang's guidance of starting with the Small Small Circ first, it is safe either way.

[SageMorpheus]

Why be in such a hurry to open the third eye? I'd rather just do my practice, enjoy the meditations, whatever they bring, and if it opens it opens. I know many people who boast about having opened their third eye, but they keep bumping into the same old wornout issues in their lives. It may be open, but can they see through it?

If my third eye ever opens, I want to be developed and prepared to handle whatever it wants to show me.

Enjoy the process because this may be all there is ... and it may last forever.

[muehlbauer1375]

SageMorpheus,

My friend, when you use biblical quotes in a discussion about qigong you give the wrong impression to others seeking knowledge about either qigong or Christianity since the two are not connected directly. Please when discussing qigong do not try to team it up with biblical quotes. Qigong is only connected to Christianity as eating food or getting a proper nights sleep would be – there is no religious connection. The soul is not bound by the laws of nature since it is not corporeal. In my humble understanding qigong is for health of mind and body in this world although different religions that existed in the areas where qigong practice was cultivated did utilize it to assist them in their spiritual endeavors. God does not look at the health of the body and mind (or qi flow) to determine whether individuals are acceptable for entrance into Heaven. Qigong helps people with physical and mental health. This better state can assist people in their spiritual journey since the body and mind are working efficiently and in tandem. This frees the soul to a degree from being burdened with stresses of the mind or body and allows greater contemplation of the mind. I’m sure you didn't mean anything misleading by it, but that quote has nothing to do with small circulation.

St. Matthew Ch 19:24

"And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven."

You left out an important word – rich – since Christ was specifically discussing how difficult it is for a rich man to avoid being damned. There is no connection with how difficult it is to achieve small circulation or what is sometimes referred to as “opening the third eye”.

Individuals faithful to the teachings of the bible would possibly be turned away from experiencing the good of qigong if they saw references like yours making qigong out to be inherently religious. For instance, implying that practicing small circulation and assisting your “bioelectricity” or qi in moving through the governing and conception vessels efficiently can somehow merit entrance into Heaven. Also, using the words of Jesus Christ where He is discussing entrance into Heaven and referring that to the practice of qigong is not something that would help westerners (or anyone else for that matter) who are Christian and are unfamiliar with qigong to be more open to learning more about it.

If it is intrinsically religious and that religion is not Christianity then a Christian could have nothing to do with qigong. That is our religion, that is what Christ teaches through the Catholic Church.

Enough westerners already think of qigong as “New Age”, superstitious gobbledygook and won’t touch it because they think it is somehow a religious ceremony or prayer when in truth it’s not. So please be careful when you post items about these things if you want the truth to be known and you want to assist Dr. Yang in his endeavor to spread Chinese culture.

Forgive me if any of this came across the wrong way, I certainly do not mean any of it in any way that would be uncharitable or unkind.

I am speaking as a Catholic so these are my impressions when I see things posted like the quote from the gospel of St. Matthew I refer to above.

Sincerely,
E. Muehlbauer

[joeblast]

"My own counsel will I keep on who is ready..."
-Yoda


Earl, I can appreciate correcting a misused quote, but to (even if subtly) suggest that you're intimately familiar with God's vetting process is a bit presumptuous Why would the soul not be bound by the laws of nature, since the soul is a very natural thing? Would God not take into consideration the cultivation of good habits, as they often lead towards greater wisdom and compassion?

I saw the applicability of the quote, and even though it wasnt necessarily spot on, it wasnt quite hitching qigong and religious practices either. Fact of the matter is, a good meditation and qigong schedule can absolutely enhance prayer if you choose to combine the methods. But it is not necessary - you can have excellent prayer sans qigong, and you can have excellent qigong sans prayer, or any belief system whatsoever, for that matter. They are entirely separate processes, yet they do tie in to each other at some point since they are both dealing with very subtle phenomena. It helps to freely debate these matters without worrying about who will take what from it (so long as one isnt purposefully misleading, of course) - we are all gifted with the ability to discern, and if a little post like that is going to discourage one from doing qigong then I'll submit that it simply wasnt their destiny to partake in this lifetime.

I think a little much emphasis got put on opening the third eye in this convo - for all you guys that think its just going to open of its own accord, you'll never open it in this lifetime without a different approach...

[muehlbauer1375]

Please re-read my entire post carefully if it interests you.

What I said is all I will say about that. I said what I said and I did not say what I did not say.

It's up to the reader to discern what it is that I said since I communicated what it was that I was trying to say in the form of words on a forum about martial arts and health.

I come to YMAA to learn about the beauty of Chinese martial arts and healing and have since 1994 or so.


Just so you know - my name is not Earl - don't worry - no offense taken.

EM

[joeblast]

Hm, then again maybe these transient thoughts never happened in the first place

Unfortunately you cant remove context when you post. Often when you reduce a grayscale picture to ONLY black and white, the picture gets distorted in some fashion.

I used to be catholic, but I wont go on a tirade on that

Earl Just a funny and peculiar mood I'm in, glad you didnt take offense because I certainly never mean any!

[Ralteria]

Does Embryonic Breathing and the subsquent Qi storage (coupled with Huiyin raising and lowering) "trigger" a stronger Small Orbit Circulation.

The reason why I'm asking is during my still meditation (w/ embryonic breathing) I've noticed a very obvious feeling up my back which generally stops/continues either at my "third eye" or at my tounge/pallet. It begins at inhalation and ends at my tounge during exhalation (which subsequently produces a decent amount of saliva). I've generally come to just bypass most feelings and just focus at my dantain but b/c of the warnings I've heard as far as self guided small circulation are concerned(which I'm not attempting), I'm curious as to if I should chill out or just keep going with the flow here.

Obsessivly Paranoid/Ralteria

[Dvivid]

Yes. And, go with the flow.

The movement of the huiyin/perenium acts as a pump to motivate your energetic circulation.

Just dont bring your mind onto the Qi. You're correct to just keep practicing, and bring the mind in to the lower dan tian.

[joeblast]

Exactly! That's where "dont concentrate on the scenery" comes from - keep your awareness on that which prompted those feelings to manifest in the first place - the fundamentals of breathing. Personally I dont do any contrived circulation at the moment, though I do know a couple practices that use certain circulations....I just know that I dont have the proper foundation to practice them just yet

[Ralteria]

Thanks everyone!

Joe, I know what you mean. And that conceptually works with so many things, not just meditation. Like in my own Taijiquan I find regression to the basics gives me the most success in my practice rather than progression to new training exercises. Obviously, I eventually move forward, but I find so much in the foundation of most practices I find it hard to move forward sometimes. I always end up coming back to Zhaun Zhaung and sitting meditation.

I figured that what I needed to do (i.e. just continue focusing at the Dan Tien). Always helpful to have a second opinion though!

[lilman]

Simplicity is the key...

My experience is the basic skill of relaxation is the most important in developing and storing qi. Then comes intention.

Its written in Dr Yangs book but not emphasised.

Inhale deep and full up the lower dantien. In the pause between inhale and exhale, swallow your saliva and follow it down to your lower dantien. When it eaches there, exhale. You'll notice 2 things. One, your exhale was half the size of your inhale. Two, heat in your lower dantien. Between midnight and 2 am is the best time to practice, but it can be done anytime, anywhere. Revomend 7 breathes with swallowing saliva, 7 without. You don't have to spend hours sitting to reach enlightenment. And there sea qigongs to open small circulation quickly.

The best way to enlightenment is the fastest way.