Hello,
I'm B.
K.
Francis,
Author of the Water Method of Taoist Meditation Series.
This recording will help you learn the basic method of Taoist breathing presented in the twelve lessons in the first volume of the series,
Relaxing Into Your Being.
The breathing techniques will both improve your health and serve as a highly useful aid to grounding your mind and indispensable quality necessary for any form of meditation.
The big challenge in learning the preparatory phase of Taoist meditation is gaining the ability to have your mind become concentrated on what you are doing for an extended time without becoming distracted.
One of the best ways for a beginner to achieve this ability is through the breathing exercises.
The Taoist breathing exercises form one of the building blocks of Qi Gong,
The internal martial arts,
Taoist yoga,
And Taoist meditation.
These breath exercises are also used by Qi therapists and healers when applying their hands-on healing body energy work.
These exercises are immensely valuable for reducing stress and for building stamina.
In terms of meditation,
In China both in ancient times and today,
They speak of controlling the monkey mind,
Meaning a mind that jumps from place to place and has trouble getting to the center of an issue.
Certainly,
Impatience has become a serious problem in our age of electronics,
Where 10 seconds is considered a long period of time in our modern computer age.
The 12 breathing lessons presented throughout this audio course are designed to increase your internal strength and to gradually enable your mind to settle and concentrate for long periods of time on whatever you choose,
Including meditation.
The strength or weakness of your breath is a major factor in determining your mind's clarity and your body's health and vitality.
Moreover,
This practice done consistently will awaken the energies of your lower Dantian,
Also called the Har and Japanese,
The foundation energy center for all beginning Taoist practice of meditation,
Healing,
Psychic or energetic development.
The primary purpose of learning these breathing lessons is to give you a technique to train your awareness so that you can use your awareness to become conscious of the inside of your physical body and its energies.
Remember to always breathe in and out through your nose unless a medical condition precludes it,
In which case breathe through your mouth.
It is recommended that in the beginning you perform the breathing lessons in a standing or sitting position.
Later on you may practice these breathing lessons either walking or moving in any way.
I would like to suggest a four part strategy for learning this recording's material,
Which I hope will enable you to gain the most benefit possible from using this audio instruction book on breathing.
First listen to the tape once from beginning to end without attempting to do the instructions.
Listen as relaxed away as you can.
Let a deep part of your mind understand what you are trying to do in its entirety.
Second listen and follow the specific breathing lessons instructions you previously heard.
At the very least do not go on to the next breathing lesson until you have repeated the lesson you are working with a minimum of three times.
Thirdly if after practicing the lesson three times you find you are not able to do the lesson in a relaxed,
Comfortable way without physical tension or strain,
Repeat the breathing lessons as many times as you need to until your inner awareness and the physical tissue inside your body allows you to do the breathing lesson without strain.
Without strain is extremely important for a strained and tense mind finds it extremely difficult to enter into meditation.
Pushing ahead before your body or spirit or mind already will defeat you entering into meditation and relaxing into your being.
As you will be breathing your whole life,
Taking a little extra time to learn to breathe deeply and without strain will really pay off in the long run.
Feel free to repeat each specific breathing lesson as many times as you feel necessary.
Some lessons may be easy for you and you will only need a few repetitions.
Some lessons may be very difficult for you and may require as many as 50 or 100 times before you can continue to the next lesson without strain or tension in the breathing process.
If you have a CD version simply push the replay button or program your CD as you like.
After you have gone through all 12 breathing lessons the physical active breathing should be going well for you with the breathing lessons themselves having become fairly effortless.
Next you will go back to the beginning of your tape and CD and repeat the 12 lessons all over again.
This time however you will go back and in a relaxed way focus on the meditative qualities contained with each lessons instructions more than on the breathing itself which by now has become easy for you.
Trying to simultaneously focus on both the breathing process and the meditative quality of the mind while you are breathing often results in neither being done well.
Taking the extra time to do both well is a wonderful gift you can give yourself.
There are three things you need to remember before you continue on with this tape.
The first one is that you do not hold your breath at any time.
Each inhale and exhale will be marked by a bell much like a temple bell which will let you know that it is time to begin an inhale or an exhale.
When you first start it is very difficult not to hold your breath especially if you do not have a strong breathing process.
Over time however you want to finish one breath and begin the next with no gap.
The second thing is that you only want to breathe 70% as much as you can.
You don't want to strain your breath.
The third thing is that you want to pay attention to the bells.
These bells will mark the amount of time you wish to make an inhale and an exhale.
The first four lessons will use a six second breath.
Three seconds on the inhale,
Three seconds on the exhale.
The next four lessons will use an eight second breath.
Four seconds on the inhale,
Four seconds on the exhale.
The last four lessons will use a ten second breath.
Five seconds on the inhale,
Five seconds on the exhale.
You want to follow these so you can increase your breathing capacity and over time relax your breath.
So these bells will form the metronome through which you will follow the whole process.
If I am speaking and it occurs in the middle of an inhale or an exhale simply continue to breathe and let your mind settle and become quiet and conscious of what is going on inside of you.
