HEALTH QIGONG BREATHING

Breath Work - Health Qigong Breathing

In this difficult time of Covid19, I would like to provide you with some information on the health benefits of good breathing practice and exercise.

My introduction to breathing practice came when I was a shotokan karate student and trained with a Sensei (Master) who introduced Qigong Breathing into our practice. This was when I became very much interested in the effects of breath work and the overall benefit to health.

From the time we are born until the time we die breathing is happening every second of the day and night, a continuous motion of inhale and exhale.

Most of us spend our time without even thinking about our breathing, we simply allow it to happen in any way it wants. Our breathing can be gentle or forceful, deep or shallow, long breaths or short breaths, it varies depending on the demand from our mind and body. Breathing affects every single cell in our body, so it is important to find a good practice method for your breathing, which may eventually become a way of life, and allow you to become more aware of how you breathe.

Some important key words relating to an exercise for refining your breath: •Gentle - Your breathing should be very soft, if you placed one feather one inch in front of your nose your breathing should not move it! •Slow - Most people normally breathe at more than 16 breaths per minute (bpm).

Slowing down your breathing brings you more into the alpha state of meditation. You need to achieve a first target of 6bpm. •Smooth - The transition from the inhale to the exhale and exhale to inhale should be smooth with the slightest of pauses between the inhale and exhale. •Even - The rate of air going in and out should be even.

Keith Fensom is the proprietor of Yangsheng Tai Chi - see advert page 21.