Breath regulates the flow of Qi in the body. That is the most fundamental reaason why we incorporate so much breathing into our practice of Qigong.

As we continue to discover through research, breath has countless physiological benefits:

1. Breath promotes the oxygenation of the muscles, allowing them to relax.

2. As a result of increased relaxation, the body is able to maintain balance.

3. When you breathe, your body has to produce more healthy cells that can metabolize the extra oxygen. So diseased cells that thrive in oxygen-depleted enviroments simply die or get repaired.

4. When you breathe, you are oxygenating your blood, creating an alkaline environment in which healthy cells can thrive.

5. By the process of relaxing the muscles by opening the body's channels, blood pressure is lowered, moving towards and staying at healthy levels with continued practice.

6. When integrated with the movements of Qigong, breath activates the parasympathetic nervous system promoting better function, focus and creativity.

7. Our organs, including the lungs, are muscles with very specific functions. It can therefore be said that wehn you exercise your lungs, it gets sstronger. If you stretch any muscle, and that is what advanced breathing techniques do, it becomes flexible. So continued practice will definitely increase not only your lung capacity, but also your body's ability to process oxygen.

1. Changes in body equilibrium response caused by breathing. A posturographic study with visual feedback

STUDY RESULTS:

Group 1 and 2 (breath work groups) show significantly better results in the posturographic test with visual feedback than subjects without experience in breath work (group 3). Furthermore, posturographic results immediately after one hour of breath work reveal clear improvements in the body equilibrium.

2. Randomized, controlled trial of breath therapy for patients with chronic low-back pain

STUDY RESULTS:

Pre- to post-intervention, patients in both groups improved in pain (VAS: -2.7 with breath therapy, -2.4 with physical therapy; SF-36: +14.9 with breath therapy and +21.0 with physical therapy). Breath therapy recipients improved in function (Roland: -4.8) and in the physical and emotional role (SF-36: +15.5 and 14.3). Physical therapy recipients improved in vitality (SF-36: +15.0). Average improvements were not different between groups. At six to eight weeks, results showed a trend favoring breath therapy.

Study review on Massage.com

3. Mind-Body Treatments for the Pain-Fatigue-Sleep Disturbance Symptom Cluster in Persons with Cancer

STUDY RESULTS:

Imagery/hypnosis and CBT/CST interventions have produced improvement in all the three cancer-related symptoms individually: pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance. Relaxation has resulted in improvements in pain and sleep disturbance. Meditation interventions have demonstrated beneficial effects on fatigue and sleep disturbance. Music interventions have demonstrated efficacy for pain and fatigue. No trials were found that tested the mind-body interventions specifically for the pain-fatigue-sleep disturbance symptom cluster.

The Breath Empowerment
Monday, July 26th 6:45 - 8:15pm $20

This is one of the most intense and powerful breathing practices you will ever experience! It takes only 40 minutes, but your body feels the vibration for much longer as you achieve levels of relaxation and overall body wellness. One of the few physical exercises you can do that increases your body's alkalinity, this practice is extremely healing. Music and the instructor's voice are there to coach you through the whole process. Large amounts of Qi will enter your body and create a vibration, like an engine humming through your body. This sacred practice from India routinely produces profound experiences in people.

...about our BREATH WORKSHOPS

"I'm so happy that I attended last Sunday's 9 Breath Circle.  I enjoyed the small intimate group too and the community center is a beautiful space.  Thank you for having it there.  I am glad that my heart opened up during the breath empowerment.  Thank you again!"  Mia (Ocean Beach, CA)

When Alana suggested on Monday that we do our Yoga practice by candlelight, I thought, "How Romantic!" One hour later, drenched in sweat and somehow feeling defeated because I couldn't hold the balancing postures the way I normally can, Alana finally informed me that it is much harder to maintain balance by candlelight. So to that I said, "Hmmm... this smells like my next Newsletter!"

So all week, during my downtime at work, where 90% of the staff are scientists, I'm normally on the hunt for scientific studies about... well ANYTHING! So when I entered a search on balance, the computer spewed out this word: PROPRIOCEPTION. Yes, I too felt scared, unsure and little bit queasy at the sight of a word that I would most likely get wrong at a spelling bee. How in the world am I going to talk about something that I can't even pronounce? So I took three Qigong Breaths and immediately felt that, yes, anything is possible. (insert background music of the theme to "Chariots of Fire" here.)

Upon further research, I discovered the three words that can explain it all: "police sobriety test." Turns out that in that exercise where they make you close your eyes and touch your nose, they're testing for PROPRIOCEPTION! Holy Breath Empowerment, Batman! Proprioception is the balancing mechanism by which the body adjusts itself after physical movements. It's the internal guiding system our body has that says, "Yes, everything is in its right place." So, in addition to having one too many drinky-drinky, there are other factors that can impair our body's proprioception:

*neurological disorders
*severe drops in weight
*rapid weight gain
*cytotoxic factors such as chemotherapy
*severe alcohol intoxication
*increase/decrease in body muscle content due to bodybuilding, steroids or starvation
*fatigue
*gaining new levels of flexibility, stretching or contortion

So that last item really got me in such a tizzy, it made me dizzy! I mean what else do we do in Yoga but gain new levels of flexibility, stretching or, if you've seen Alana, contortion! In regular light, our body in this case depends on our kinesthetic function of visual balance to support us. But what about candlelight Yoga, when our vision is somewhat impaired? What other body modality can we count on to "balance" us?

The answer, my friends, is BREATH. Yes, that old in and out! Studies have shown that our body equilibrium is improved after breath training. So yes, breath is so much more than just the coming and going of air. It performs functions in our bodies that we may not even realize. To learn more, check out the studies we've listed on the left. To experience breath as a healing too, join us for our next Breath Empowerment as we continue to investigate the role of breath in our bodies and discover/practice techniques that we can integrate into our daily lives for health, relaxation, and we now know, balance.

"NOW AND AGAIN, IT IS NECESSARY TO SECLUDE YOURSELF AMONG DEEP MOUNTAINS AND HIDDEN VALLEYS TO RESTORE YOUR LINK TO THE SOURCE OF LIFE. BREATHE IN AND LET YOURSELF SOAR TO THE ENDS OF THE UNIVERSE; BREATHE OUT AND LET THE COSMOS BACK INSIDE. NEXT, BREATHE UP ALL THE FECUNDITY AND VIBRANCY OF THE EARTH. FINALLY, BLEND THE BREATH OF HEAVEN AND THE BREATH OF THE EARTH WITH THAT OF YOUR OWN, BECOMING THE BREATH OF LIFE ITSELF."

~Morihei Ueshiba Osensei, The Art of Peace

TRY THIS AT HOME!

The Water Element Meditation

During the winter (November through January), the energy of the Water element is at its highest; it is good to cultivate this part of you if you're looking for life strategies, to enhance your inner stillness and to become a better listener. It is also useful to meditate during this period if you're tonifying your bladder and kidneys.

1. Find a comfortable sitting position in which you can relax, spine is straight and your crown honors the heavens.

2. Visualize your breath moving downward through your body, filling up your lower abdomen first. This can be felt as the stomach extends outward like a buddha belly.

3. As you're inhaling, visualize that the air takes the form of a dark blue or indigo light, entering your body through the middle of the crown of your head and through the middle of your perineum, meeting at the lowest part of your abdomen, your lower dantien.

4. As you exhale slowly, focus the energy into your kidneys, seeing them shine with a dark blue or indigo light.

5. Repeat the breathing circuit, slowing your breath down as much as possible.

Variation:

The vibration of certain sounds activates specific organs in our body. For the kidneys, the sound is HEY; so say ONE LONG "HEY" as you exhale while you're focusing on the dark blue or indigo color until you run out of breath. Inhale and repeat with the next exhale.

A typical breath consultation involves:

Follow-up consultations involve: