earth, a powerful healing energy, through our feet and upward into our body. As we exhale, we can direct any toxic or stagnant energies downward to our feet and out into the earth. The Taoists also maintain that during inhalation we can draw the yang energy of heaven directly into our body through the crown, the energy center on the very top of our head, and that during exhalation we can distribute this energy downward throughout our body ( Figure 23 ).
Figure 21
Figure 22
THE POLARITY OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
Whether or not we believe in the energies of heaven and earth, we know that it is the polarity of positive and negative, of yang and yin, that creates electricity and makes energy move. We also know that there are various electromagnetic fields surrounding the earth, and that these fields are themselves manifestations of this fundamental polarity. An American firm that has produced negative ion generators for the space program points out, for example, that a natural electric field exists between the earth and the atmosphere, and that this field—which has a strength of several hundred volts per meter in an open space with unpolluted air—is usually positive in relation to the earth. The company also points out that experiments have shown that this field attracts negative ions from the upper atmosphere and produces an electric current in the body that stimulates living organisms in a beneficial way. 38
The Taoists, of course, have spoken for thousands of years about the polarity of yang and yin, of up and down, of heaven and earth. As living organisms, we depend not only on chemical and electrical polarities within our bodies, but also on the electromagnetic polarity of the earth and atmosphere. As conductors within this electromagnetic field, our bodies manifest a potential difference in voltage between head (positive) and feet (negative) that increases in relation to the degree of our verticality. Other important factors include our location, the purity of the air, the climate, and so on. In a closed space with polluted air, for instance, the potential difference is virtually zero.
Figure 23
It is my belief that when we are able to breathe through our whole body, sensing our verticality from head to foot, we are aligning ourselves with the natural flow of energy connecting heaven and earth. This vertical flow may help to explain the great healing power of both tai chi and chi kung, especially when they are done, as recommended by Taoist masters, in fresh air and open spaces.
THE BENEFITS OF WHOLE-BODY BREATHING
In addition to bringing us into a more harmonious relationship with the energies of heaven and earth, whole-body breathing has a number of benefits at both the physiological and psychological levels. At the physiological level it not only increases our intake of oxygen and helps to promote efficiency in the entire breathing mechanism, but it also helps—through the internal massage it provides—to revitalize all the cells, tissues, and organs of the body, and to clear the body of any toxins. At the psychological level, whole-body breathing helps us relax enough to begin to experience ourselves from the inside out, to discover an inner attention that can take in more accurate, complete impressions of the whole of ourselves and our functioning. As this occurs—as our breath expands into hitherto unconscious parts of ourselves—our attitudes and emotions start to change and our self-image begins to release its stranglehold on our lives.
PRACTICE
Sit down and go through as many of the previous practices as time permits. When you finish these practices, let your awareness embrace the whole of your sensation. You will feel this sensation—including your skin, your tissues, your muscles, tendons, and ligaments, your organs, and your bones—as varying intensities of vibration, some denser, some finer. See how many levels of vibration you can discern.
1 Sensing the outer
Figure 21
Figure 22
THE POLARITY OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
Whether or not we believe in the energies of heaven and earth, we know that it is the polarity of positive and negative, of yang and yin, that creates electricity and makes energy move. We also know that there are various electromagnetic fields surrounding the earth, and that these fields are themselves manifestations of this fundamental polarity. An American firm that has produced negative ion generators for the space program points out, for example, that a natural electric field exists between the earth and the atmosphere, and that this field—which has a strength of several hundred volts per meter in an open space with unpolluted air—is usually positive in relation to the earth. The company also points out that experiments have shown that this field attracts negative ions from the upper atmosphere and produces an electric current in the body that stimulates living organisms in a beneficial way. 38
The Taoists, of course, have spoken for thousands of years about the polarity of yang and yin, of up and down, of heaven and earth. As living organisms, we depend not only on chemical and electrical polarities within our bodies, but also on the electromagnetic polarity of the earth and atmosphere. As conductors within this electromagnetic field, our bodies manifest a potential difference in voltage between head (positive) and feet (negative) that increases in relation to the degree of our verticality. Other important factors include our location, the purity of the air, the climate, and so on. In a closed space with polluted air, for instance, the potential difference is virtually zero.
Figure 23
It is my belief that when we are able to breathe through our whole body, sensing our verticality from head to foot, we are aligning ourselves with the natural flow of energy connecting heaven and earth. This vertical flow may help to explain the great healing power of both tai chi and chi kung, especially when they are done, as recommended by Taoist masters, in fresh air and open spaces.
THE BENEFITS OF WHOLE-BODY BREATHING
In addition to bringing us into a more harmonious relationship with the energies of heaven and earth, whole-body breathing has a number of benefits at both the physiological and psychological levels. At the physiological level it not only increases our intake of oxygen and helps to promote efficiency in the entire breathing mechanism, but it also helps—through the internal massage it provides—to revitalize all the cells, tissues, and organs of the body, and to clear the body of any toxins. At the psychological level, whole-body breathing helps us relax enough to begin to experience ourselves from the inside out, to discover an inner attention that can take in more accurate, complete impressions of the whole of ourselves and our functioning. As this occurs—as our breath expands into hitherto unconscious parts of ourselves—our attitudes and emotions start to change and our self-image begins to release its stranglehold on our lives.
PRACTICE
Sit down and go through as many of the previous practices as time permits. When you finish these practices, let your awareness embrace the whole of your sensation. You will feel this sensation—including your skin, your tissues, your muscles, tendons, and ligaments, your organs, and your bones—as varying intensities of vibration, some denser, some finer. See how many levels of vibration you can discern.
1 Sensing the outer
Similar Books
