Reversed Breathing: A Powerful Way to Build Qi

This week I will take a bit of time in each class to introduce you to an important breathing technique called “reversed breathing”.  It’s a deep and powerful way to strengthen the diaphragm and abdominal muscles and massage the internal organs, thus building qi in the lower dan tian. (You can really feel it: my abs haven’t worked so deeply since 1975 or so, when, as a young dancer, I studied with Joseph Pilates protegee, Romana Kryzanowska.) Reversed breathing, through its ability to stoke power into the energy reservoir of the lower dan tian, is an important part of the Yi Jin Jing exercises we are beginning to explore in our classes. I’m looking forward to sharing these practices with you over the coming weeks and months.