The Tao of Natural Breathing (22 page)

Closed:
One feels unbalanced, heavy, and hopeless. One feels that the past is a prison, and that one is under the sway of many unconscious fears.

Opened:
One feels light and balanced. One feels that the past is a resource that can be drawn upon for a deeper understanding of and engagement with life.

Kidney Center

The kidney center is located between the second and third lumbar vertebrae of the spine. You can find this point by putting your finger on your spine opposite the navel, and then bending forward at this point. The vertebra that protrudes the most marks the area of the kidney center. Called the door of life, or the mingmen, this center is where our prenatal vitality, our sexual essence, is stored.

Closed:
One feels fear and a lack of balance. One also feels a lack of vital energy.

Opened:
One experiences feelings of openness, abundance, and generosity.

Adrenal Center

The adrenal center (T11), located between the eleventh and twelfth thoracic vertebrae opposite the solar plexus, lies between the two adrenal glands which sit on top of the kidneys. The adrenal glands, which produce adrenaline and noradrenaline as well as a variety of other hormones, are the primary energy source for the sympathetic nervous system, and are activated whenever there is stress and the instinctive “fight or flight” response.

Closed:
One feels either hyper or listless. Old fears can return and begin to shape our experience and behavior.

Opened:
One feels a sense of vitality and confidence.

Center Opposite the Heart

This center, which is located between the fifth and sixth thoracic vertebrae between the shoulder blades, has a close relationship with the functioning of the heart and thymus gland.

Closed:
One feels a sense of burden and hopelessness. One also feels a sense of chaos.

Opened:
One has a feeling of freedom, as well as a deep-felt sense of living.

Center Opposite the Throat

This center, located just below the seventh cervical vertebra (C7), is the central junction box where the energies, nerves, and tendons from the upper and lower parts of the body meet. Any blockage of this center restricts the flow of energy up the spine to the higher centers in the head. You can easily find this point by bending your head forward; the vertebra that protrudes the most is C7.

Closed:
One feels disconnected from both oneself and others. One feels a sense of stubbornness and inappropriateness.

Opened:
One feels able to embrace both oneself and others with humanity.

Small Brain Center

Sometimes called the jade pillow, this center lies above the first cervical vertebra in the hollow at the base of the skull. This center includes the cerebellum and medulla oblongata, which help control muscle coordination, as well as respiration and heartbeat. For the Taoist, this center is a storage place for the earth force and for refined sexual energy.

Closed:
One feels dullness, burden, and suffocation. One may also experience neck pain.

Opened:
One feels inspired.

Crown Center

This center is at the top of the head, where an imaginary line from the top of one ear to the top of the other intersects with the midline of the head. This center has a special relationship with the pineal gland, as well as with the thalamus and the hypothalamus. The crown center is connected with the central nervous system, as well as with the sensory/motor system.

Closed:
One may fall under the influence of illusions or delusions, losing oneself either in a false sense of pride or the feeling of being a victim. One may have erratic mood swings and headaches.

Opened:
One radiates a deep happiness, and feels that one is receiving guidance from higher forces.

Pituitary Center

This center, sometimes called the third eye, lies midway between the eyebrows approximately three inches inside the skull. This center produces hormones that govern a wide range of bodily functions. The Taoists believe that this center is the home of the spirit.

Closed:
One feels a lack of aim, of decisiveness. The mind wanders and is unable to make decisions.

Opened:
One feels a sense of real purpose, as well as a sense of direct knowing, of intuition.

Throat Center

This center, which includes the thyroid and parathyroid glands, is located in the V-like space at the bottom of the throat just above the sternum. The functions of this center include speech, dreaming, the production of growth hormones, and the regulation of the metabolism.

Closed:
One feels choked up and unwilling or unable to communicate or to change.

Opened:
One is able to communicate clearly, even eloquently, and one’s dreams are more lucid.

Heart Center

From an energetic standpoint, the heart center is between the nipples in men, and approximately one inch up from the bottom of the sternum in women. The opening to the heart center is very small, so this center can be easily blocked or congested. The heart center governs not only the heart but also the thymus gland, which is an important part of our immunological system.

Closed:
One feels any one of a variety of negative emotions, including arrogance, self-pity, impatience, and hatred.

Opened:
One feels joy, love, patience, honesty, and respect for oneself and others.

Solar Plexus Center

This center is about three-quarters of the way up between the navel and the bottom of the sternum. This center is related to several organs, including the stomach, spleen, pancreas, and liver. It is in the cauldron of the solar plexus that Taoists believe that the sexual energy (ching) and life-force energy (chi) are transformed into spiritual energy (shen). Mantak Chia believes that although it is important for the solar plexus center to be opened, “if it is too open, one may be overly sensitive to the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of others, to the point of being unable to shut off mental and emotional static when in the company of others.”
⁶²

Closed:
One feels panic and worry. One is overly cautious.

Opened:
One feels a sense of inner freedom, and the ability to take risks on behalf of oneself or others.

NOTES

1
P. D. Ouspensky,
In Search of the Miraculous
(New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1949), p. 387.

2
Karlfried Durckheim,
Hara: The Vital Center of Man
(London: George Allen & Unwin, 1970), pp. 154-55.

3
Of course, hyperventilation can be a powerful tool in the work of transformation. On pages 170-184 of Stanislov Grof’s book
The Adventure of Self-Discovery
(New York: State University of New York Press, 1988), the author, a well-known psychiatrist and founder of “holotropic therapy,” points out that sustained hyperventilation helps to loosen psychological defenses and bring about a “profound emotional release and physical relaxation.” Grof believes that this occurs not just through the traditional psychiatric mechanism of catharsis, but also because hyperventilation brings to the surface “deep tensions” in the form of “lasting contractions and prolonged spasms ... that consume enormous amounts of pent-up energy.” In Grof’s framework, it is the eventual burning up of this energy through these sustained contractions and spasms that brings about psychophysical transformation. This is usually intensely emotional work, and the person undertaking it may require a great deal of individual therapeutic attention. What’s more, according to Grof, since hyperventilation initially amplifies and makes manifest the various psychophysical tensions in the organism, it is important to continue this form of breathing until resolution and release take place. As fascinating and important as Grof’s work is, it is my intent in this book to show how it is possible to rediscover our natural, authentic breath in the ordinary conditions of life, without the need for psychiatric help. I will not, therefore, explore the therapeutic techniques of hyperventilation any further.

4
See, for example,
The Jade Emperor’s Mind Seal Classic: A Taoist Guide to Health, Longevity and Immortality,
trans. Stuart Alve Olson (St. Paul: Dragon Door Publications, 1992), pp. 69-71.

5
Lao Tzu,
The Complete Works of Lao Tzu,
trans. Ni, Hua-Ching (Santa Monica, Calif.: Seven Star Communications, 1989), p. 14.

6
This “ultradian” rhythm, long observed by medical science, is related to the functioning of the brain hemispheres and can play an important role in healing. When the left nostril is more open, the right hemisphere of the brain is generally more dominant; when the right nostril is more open, the left hemisphere is generally more dominant. One can intentionally open a nostril that is more congested and thus make the other hemisphere more active by lying down on one’s side with the congested nostril above and continuing to breathe through the nose. If one is feeling out of sorts or has a headache, trying this experiment for 15 or 20 minutes can often bring relief.

7
Swami Rama, Rudolph Ballentine, and Alan Hymes,
Science of Breath: A Practical Guide
(Honesdale, Pa.: Himalayan Institute, 1979), p. 41.

8
It is interesting to note that some diseases, such as diabetes, can increase the acidity of the blood without increasing carbon dioxide. Since the respiratory center is unable to differentiate the cause of this increase in acidity, it automatically increases the breath rate.

9
Even people with severe pulmonary problems can quickly benefit from work with breathing. In experiments at Shanghai No. 2 Tuberculosis Hospital, 27 people with pulmonary emphysema were able to increase the average range of their diaphragmatic movement from 2.8 centimeters at the beginning of their treatment to 4.9 centimeters after a year of training—an increase in diaphragmatic movement of more than 57 percent. The results are reported in
300 Questions on Qigong Exercises
(Guangzhou, China: Guandong Science and Technology Press, 1994), p. 257.

10
Mantak Chia, private paper.

11
See, for example, Charles Brooks,
Sensory Awareness: The Rediscovery of Experiencing
(New York: Viking Press, 1974).

12
Ilse Middendorf,
The Perceptible Breath: A Breathing Science
(Paderborn, Germany: Junfermann-Verlag, 1990).

13
Rollo May,
Love and Will
(New York: Dell Publishing Company, 1974), p. 237.

14
See, for example, Royce Flippin, “Slow Down, You Breathe Too Fast,”
American Health: Fitness of Body and Mind,
Vol. 11, No. 5 (June 1992) .

15
For a further explanation of neuropeptides, see Candace Pert, “The Chemical Communicators,” in Bill Moyers,
Healing and the Mind
(New York: Doubleday, 1993) pp. 177-94.

16
See, for example, Lawrence Steinman, “Autoimmune Disease,”
Scientific American
, September 1993 (Special Issue on “Life, Death, and the Immune System”).

17
Ernest Lawrence Rossi,
The Psychobiology of Mind-Body Healing
(New York: Norton, 1988), pp. 173-74.

18
Another effective way to turn on the parasympathetic nervous system is through special movement and awareness practices such as tai chi and chi kung. Among many other benefits, these practices can help release unnecessary tension in the back, especially in the spine, where the main neurons of the central nervous system reside. It is my experience that people with frequent lower back pain are often the same people who have trouble not only relaxing but even admitting that they need to relax. When carried out in the correct way, tai chi and chi kung increase relaxation not only by making the spine more flexible, but also through the deeper breathing that they promote.

19
For further information on the subject of anger, see David Sobel and Robert Ornstein, “Defusing Anger and Hostility,”
Mental Medicine Update:

The Mind/Body Newsletter,
Vol. 4, No. 3 (1995).

20
Moshe Feldenkrais,
The Potent Self: A Guide to Spontaneity
(San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985), p. 95.

21
Peter Nathan,
The Nervous System
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982), p. 48.

22
See James Wyckoff,
Wilhelm Reich: Life Force Explorer
(Greenwich, Conn.: Fawcett Publications, 1973).

23
See Moyers’s book,
Healing and the Mind,
particularly the interview with David Eisenberg on the subject of chi (p. 255).