Relaxing Into Your Being, A Review and Recommendation

 Relaxing into Your Being is one of two books on Taoist Meditation that Taoist Lineage Master Bruce Frantzis published in the late 1990s.  This book, and The Great Stillness, introduce how to apply the water method when one meditates.  This method uses the breath and a technique called "dissolving" to help connect one's intention with energetic blockages that can be sensed in the body.   Dissolving practice helps release and relax physical and emotional  blockages, and it subsequently deepens inner awareness to deeper levels.

Meditation Exercises in the Book

In the twelve practices provided in the Relaxing book, the first nine prepare the mind and body to develop continuous awareness and the ability to feel within the body.  Dissolving practices are introduced before the fifth exercise so that practitioners can begin to clear and strengthen their energy channels for deeper work that releases repressed emotions.  This processes could be called "clearing the Red Dust."

Intermediate practices involve breathing with the kidneys, upper back breathing and breathing energy into the dantien.  Being able to advance to this stage requires diligent practice in learning how to sense and relax internally.  At this stage, you can encounter and neutralize attachments (positive or negative), traumas and your internal demons.  Stillness comes, making it possible to see where these polarities are produced. 

Other exercises introduced in the book are standing meditation and awareness exercises for the lower half of the body.  One of the exercises is the introductory or commencement move of Wu style T'ai Chi.  These exercises are used to help increase body awareness and they complement the static meditation exercises.  I highly recommend doing all of the exercises.

Consequences of Taoist Meditation

A stream in Northern Costa Rica.

These meditation practices develop conscious awareness to the point of being in the "now," or being aware of that slippery thing known as consciousness.   Reaching this point, you can develop an awareness of the Mindstream which contains subtle manifestations of the seven energy bodies.  Intermediate and advanced practitioners then practice inner dissolving to release these subtle energies which manifest by creating gaps in awareness of the Mindstream.  Inner peace nurtures one intermittently during the process and can help motivate you along the way.

Frantzis talks about the deeper challenges of meditation near the end of the book.  The fear of ru ding, or loss of the ego, occurs when one is in the deep into advanced stages of their practice.  One has to be tenacious to surmount this obstacle.  Also, a form of spiritual egotism can manifest when one develops knowledge of energy manifestation.  If one can maintain inner strength and not give in to power trips, these problems do not get in the way of enlightenment, or the unification of your being with the Tao.

A Testimonial for Relaxing Into Your Being

Jane Alexander wrote a review of this book that ended saying, "The practice of the material within its pages totally changed my life around and gave me a reason to live."  One cannot give a better recommendation than that.  In the web article, she outlines some of the contents of Frantzis's book and even wrote a book about her recovery from PTSD and depression, Possessing Me: A Memoir of Healing.
 

Simple Qigong Exercise Set Stops Parkinson's Disease Symptoms

The video below by Cheyne Towers shows three simple qigong exercises. Cheyne goes through each move showing the mechanics for doing the movements.  At the end of the video there is testimony from a practitioner on how his shaking from Parkinson's Disease has stopped since he began his qigong practice.

I would add the following four tips to consider as part of the exercise set for more advanced practitioners:

1.) In the first exercise, the right and left hands need to be aligned with the right and left extraordinary channels of the torso as the hands are moving downward. As the hands move up, there can also be a vertical opening of the kwa, or inguinal crease at the hip and groin area. As the hands move down the body, the kwa closes.

2.) Turning at the waist, or kwa, should be a part of exercises 2 and 3, where there is movement to the sides. If you are turning your torso and not twisting it, you will move into the kwa as you move from side to side. The knees should stay stationary, but you will note that the muscles of the thighs will twist.  Having someone hold your knees will help you develop awareness of when they move and an awareness as to how much you can move before the knees move.  Over time, you will be able to move further into the kwa and the muscles of the upper thigh will twist outwards. 

3.) Aim towards performing the movements smoothly, slowly and without any jerky or mechanical-like motions.  When first beginning, the movements will be uncoordinated and less fluid, but once you know the moves, this will be the time to work on developing fluidity and continuity.

4.) Breathe naturally and abdominally. The movements are not coordinated with the breath; but even, relaxed breathing with the diaphragm should occur without any holding. If it helps, visualize the breathing as being like a wheel moving, never pausing at the beginning of inhalation or at the beginning of exhalation. If diaphragmatic breathing is something you need to learn, check out Stages in Abdominal Breathing

Many Parkinson's sufferers have reported a reduction in symptoms as a result of taking up qigong practice. Several studies have been summarized on the World Tai Chi and Qigong Day web site. It is one of the many types of diseases that improve due to qigong exercise. A variety of qigong exercise sets, as well as Tai chi styles, can confer these health improvement results. The great benefit of qigong exercises is that simple exercise sets can confer so many health benefits. For those with mobility problems, qigong and t'ai chi can also be done in a chair.  A book that illustrates how to do t'ai chi in a chair is shown below.  Good instructors will be able to teach how to adapt qigong exercises for those with limited mobility.

Qigong Breathing Methods

There are two sites that I recommend which describe the first two stages in learning qigong breathing methods. The first is Following the Breath. This is where you learn to relax, allow distractions to disperse and then focus your intent. Some teachers would call this stage "training the monkey mind." The second step is to gradually work on the Stages in Abdominal Breathing. This blog entry describes the process of learning normal abdominal breathing.

Reverse abdominal breathing is an advanced method of Taoist respiration practiced by martial artists who practice tai chi chuan, ba gua and martial forms of qigong.  It is also used as a meditative technique for gathering qi in the dantien and increasing your total life force, making it of great utility in healing and disease prevention.

It is good to intellectually know these different methods and the sequence for learning them.  However, it is important to not leap forward before you have significant experience with the lower levels.  Thus, learning of reverse breathing should only occur after having some experience in the first two methods.  Be comfortable with each stage for at least a month before proceeding to the next stage.  Patience in learning these breathing methods will serve your progress well.

Qigong Breathing Exercises for the Lungs and Five Element Theory

The Five Elements and the Diurnal CycleThere are specific qigong exercises, three that are mentioned here, that help bolster the energy of the lungs when they are deficient in qi. Disorders that are indicators of deficient lung qi include asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, and various causes of shortness of breath (dyspnea). Respiratory exercises are important to increase the flow and movement into the tissues of new qi, and to correspondingly allow the stagnant qi to leave.

Using the Five Element Theory to Help Heal the Lungs

According to the five element theory in medical qigong, when your lungs are deficient in qi, your overall energy is less because the lungs feed the kidneys with qi.  In order to improve the lung qi, you need to nourish the qi in your spleen and allow it to move to the lungs.  One way of doing this is to visualize the color yellow and the sound "who" during inhaling.  Take in the yellow-colored qi into the spleen (which is in front of the left kidney in the middle of the body).  You can also visualize the elements associated with the spleen and lungs: earth and metal, respectively.  Do this 9 or 18 times, and afterward, visualize the qi moving to both of your lungs while breathing normally and relaxed.  Let it move and do not force it.  Do this 2-3 times a day when you are challenged by any of the disorders mentioned above.  Beginners should use 9 repetitions.

The color for the qi of the lungs is white and the sound is "Tzzzzzz."  Breathe in the color white for the healing energy of this color, and on the exhale make the sound to allow the vibration to release toxic qi within the lung tissue.  You may do this 9 or 18 times.

Either of the above exercises can be done lying down, sitting or in a standing wuji posture.  When doing the sitting or standing posture, maintain an erect but supple spine and suspend the head from the neck, tilting it slightly down to open up the occipital area.


Finishing Standing Exercise for Tonifying and Clearing the Lung Channels

This exercise is done standing.  Stand with the feet parallel and shoulder width apart and assume a relaxed wuji posture.  Inhale and move the arms out to the side of the body and arch backwards slightly, inhaling the white qi.    On the exhale, bend down (to your comfort level) and bring the arms down, swinging and crossing them back and forth while breathing out and making the lung sound.  On the inhale, bring the hands up the legs and body, following the right extraordinary channel with the right hand (palm up), and the left channel with the left hand.  When the hands reach the nipples, make a beak hand (all fingers and the thumb are connected) and extend the arms outward following the lung channel down the arm to the thumbs.  When the arms are fully extended, open the beak hand with the palm upwards and thumb back, and exhale.  Repeat the movement 9-18 times.  For beginners, start with less repetitions.

 Note: The Taoist method of breathing (in qigong and tai chi) that is most common for healing is normal abdominal breathing.  In this type of breathing, the diaphragm drops and allows the lungs to fill with new air.  You will know if you are doing it right if your belly and sides of the body move outward when inhaling.  On the exhale, the diaphragm relaxes and allows stagnant air to leave.  Correspondingly, the belly contracts when exhaling.  Also note that, in healing exercises, the inhalation is through the nose and exhalation is through the mouth and it is not forced.  Inhale and exhale at only 70-80% of your capacity.

Qigong Meditation

"Qigong meditation" is a redundant phrase, because if you are doing qigong, your are engaging in a form of meditation. Static meditation postures are probably more familiar to most, sitting cross-legged or in a chair. In the qigong tradition, there are also static standing postures, or zhan zhuang.

The principles used in static meditations are carried into the movement forms, where practitioners observe tranquility and maintain internal awareness to become familiar with the emptiness within movement and the interplay between yin and yang energies as they practice the forms.

A meditative mindset is aided in the movement forms by focusing on centering the movements from the lower dantien and by doing them in a mindfully - mindful of the physical movements and how they are being performed, the state of mind, the internal aspects including the energy flow and the breathing.

Meditation can be done on a single physical aspect of a movement over fixed periods of time so that one makes stepwise improvement in awareness and ability, much in the way that sitting meditations often focus on a single aspect, such as following the breath.  Once this is mastered, one can progress to a more advanced practice like abdominal breathing. In moving practices, repeating a movement oven and over is helpful, but it is also helpful to focus on one aspect of a movement, such as movement from a single part of the body like the wrists or elbows.

Another aspect of Qigong Meditation in the Water Tradition is that there is no force.  Force has no role within this tradition, rather, it can hinder your progress.  Use your intention in a gentle fashion to bring you back to your practice when distractions occur. Return back to your central point of meditation.  

So, if you are doing qigong and you aren't meditating (or focusing in a relaxed manner), you are just dancing or doing free-form movement. Not that this wouldn't improve your health or result in healing (it would help with flexibility and mobility at least) but it does not include the internal aspects of meditation and energy development that are the principle benefits of Chinese qigong practice.

Qigong Healing Through Breath Exercises

A fundamental reason why qigong healing occurs is abdominal breathing. Just from a mechanical perspective, when you breathe using your diaphragm fully, this natural breathing method that we are borne with allows a massage of your organs in your abdominal area. And, because the pericardium is attached to the diaphragm, there is also a massage of the heart. If you can breathe deeply without forced effort and allow the diaphragm to drop and relax when you inhale, then it is also an indication that you are relaxed. Chest breathing, on the other hand, implies that there is restricted movement of the diaphragm and that you are using intercostal (between the rib) muscles to help you breathe. Those who can only do this type of breathing, breathe with more tension and are more prone to upper body muscular aches and pains.

You can check in with yourself to see if you are doing abdominal breathing by placing one hand on the upper chest and one on the belly.  As you inhale, the belly should move out due to the diaphragm movement.  The chest should be still.  If it isn't, you will need to relax the muscles of the ribcage and allow it to drop downward. Once the chest muscles are relaxed, the diaphragm can do its natural work.

Initially, it is easiest to lie down to learn this practice.  Some people even put books on the abdomen to help keep them aware of the movement of the belly during respiration.  Once this breathing method is mastered lying down, you can progress to a seated posture.  When seated, it is important to maintain an erect posture and to sit on the edge of a chair or on a meditation cushion.  Later, if you do standing meditation, you can extend your practice in that posture.  The goal is to master this type of breathing through all of your Taoist exercises, whether it be qigong, Tai Chi or Ba Gua.  Integrating this natural, Taoist breathing method is part of the Way towards practicing the totally in the Tao.  For a short article outlining further qigong breathing methods, read Yang Jwing-Ming's book on Embryonic Breathing.