A tai chi joke - Student: “Master, what is the secret to a long life?” Master: “Keep breathing as long as you can!”
Ancient Chinese medicine and qigong exercises teach one to breathe from their t’antian or dantian (pronounced dahn-tee-en), located about three finger widths below the navel. It is a form of deep breathing from the abdomen (sometimes referred to as diaphragmatic breathing or a belly breath). The dantian is considered the energy center, the center of balance and gravity and the focal breathing point. Learning to breathe from this area engages the deep stabilizer muscles of the core. It is the foundation of rooted standing, efficient breathing and body awareness. The ability to control breathing is crucial to being able to function energetically.
The practice of tai chi involves absorbing and delivering energy. Tai chi breathing principles teach that when energy is absorbed, that is the natural time for inhalation and when energy is delivered, that is the natural time for exhalation. It is not necessary to link every movement specifically with the breath. Balance the basic principles of focused movement and awareness of breath to achieve health benefits.
SilverSneakers EnerChi does not recommend specifically cueing a breathing pattern for every form and exercise. Guide participants to focus on practicing the form correctly, with a relaxed body and bent knees, and to breathe naturally. Attention to the more focused aspects of tai chi breathing will come with continued practice.
SilverSneakers class safety guidelines recommend providing three opportunities to coach breathing during class. During the warm-up segment of class, introduce breathing from the dantian. Practice with warm-up exercises. Breathing exercises introduced in the warm-up may be taught and practiced from a standing position with the chair an arm’s distance away to provide standing support and stability. New exercisers or participants concerned about lightheadedness or dizziness during breathwork may feel more comfortable practicing from a seated position.
With practice of movement and posture, understanding breath from the dantian will begin to follow. Focused breathing will become part of the fluidity and unity of movement.
Importance of the Exhalation
Exhalation is the most important part of a breathing exercise. A complete exhalation is essential for transporting impurities and toxins from the lungs. Learning to “let go” with a complete exhalation allows you to receive more energy.
A breathing exercise to practice during the relaxation segment, emphasizing focus on the exhalation, is to have participants breathe in deeply for a count of five and exhale deeply for a count of eight to 10. Coach participants to count to themselves and breathe from their dantian.
Put it into Practice: Open and Close
Tai chi principles teach opening and closing forms to store and deliver internal energy. Opening movements are natural places for a deeper inhalation while closing movements are opportunities for more focused exhalation. An example is in the form Open and Close where the arms and hands open wide and then come back in. The action of moving hands wide is an opening movement and provides an opportunity for focused inhalation, while the action of moving hands back to center is a closing movement with focus on the exhalation.
Watch the video below. Follow along and practice the exercise several times, keeping in mind the breathing principles you’ve learned in this lesson. To master the form, continue to practice on your own.
Paying attention to how we breathe and improving breath efficiency with movement improves overall quality of life. Less restricted, mindful breathing at a higher volume may lead to a longer life. Constricted breathing, on the other hand, may contribute to stress and illness. Healthy breathing patterns are associated with improved cognitive function as we age. (The Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Attention, Negative Affect and Stress in Healthy Adults; 2017).