BREATHING AND BUDO: Part II

Now, let us examine a simple breathing process borrowed form Tai Chi. This will allow you to release stress, relax, and to be more aware of ki.

1. 
   Breathe from your nose instead of your mouth, If you cannot do this because of congestion (a cold, flue, sinusitis, allergies, or a structural blockage), then breathe in and out through your mouth.


2. 
   Keep your tongue on the roof of hour mouth, behind your teeth on the hard palate.
   Do not hold your breath.


3. 
   Breathe in deeply.


4. 
   Relax the chest and breathe with the abdomen. This will strengthen your diaphragm and enable air to move more more efficiently. Do not stick your chest out or use the front of your chest to breathe.


5. 
   Use each breath to consciously relax your body. Initially use exhalation to focus releasing the tension in your body and nerves. Over time, do the same with inhalations.


6. 
   As the abdomen relaxes, allow the breath to put deeper and deeper pressure on your internal organs.

This will take practice and time, but the benefits to you are well worth the time and effort.
Next time we will discuss a Zen variation of what we have discussed today.
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Copyright Hayato Tokugawa, Aoi Tokugawa, Sekishinkan Tokugawa Dojoe & Takayama Budokai.

BREATHING AND BUDO

In whatever form of Budo or martial arts you may practice, there should always be a focus and emphasis placed on consciously controlling one’s breathing. Breathing is essential to life as well as to the purification of body, mind, and spirit; indeed, breathing connects both our physical selves with our emotional selves. In Budo, students (especially) will end to hold their breath. Actually, if you care to think about it and admit it to yourself, we all are guilty of this from time to time. This is both a reaction to stress as well as a bi-product of concentrating almost too hard on technique. It is often a failing of many dojo and sensei, that proper breathing techniques, and coordination of breathing with movement are not taught or only lightly touched upon. Breathing creates a connection and a joining of both our mind and our body, which must be one if we are to succeed at our art.

In the next few days, we will look a bit at breathing and try to learn some good and useful breathing techniques, particularly derived from Tai Chi, which have direct application to us as Budo-ka.

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.Copyright w008 by Hayato Tokugawa, Aoi Tokugawa, Sekishinkan Tokugawa Dojo, & Takayama Budokai. All rights reserved.