Embryonic breathing - Preparation

[Rafael]

Hi

I just finished watching the embryonic breathing DVD.
I understood that the first stage would be to locate the center in the head with the help of humming and abdominal breathing.
Somewhere here in the forum i read that it is recommended to start with the practice of just abdominal breathing for 6 months.

What i'd like to understand in more detail is what exactly i should do as preparation for embryonic breathing and what would be an indication that i can step to the next stage.

I have never practiced qi gong before or breathing apart from 8 pieces for a week or so but there are times that i feel too weak to do even that.

I'll appreciate any practical advice as to how to procede from the preset point.

Thank you very much for your help.
Rafael

[lilman]

Wow, Im pretty sure your gonna get a hundred different answers to this question on this forum...

As far as Embryonic Breathing, I read the book, but have not seen the DVD. As far as humming to find the upperdantian, the reason I would think that would be on there is that it is important to first understand the what and why before the how. It is important to locate the 3 dantians and I'll say the 7 main gates. The 3 dantians are between the eyebrows and about an inch up, the middle dantian is behind the solar plexus, and the lowerdantian is about 3 inches below the bellybutton and 3 inches in. The 7 main gates I ever use in qigong are the middle of the bottom of the feet, the center of the palm of the hand, the hui yin which is a cavity between the genitals and the anus, the bai hui which is in the center of the crown of your head, and the ming men or gate of life, which is on the lower back behind your belly button...

Once you locate your gates, then focus on breathing exercises. You should learn how to do abdominal breathing, reversed abdominal breathing, 4 gates breathing, skin breathing, and all that until you can do it naturally. Then focus on relaxing and clearing your mind. As soon as you can do both correctly and whenever you want, THEN you can move on to embryonic breathing and other exercises. But thats just my suggestion. Others probably have a different view and may be right.

[Dvivid]

Rafael
If you feel weak now, try first doing the Standing 8 Brocades a few times a week for a few months. The more you practice, the stronger you'll get. Just breath slowly and deeply through the nose and try to relax as much as possible.

After you feel some benefit from this, proceeding through Embryonic breathing may be easier for you.

Before Embryonic breathing, it is recommended to try abdominal breathing and then reverse abdominal breathing each for a while until you have a 'feel' for both.

Enjoy your practice!

[joeblast]

imho....dont worry about where the upper dantien is, at least not for a good while, couple years even. before that it is only a distraction from foundational work you need to accomplish. you have tons of work to do well below it first, and this is one science that you cannot skip prerequisites. it would be like trying to go to calculus without having taken algebra!

locate the lower 'dantien'; you will easily have 6 months to a year of work to do, gaining sensitivity and stillness and the experiential meanings of it all along the way. also locate the huiyin and try do gain sensitivity/differentiate between your muscles there - huiyin, anus, prostate, perineum. work on the roots first!

in that 6-12 months, just concentrate on natural abdominal breathing. you wont be able to do reverse breathing correctly until you have done a ton of natural abdominal breathing and gain the requisite abdominal sensitivity, and you dont want to confuse your mind or body by flip flopping back and forth between the two in a session. work your breath until it is calm, soft, slender enough that you can reach a first breath milestone of ~30 seconds. there should be zero turbulence in your air passageways. once you can sit for an hour with breaths in that range, you will be astonished at the profoundness of what that simple bit will do for you. I've jumpstarted my metabolism on 3 separate occasions just by doing that.

dont be daunted by lengths of time for anything, for there is only now. there is only cultivating proper practice. just practice and enjoy practicing, dont worry about when the next step will be. pay attention to your body, gain sensitivity, and insights will come.

[lilman]

Thank you Joeblast. But to add to that, the reason I read it is important to identify the 3 dantians before practice is because if you have Qi buildup in those areas, you'll be aware. ie. Qi being lead to the middle and upper dantian too early or too much Qi in those areas can cause headaches for the upperdantian, and tightness in your solar plexus in the middle dantian. If you feel these you should correct it with massage and Qi storage exercises. When doing Embryonic breathing your mind should be on your lower dantian for storing Qi and on your belt channel when doing Qi expansion exercises. You should not move your mind to your middle dantian unless doing circulation practices such as small circulation and Kan and Li, and not your upper dantian unless doing small circulation or longevity meditiation or trying to open your third eye for other spiritual practices. And if you practice Qigong, you shouldnt focus on any center but your lower dantian until your dantian is full of Qi, and it starts cycling through small circulation naturally and strongly.

[joeblast]

True...(not disagreeing here)...but where the mind goes, the qi flows. If your mind, conscious, subconscious, is on the breath - then it will not be on your third eye (or elsewhere, for that matter.) Following natural abdominal breathing and keeping your mind on the ldt will naturally lead qi there; so if you do all of a sudden have a point open up, simply by keeping your mind on the breath, it will keep doing the very thing that made that point open up in the first place! 'Not paying attention to the scenery.' Stay on target for what your intended plan/goal for the session is.

That's one good reason to be learning this stuff from a master - the problem with books and DVDs is that you have access to so much information that you're basically allowed to see further down the path than you should be, making it not only easy to try and 'jump through your binoculars,' as it were, but also easy into deluding oneself with contrived 'landmarks.' (I know a dude that did the spiritual embryo thing, 3 years, 9 years thing....after 13 years...he has no idea where he went wrong. Saw a lot of landmarks, but...he's not there, far from it, knows it, is reevaluating everything...) Not to mention tough to decipher among the data which is the best path, which is your path, which is which, what belongs to what...

'Working Towards Enlightenment' by Master Nan, Huai-Chin is an excellent discourse on the deciphering of proper practice, attainment of not only wisdom and insight but realization as well.

"Stay on target!"
-Red One

[lilman]

So true Joeblast. The land mark thing happened to me. Luckily this forum and my teacher straightened me out. Now I am progressing more than I have been with my previous regimen now that Im not setting time specific goals and trying to force the land marks. Just a lot of Qigong, embryonic breathing, and about an hour of standing on stake a day.

[Rafael]

Hi everybody.

Thank you all for your replies.. I think i now have a better perspective of things..
Could you please provide some advice on how to practice abdominal breathing?

Thanks
Rafael

[Dvivid]

http://www.ymaa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=584&highlight=breathing

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...