Submerged Breathing

Submerged Breathing is based on Abdominal Breathing.

Qi Gong experts are noted for their tremendous sexual prowess: If you practise this qi gong exercise conscientiously, you will probably understand why. But never abuse it.

The vitality we get from this and other exercises is intended to make life meaningful and satisfying for ourselves and for others; if we use it extravagantly or licentiously, we will harm ourselves.

1. Stand upright and relaxed with your feet fairly close together. Place both palms on your qihai, the dan tian (energy field) about two inches below the navel.

2. Deflate your abdomen and breathe out your negative energy.

3. Breathe cosmic energy through your nose into your abdomen. Your abdomen will of course rise as you breathe in. Pause for a second or two.

4. Deflate your abdomen and breathe out through your mouth, but visualize cosmic energy (presently in your qihai vital point) gently flowing down to your huiyin vital point, the dan tian just before the anus. Pause for a second or two.

5. Breathe cosmic energy into your abdomen. Pause.

6. Breathe out, visualizing energy flowing down to your huiyin.

Repeat this process of breathing into your abdomen, and breathing out with energy flowing to your huiyin about thirty-six times. (When you start, do it about ten times, and gradually increase to thirty-six as you progress.) Cosmic energy flows from the universe into your qihai as you breathe in, and flows from your qihai to your huiyin as you breathe out.

Initially when you breathe out, you may feel that energy is actually flowing up to your mouth, despite visualizing it flowing down to your anus. In other words, at the initial stage, the actual energy flow in your body may not follow the instruction of your mind. This is natural. It takes some time (generally ranging from two weeks to two months of daily training) before you can effectively use your mind to direct the energy flow. If you persist in your training, however you will soon find that you can actually direct it with your mind.

After performing Submerged Breathing about thirty-six times, drop your hands to your sides. Close your eyes (if you have not unconsciously done so earlier) and experience the tranquillity of Standing Meditation for a short time (which can be from a few seconds to one or two minutes). Then place your mind in the area of your kidneys. Do not ask how you can do it; just do it. Do not exert any force: like all other visualization exercises, it must be done gently.

You may experience a feeling of warmth around the kidneys after some time. Visualize a flow of energy from your back at your kidneys to your front at your navel, then down to your genitals, and up again to the base of your spine, and back to your kidneys, in a continuous small wheel of energy flow. Enjoy it for about ten minutes. But it is important that your visualization should be done very gently.

To complete this exercise, think of your kidneys. Rub your palms together until they are warm, and place them on your kidneys. Then rub them again, and place them on your eyes as you open them. Massage your face gently and walk about briskly.

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