Science of Breath
CHAPTER VIII. HOW TO ACQUIRE THE
YOGI COMPLETE BREATH.
The Yogi Complete Breath is the
fundamental breath of the entire Yogi Science
of Breath, and the student must fully acquaint
himself with it, and master it perfectly
before he can hope to obtain results from the
other forms of breath-mentioned and given in
this book. He should not be content with
half-learning it, but should go to work in
earnest until it becomes his natural method of
breathing. This will require work, time and
patience, but without these things nothing is
ever accomplished. There is no royal road to
the Science of Breath, and the student must be
prepared to practice and study in earnest if
he expect to receive results. The results
obtained by a complete mastery of the Science
of Breath are great, and no one who has
attained them would willingly go back to the
old methods, and he will tell his friends that
he considers himself amply repaid for all his
work. We say these things now, that you may
fully understand the necessity and importance
of mastering this fundamental method of Yogi
Breathing, instead of passing it by and trying
some of the attractive looking variations
given later on in this book. Again, we say to
you: Start right, and right results will
follow; but neglect your foundations and your
entire building will topple over sooner or
later.
Perhaps the better way to teach you how to
develop the Yogi Complete Breath, would be to
give you simple directions regarding the
breath itself, and then follow up the same
with general remarks concerning it, and then
later on giving exercises for developing the
chest, muscles and lungs which have been
allowed to remain in an undeveloped condition
by imperfect methods of breathing. Right here
we wish to say that this Complete Breath is
not a forced or abnormal thing, but on the
contrary is a going back to first
principles--a return to Nature. The
healthy adult savage and the healthy infant of
civilization both breathe in this manner, but
civilized man has adopted unnatural methods of
living, clothing, etc., and has lost his
birthright. And we wish to remind the reader
that the Complete Breath does not necessarily
call for the complete filling of the lungs at
every inhalation. One may inhale the average
amount of air, using the Complete Breathing
Method and distributing the air inhaled, be
the quantity large or small, to all parts of
the lungs. But one should inhale a series of
full Complete Breaths several times a day,
whenever opportunity offers, in order to keep
the system in good order and condition.
The following simple exercise will give you a
clear idea of what the Complete Breath is:
(1) Stand or sit erect. Breathing
through the nostrils, inhale steadily, first
filling the lower part of the lungs, which is
accomplished by bringing into play the
diaphragm, which descending exerts a gentle
pressure on the abdominal organs, pushing
forward the front walls of the abdomen. Then
fill the middle part of the lungs, pushing out
the lower ribs, breast-bone and chest. Then
fill the higher portion of the lungs,
protruding the upper chest, thus lifting the
chest, including the upper six or seven pairs
of ribs. In the final movement, the lower part
of the abdomen will be slightly drawn in,
which movement gives the lungs a support and
also helps to fill the highest part of the
lungs.
At first reading it may appear that
this breath consists of three distinct
movements. This, however, is not the correct
idea. The inhalation is continuous, the entire
chest cavity from the lowered diaphragm to the
highest point of the chest in the region of
the collar-bone, being expanded with a uniform
movement. Avoid a jerky series of inhalations,
and strive to attain a steady continuous
action. Practice will soon overcome the
tendency to divide the inhalation into three
movements, and will result in a uniform
continuous breath. You will be able to
complete the inhalation in a couple of seconds
after a little practice.
(2) Retain the breath a few seconds.
(3) Exhale quite slowly, holding the
chest in a firm position, and having the
abdomen in a little and lifting it upward
slowly as the air leaves the lungs. When the
air is entirely exhaled, relax the chest and
abdomen. A little practice will render this
part of the exercise easy, and the movement
once acquired will be afterwards performed
almost automatically.
It will be seen that by this method of
breathing all parts of the respiratory
apparatus is brought into action, and all
parts of the lungs, including the most remote
air cells, are exercised. The chest cavity is
expanded in all directions. You will also
notice that the Complete Breath is really a
combination of Low, Mid and High Breaths,
succeeding each other rapidly in the order
given, in such a manner as to form one
uniform, continuous, complete breath.
You will find it quite a help to you if you
will practice this breath before a large
mirror, placing the hands lightly over the
abdomen so that you may feel the movements. At
the end of the inhalation, it is well to
occasionally slightly elevate the shoulders,
thus raising the collarbone and allowing the
air to pass freely into the small upper lobe
of the right lung, which place is sometimes
the breeding place of tuberculosis.
At the beginning of practice, you may have
more or less trouble in acquiring the Complete
Breath, but a little practice will make
perfect, and when you have once acquired it
you will never willingly return to the old
methods.
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