Embryonic Breathing - Preparation for Small Circulation Practice (3/3)
This article is the last part of the “Breathing Techniques Series” which is meant to prepare the reader for the “Small Heavenly Cycle”.
The preceding articles in this series are “Normal Abdominal Breathing” and “Reversed Abdominal Breathing”-
Embryonic Breathing can be seen as the final progression before commencing the Small Circulation Practice (Xiao Zhou Tian). Your mind should be able to control your abdominal muscles and Huiyin (anus) naturally and habitually, without having to focus on this action directly. These first two techniques enable you to produce more Qi in your body. However,if you don’t know how to store this excess Qi in your body it will just be consumed (manifested) by the physical body. Embryonic breathing is a technique that allows you not only to cultivate, but also store Qi at the real lower Dan Tian, in the center of your abdomen.
Through this breathing technique you reactivate or highly increase the natural circulation of Qi which is associated with this “primordial breath” that a fetus has inside the womb. This primordial “breath” is the intake of essential nutrients through the umbilical cord which is deeply connected to the expansion and contraction, (“pumping motion”) of the abdominal area and the Huiyin cavity. Through diligent practice you will be able to remember embryonic breathing, we all inherited it, yet forgot about it. When you practice embryonic breathing, the physical breathing process becomes increasingly more subtle and at times seems to cease completely. You will be able to tap into “the sea of Qi”, the area of the real lower Dan Tian and Mingmen and draw life-force energy directly from it.
The purpose of the Yijin Jing postures is to increase the quantity of Qi to an abundant level, and then manifest it to the physical body for strength and longevity. This is the Yang part of the practice. The Yin side is Xisui Jing Qigong (Marrow/Brain Washing Qigong) which is purifying the mind and improving the usage of the Qi to maximum efficiency. The ultimate goal of Xisui Jing is leading Qi to the brain, raising the spirit and reaching enlightenment. Most of us are practicing the Yijin Jing for health reasons, longevity or to improve our martial arts. Even though eventually we might decide to approach the Xisui Jing for further spiritual cultivation, it does not play an essential part in achieving these goals for practice. However, to practice effectively and maintain a good balance, we will need to consider the Yin side of practice which starts with the small circulation meditation and therefore with embryonic breathing.
If you know how to produce Qi at the abdominal area, but don’t know how to lead it inward and store it at the Real Dan Tian, your practice is only emphasizing the Yang side of the Muscle/Tendon Changing Qigong. Although you can increase the quantity of Qi and harvest many positive benefits, it will continue to be consumed and you will not be able to store your Qi abundantly or reach the goal of spiritual enlightenment. Through remembering the embryonic breath and increasing our natural bio-electric circuitry in the body, we can add the Yin side to our practice and effectively store Qi in the Dan Tian and further our spiritual cultivation alongside improving health, strength, martial power, and longevity.
To store the excess Qi you need to learn how to keep your mind at the real lower Dan Tian so the Qi will not be led away from its residence.
At the same time you will produce more Qi in the body through abdominal breathing and the Yijin Jing postures. When you keep your Yi (wisdom mind) at the real lower Dan Tian, your Qi will accumulate there, be conserved and your bodies functions can be regulated efficiently. If your mind is not on your Dan Tian, the stored Qi will be led out of it’s residence and consumed (manifested) in the physical body.
If you studied my article about the Dan Tian, you know that the front of the abdomen is called the “false Dan Tian”. Although you can generate and accumulate Qi in this area, it will immediately flow into the Conception and Governing vessel. (The 2 main Qi vessels along the centre line of the front and back of your body.) This means it enters your natural bio-electric circuitry and flows through your Qi channels to be used in the physical body. In order to store the Qi you need to use embryonic breathing and keep your mind (Yi) on the real lower Dan Tian (2 to 3 inches below the navel and inward, in front of the Mingmen). Naturally you will first need to locate the real lower Dan Tian.
Once you have developed a smooth and natural normal and reversed abdominal breathing, you can approach learning embryonic breathing in 4 steps:
You first need to regulate your body and achieve a very relaxed state. Release all the tension in your body. Wherever your muscles are tense, Qi will be consumed. Of course this involves your abdominal muscles as well.
The second step involves the breathing. Your breathing should be slender, long and relaxed. You need to be very confident about the movement of your abdomen during your abdominal breathing. Your coordinate of the breath with the movement of the abdomen and Huiyin should be smooth and natural and not create any tension. Eventually your breath will become very soft and you might feel like you don’t need to physically breathe at all.
The third step of embryonic breathing involves locating the Yin centre (in your head, Upper Dan Tian) and the Yang centre in your real lower Dan Tian. From my experience, reversed abdominal breathing will make it easier to locate your Yang centre. As you inhale your abdomen withdraws in the front and at the same time the Mingmen withdraws inward from the back. By focusing on the abdominal area in the front and the lower back area at the same time, you will possibly be able to sense the centre point within a few days or weeks of practice. It is important to coordinate with the up-down movement of the Huiyin cavity. Eventually, once you are able to keep the mind in the real lower Dan Tian naturally, you will also need to focus on the Yin centre of the Upper Dan Tian. Your Shen (spirit) resides in the Upper Dan Tian and the Qi in the lower Dan Tian. They can not be separated and correspond with each other. By focusing on the Yin and Yang centre at the same time you will be able to raise your spirit and achieve a focused yet calm and peaceful state of mind, all while accumulating Qi in the real lower Dan Tian through reversed abdominal breathing.
The final stage of embryonic breathing is bringing the Shen down to unite with the Qi in the real lower Dan Tian. This is called “unification of Shen and Qi.” When this happens your Qi will stay at its residence and can be stored to a very high level. Your Shen and Qi, the Upper Dan Tian and real lower Dan Tian are like the 2 polarities of your central energy line in the body. Through unifying them into one singularity you will create the “Wuji state” (state of nothingness).
You can see that embryonic breathing involves many different steps. It requires a well developed sense of body-awareness and natural, habitual abdominal breathing that is well coordinated with the up-down movement of the Huiyin cavity. You need to be able to locate and correctly feel your lower and Upper Dan Tian centres. Finally, you will need to keep your mind in the centre of the real lower Dan Tian which requires a very calm, yet focused mind. It is important that you are very self-observant and honest to yourself in regards to practice. Start with normal and then reversed abdominal breathing. Don’t set yourself any deadlines as to when to achieve a certain level or technique and simply practice consistently and let things unfold naturally. Enjoy the process and bliss during your meditation. Don’t force anything. Feel deeply into your body and only proceed to the next step when you are confident. It is always best to practice with an experienced teacher who can guide you and discuss your sensations or assess your progress.
The extensive Yijin Ying course includes detailed instruction videos with a step-by-step guide to master this breathing technique.
