Detailed explanation of abdominal breathing: breathe to the umbilicus, longevity and Tianqi!


The way we breathe is to open and close the ribcage of the chest, which drives the whole lung to move, and absorbs air into the lungs for absorption and expulsion. If you have a heart, you can observe the child, when the child is breathing, the chest opens and closes at the same time, and the lower abdomen is also a volt together, this method is called abdominal breathing.

In ancient Chinese health preservation, there is a famous saying called "Breathe to the umbilicus, longevity and heaven". In other words, if the breath can be deep to the navel, the life span is very long, and this deep breathing method is very positive for health.

The so-called "abdominal breathing" is the use of the abdomen to assist breathing. In the "Essentials of Cultivating Age" written by Leng Qian, a health practitioner in the Ming Dynasty, there is: "When you suck, you will mention, and the qi will return to the navel for a long time, and you will swallow it when you mention it, and you will see each other with fire and water." "It includes the essence of abdominal breathing.

Abdominal breathing, the ancient book describes the meaning of bellows. When breathing, the stomach seems to be a bellows of the skin, the stomach bulges, the skin bag breathes in, and then slowly relaxes, and the skin bag breathes out.

Benefits of abdominal breathing



First, expand lung capacity and improve cardiopulmonary function. It can maximize the expansion of the thoracic cage, so that the alveoli in the lower part of the lungs can be expanded, allowing more oxygen to enter the lungs, and improving cardiopulmonary function.

Second, reduce lung infections, especially pneumonia.

Third, it can improve the function of abdominal organs. It can improve the function of the spleen and stomach, is conducive to soothing the liver and gallbladder and promoting bile secretion. Abdominal breathing can lower blood pressure by lowering abdominal pressure, which is very beneficial for patients with high blood pressure.

Fourth, it can massage the internal organs to make them peristalsis. When breathing in the abdomen, these meridians and organs in the abdomen of the human body are moving and rising and falling synchronously. This causes the internal organs and limbs of the human body to absorb oxygen. One rises and clears, and the other lowers turbidity. If the function of clearing and lowering turbidity is restored very well, it can make people's clear qi rise and turbidity decrease.

Fifth, it is good for calming the nerves and intellectuals. Abdominal breathing allows the body to inhale more oxygen and circulate air throughout the body.

Sixth, lose weight. It increases the body's blood circulation and oxygen content, and accelerates the burning of body fat.

Seventh, make people's skin delicate. Traditional Chinese medicine says that "the lungs are the main fur", if a person's lungs are full of qi, then his skin will be very delicate and firm, so as to achieve the effect of beauty and freckle removal.

Eighth, improve the reproductive system. Abdominal breathing increases the movement of the abdomen, which in turn strengthens the reproductive system in the abdominal cavity, and improves both gynaecological and andrological problems.

How to breathe in the abdomen and what to pay attention to



Abdominal breathing practice


Having said all that, what exactly should abdominal breathing do?

Posture: Standing or sitting, the whole body is relaxed, and the hands are relaxed like holding a balloon in front of the abdomen.

As you inhale, the hands are slightly adducted, the abdomen is slightly adducted, and at the same time, the imaginary inhaled qi, the qi of holding the ball and the qi of the whole body converge in the dantian, and the dantian is contracted to the gate of life. This is called Dantian.


Inhale to the end, pause slightly, and then relax as you exhale. Imagine that the qi of the whole body stretches from the dantian to the limbs. This is called Kaidantian.

At the end of the exhale, pause slightly (gradually lengthening as you go deeper), inhale slowly, and repeat the essentials of the previous inhale. Practice breathing and opening and closing the dantian repeatedly, for half an hour each time.

In the first 7 times, the opening and closing amplitude of the breathing dantian can be large, and after 7 times, the amplitude is getting smaller and smaller, the whole body is relaxed, and the speed naturally gradually slows down (do not force yourself to slow down and lose nature), become subtle, and the breathing gradually becomes long and thin, and finally gradually reach the point of being nothing, which is the best way to enter the state.


Points to note for abdominal breathing

First, breathe deeply, long, and slowly.

Second, breathe through your nose instead of your mouth.

Third, one exhale and one breath are mastered in about 15 seconds. That is, inhale deeply (puff up the stomach) for 3-5 seconds, hold your breath for 1 second, then exhale slowly (retract your stomach) for 3-5 seconds and hold your breath for 1 second.

Fourth, 5-15 minutes at a time. Do it for 30 minutes best.

Fifth, for people in good health, the breath-holding time can be extended, and the breathing rhythm can be slowed down and deepened as much as possible. People who are in poor health can not hold their breath, but they must breathe in enough. Practice 1-2 times a day, sitting, lying, walking, or running, until you are slightly hot and sweaty. Try to bulge and retract the abdomen 50 to 100 times. If there is an overflow in the mouth during breathing, swallow slowly.

Practicing this is an inner feeling that is becoming more and more comfortable, and it is very helpful for concentration. It would be better if children could develop this habit from an early age.

There are 2 versions of the abdominal breathing method:

1) Exhale for 8 seconds, inhale for 8 seconds, and stop breath for 8 seconds;

2) Exhale for 12 seconds and inhale for 6 seconds without stopping.

Breathe so slowly that you can't feel the airflow even when you put your finger 5 cm in front of your nose. You can't feel your own voice when you breathe.

The correct abdominal breathing method is: when you start to inhale, the whole body is exerted, at this time the lungs and abdomen will be filled with air and bulge, but you can't stop yet, you still have to use all your strength to continue to inhale, regardless of whether you inhale air or not, just inhale and inhale again. Then hold your breath for 4 seconds to tense up, then use 8 seconds to slowly exhale. Exhale slowly, long, and without interruption.

After doing the above methods a few times, not only will you not feel sad, but you will have a comfortable pleasure. In fact, when you measure your brain waves when you breathe, you can see that when you hold your breath during inhalation, you will be loud, and when you exhale, your α waves will continue to appear. That said, holding your breath can make α waves more likely to appear.

Note: When performing abdominal breathing, the mind must be serene and ethereal, so as to expand the mind and achieve the effect of physical and mental coordination.

Abdominal breathing tips

Breathing tips: Fine, quiet, steady and long! When breathing, relax your mind, don't think about your mouth and nose, and put your mind on the lower dantian, which is the position of the lower abdomen.

The slower the breathing, the better, the more even, the deeper the better, when you inhale, it seems to smell the fragrance of flowers, and when you spit out, it seems that the wild goose falls to the ground on the sand, without force.

Consciously practice abdominal breathing for half an hour every day, or consciously breathe 100 times in the morning and evening, which is a daily breathing habit for a long time.

When you breathe abdominally, the body produces a prostaglandin that eliminates active nutrients and dilates blood vessels.

When you do abdominal breathing and move the diaphragm, it will penetrate into the blood vessels and lymphatic vessels from the cells, removing active toxins and promoting blood circulation. In addition, abdominal breathing can stimulate all the internal organs of the abdomen to be stimulated by the breathing rhythm. This stimulus is transmitted to the brain through the nerves as a self-regulating signal for a gentle breathing rhythm, and the brain becomes α after receiving these stimuli.

People live by breathing, and when they stop breathing, they will die immediately, and breathing is so important that it is almost equal to life, and only those who breathe can live.

However, most people only use shallow breathing (chest breathing), so only 1/3 of the lungs are used, and the other 2/3 are filled with old air. If you breathe using abdominal breathing (breathing), your lungs can be fully used.

Abdominal breathing allows the body to fully access the function of qi and at the same time take in more oxygen. In this way, it not only purifies the blood, but also promotes the activation of brain cells.

Good breathing is done "slowly" under the consciousness, and "deeply" is also important. In other words, breathing slowly and deeply under consciousness is one of the most effective ways to create α waves. Abdominal breathing keeps brain waves below 12 hertz, which is when α waves are most likely to occur in terms of brain physiology.