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Chi Breath
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Visualization and Philosophy
As you prepare to start Chi Breath, imagine an energetic vessel in the shape of a large cylinder standing upright directly in front of you. Imagine that this vessel is the primary corridor for the flow of chi (life energy) through your body. During the inhale, as your arms rise up from your sides with the palms up, allow them to gather as much fresh chi as they can. At their highest point turn the palms over and pull them down. Imagine them pushing the fresh chi that you just gathered down through the energetic vessel. Allow this flow of chi to clear the vessel of old energy and replace it with new, invigorating energy. The old energy will flow to the ground and be absorbed.
Purpose/ Benefits
The purposes of practicing Chi Breath is to improve lung function and increase relaxation. The is done by bringing air all the way to the bottom of the lungs on each inhale. There are 3 aspects.
1) Completely filling the lungs helps to keep them healthy and active. When the lungs are not fully utilized, they become more susceptible to infection and disease.
2) As the inhale becomes deeper, more air is brought into the lungs. This provides the lungs with more oxygen available to process on each breath. With more oxygen available, breathing can slow down. Lung function will improve and provide the blood with an increased amount of oxygen. This, in turn, allows the heart rate to slow down as well. Together, these things create an environment where the heart and lungs don't have to work quite as hard and the body is more relaxed.
3) The audible sigh on each exhale triggers a physiological response that calms the body. It activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the "rest and digest" response, leading to a slowing of the heart rate, a drop in blood pressure, and a reduction in stress hormones.