Many of you may ask, what is the difference between Qigong breathing exercises and any other normal breathing exercises. According to the popular site Healthline, breathwork is a pattern of breaths or a systemic flow. There are different types of breathing exercises, some are controlled and some are meditative.
Breathwork
Breathwork refers to any type of breathing exercise or technique. People mainly practice breathwork to improve their mental, physical and spiritual well-being. Moreover, further studies are still conducted up until today to rule out possible side effects like hyperventilation. Therefore, careful approach to some styles is recommended.
What is Breathwork use for?
- Aid in good self-development, increase immunity, improve emotional processing, and heal emotional pain and trauma
- Improve personal and professional connections strengthen life skills develop or expand self-awareness enrich creativity
- Boost your self-esteem, confidence, and self-image
- Boost your joy and happiness
- Overcoming compulsions
- Reduces anxiety and stress levels
- Letting go of negative beliefs
What are the types of breathwork?
There are a lot of different types of breathwork. Each are studied and experienced differently.
- Shamanic breathwork
- Holotropic breathwork
- Rebirthing
- Yogic Breathwork
- Wim Hof
What makes Qigong Breathwork, Qigong?
The union of 3 things is known as the 3 Harmonies. The 3 harmonies are made up of Body, Breath, and Spirit. These 3 has a different aspect and yet they come together. When they go side by side it becomes Qigong. Only when these 3 things come together in union, they become Qigong. To become Taoist Qigong it must cultivate the 3 Treasures:
- Jing
- Qi
- Shen
How do we know it is Qigong?
Let's take a simple breath as an example. Most people can easily know belly breathing or diaphragmatic breathing. Belly breathing is a great breathing exercise. In Qigong, there is another type of breathing called Primordial breath. This is composed of relaxing rhytmic breaths. Though the breathing application is almost the same, the effect however is different according to the technique you use.
What is the difference?
The body mechanics are identical. Body mechanics fit into the category, Body. In Qigong, we add intention which is utilizing and exercising the spirit. This process will allow us to make the "Qi" the energy. For the Qi energy to work, you must have an intention. This intention will help you produce and pick "good" Qi.
- Body= Body mechanics
- Qi=energy
- Spirit=Intention
A basic intention would be to focus on building the Qi energy in the lower belly or what we call the Lower Dan Tian. The purpose of this is simple-more energy. Here we would focus on "filling" the belly with energy. To do this imagine and feel as if you are able to draw in the fresh air and energy from outside and breathe it into your Lower Dan Tian. You can take natural objects to boost this. The most powerful is the rising sun in the morning. Face the rising sun with your eyes closed and draw in the golden sunlight into your Lower Dan Tian.
As you breathe out, focus on keeping it there. By using your thoughts with a strong intention, we can induce a bodily reaction. This will allow you to have strong and firm intentions.
Why can't I make my hand and feet sweat after doing Qigong breath?
It is not magic, I am simply inducing a physiological reaction by really feeling and sensing my hands and feet becoming very hot. Science has proven that we are capable of creating physical and psychological reactions. By channeling the spirit and Qi energy we add richness and depth to our breathwork training taking it to a whole new level.
