Lower Tan Tien Breathing

Exploring the Exhale

 

This method of lower tan tien (ltt) breathing is physically gentle, yet provides many benefits, separates the fascia (layers of tissue), and allows fluids and energy to flow, fill, concentrate, refine.

 

In this essay, when I say "lower tan tien" (or "ltt"), I am referring to the whole lower torso region in general, from below the belly button to the pelvic floor, front to back, through and through ..  not any particular point on the front, back, or neutral space, but the whole lower abdomen.

 

I would suggest that all of these methods are, during formal sessions, best practiced standing.  They can activate the lower tan tien in ways that really assist your standing practice, your vertical integration.

 

 

THE BASIC METHOD is simple:

 

Rest your awareness in your lower tan tien, inhale from/into your ltt, and exhale s-l-o-w-l-y while keeping your awareness in your lower tan tien.

 

You'll find that, simply by keeping your awareness in your lower tan tien while exhaling slowly, that a slight pull occurs between the inner tan tien and the outer layers.  In this method, this is not produced by direct physical pulling, but is produced as an indirect result of resting awareness in the ltt while exhaling slowly.

 

REPS

Repetitions are not necessarily needed with this method.  A single breath (or several breaths) like this can be very effective, or you may feel moved to explore smooth steady repetitions.  Do only as many as you are comfortable with, and rest by breathing naturally (no intentional pattern).

 

INITIAL EFFECTS

If you have emotional and/or physical stagnation in the lower jiao, it's likely that this method will get things moving - which is a good thing, but you're also likely to feel emotionally and/or physically uncomfortable during initial practice day/s.  Pace yourself.

 

FASCIA

Through experimentation, you might find that you can increase/decrease the intensity of the "pull" between inside and outside.  This "pull" separates some of the layers, creates space, and you should do this with a middle-ground intensity that allows both a gentle separation and the sensation of nourishment flowing through the layers.  Separate and fill.  If you pull too tight, it'll only create tension and not allow nourishment.

 

 

VARIATIONS

 

If you choose to include a variation during a practice session, it should be done after some warm-up with the basic method.

 

Variation #1: Opposite Acupoints

In this variation, during the exhale, focus your attention on paired front and back acupoints.  

 

You'll find that, by including some focus on paired front and back acupoints (while you have your awareness resting in your lower tan tien and are s-l-o-w-l-y exhaling), that there will be a distinct, yet gentle, pull or tug of those acupoints inward.  Though this is not initially felt as anything dramatic, a brief gentle pull inward of the points, yet it activates the acupoints strongly - which continues to produce benefit well beyond the time of the practice session.

 

As far as which points to work with, I suggest starting with the navel and a place on the spine directly in back of it.  Work your way down, incrementally, all the way to the coccyx.  Also, feel free to experiment up, down, with pairs of points, as you see fit.

 

THIS METHOD is a WHOPPER.    SOUND THE TRUMPETS!

 

Variation #2: Sacrum-squeeze

For this one, at the nadir of your s-l-o-w exhale (that is, when you've exhaled as much as you're gonna), at that natural momentary pause, gently squeeze the muscles around your sacrum.  (Not a sustained squeeze; this is a single flex, and then relax.)  Take several normal breaths, then repeat the above.  This should be done until your sacrum starts pulsing (gentle, rhythmic, contraction~expansion).

 

As far as duration, the exhale might take a count of 10 and then the sacrum-squeeze a count of 1 (maybe a slow 1).  I mention these numbers just to convey the general tempo; counting is not a regular part of this method.

 

Flexing around the sacrum starts something: a pulsing-of-the-sacrum in relation to sexual-vitality-in-the-front.  This relationship, once triggered, has its own dynamic, its own tempo, and shifts things around inside the lower tan tien.  The idea is to get that going, and let that go of its own accord, unhindered by deliberate breathing.  So, when I say, "Take several normal breaths", I mean to just relax.  Don't do any special breathing.  No deliberate ltt breathing.  Just relax and breathe normally - however that is for you at that time.  This gives your ltt space to do whatever it might do, sort of "on its own", from whatever dynamic you may (or may not) have started.  If your sacrum is pulsing, then that's it; you're finished with the method.  If it's not, repeat the method.

 

In my experience, this doesn't to be done very often - only one to three times a week.  And, as sacrum-activation is established, it becomes a more natural part of basic lower tan tien breathing. 

 

You'll find that, in time, this method will profoundly deepen your experience of the whole orbit (little, micro, and macro).  This simple little method is a Real Whopper.  Explore and enjoy.

 

NOTES on the sacrum-squeeze method.

    The muscles in immediate contact with the sacrum are so rarely deliberately used that, in the beginning, there's often almost no feeling or reference point for them.  Its likely that, initially, you'll feel awkward searching for these muscles.  That's normal; no worries.  Give it another try, now and then, and you'll get it.  This is like learning anything new: unfamiliar at first, yet through practice the details gradually come forward, and you get better at it.

Initially, when I was experimenting, I wasn't "aiming" for the sacrum, and really had no idea that I'd latch on to the sacrum.  I just exhaled s-l-o-w-l-y in the lower tan tien, then gave a little squeeze (like flexing a loose fist, close~open) in the area that felt like the middle.  Its just that the front and back can get pretty close at the bottom of the exhale, so when I 'aimed' for the middle my squeeze got the sacrum some, probably more the front part of the sacrum than the back of it really.  Over time, and with more experimentation, I found that I could flex the muscles around the front and back of the sacrum.

    Jing has so much to do with the production of muscular tension, and much of the jam-up that can occur in the lower tan tien has to do with residual unprocessed tension.  Deliberate flexing of muscles helps process that force and restore healthy blood flow.  I'm lately appreciating more that its helpful to explore all of the various muscles in the lower tan tien and learn to work them deliberately.  Much of this idea is present in such things as pc muscle exercises, learning to work the urogenital diaphragm, the unfamiliar finesse needed to get scrotal compression breathing actually down to the scrotum, and various other explorations of commonly little-used muscles.

 

    Once you've given yourself some time (I suggest several days at least) to feel the effects and settle in with this method at the sacrum, experiment with extending the method by similarly squeezing your way up the lower spine, starting with the sacrum and working, gently and in small contiguous segments, up through the lumbar region.  You'll find that, up past the sacrum, this method will flex around the vertebral bodies - which is a good thing.  See the spine essay for more on the vertebral bodies and how they relate to spine-marrow washing.  John Du Cane's Power Qigong video contains the "bear frolics", which are the best methods that I've yet seen to massage the kidneys; a very important and natural way to top off lower spinal work.  Gonads~sacrum~lumbar~kidneys.

 

    This method has some similarity to Dr. Lin's anal breathing method, where he advises exercising the muscles around the coccyx and sacrum, which triggers a pulsing - which draws jing into and up the spine.  It's part of a small set of exercises of his, that work together.

 

    Much of arousal is jing activity in the outer regions of the nerve plexuses.  Jing (sexual vitality) integrated with the spinal column provides a stabilizing counter-balance to that.  Additionally, as jing travels up the spine, a more profound balance of the endocrine system is promoted.  Activation of the sacrum (and subsequent spine-marrow washing) has potential to remedy cases of sexual compulsion, addiction, as well as remedy milder cases of chronic arousal.

 

    Just getting sexual vitality to "rush up the back" is insufficient, in order to integrate the "heavy-adamant portion of jing".  One has to specifically integrate with the dense tissues that are immediate to the spine, which leads into the vertebral bodies themselves.  Pulsing of the sacrum is the first step towards integrating jing with the whole spine, specifically the stack of vertebral bodies.  As the "heavy-jing" (made up word) connects into the vertebral bodies, it pulses up more slowly, substantially, like a thick shake up a straw.

 

    The sacrum, spine, kidneys, brain, jing, endocrine system, nerve plexuses, energetic centers - all are related, and hopefully this essay provides an effective start for exploration along this key topic.

 

 

Variation #3: Perineum Lift - activating Hui Yin

A slight lift up of the perineum (while resting awareness in the lower tan tien and s-l-o-w-l-y exhaling) does wonders for activating the acupoint hui yin.  The lift is not a squeeze (like in pc muscle exercises), but just a gentle lift inward.  

 

The activation of the perineum (and hui yin) does a couple of major things.  One (the obvious), it smooths the transition from the genitals to the sacrum.  Second (and no less important), it triggers connections with the bottom of the feet (the kidney 1 points) and the crown of the head (ni wan).  Very important for vertical integration, a key to rooting, and best practiced standing (zhan zhuang).

 

SUPPLEMENTAL PRACTICES re: the Perineum Lift method.

As perineum (hui yin) activation begins to connect up and down, you'll may want to facilitate the process.  Here are a couple of methods, by no means an exhaustive list.

    Integrate below, Kidney-1 breathing.

    Integrate above, Spinal breathing.

 

Major acupoints, the Orbit, and the Lower Tan Tien

Activating the individual major acupoints of the lower torso provides part of the subtle mechanics that actually produce a functioning little orbit, and - beyond that - assist an awakened lower tan tien ("medicine field").

 

 

Conclusion

Though the above specific techniques can be helpful to activate this and that, its important not to get too caught up in techniquey-moving-things-around.  The activation techniques should ultimately promote more balance and stability.  Accordingly, after activation, you should return to breath and stabilized awareness.

 

The exhale is sometimes over-looked, but it's loaded with goodies.  Enjoy.  :)