Tai Chi Breathing
The 5 Ways Tai Chi's Hand Expression & Breathing Help You!
Tai Chi Breathing Techniques improve your posture, strengthen the abdominal muscles and exercise the internal organs. These Tai Chi breathing techniques lower your to your breath to the abdomen to control your breathing, promote relaxation, and when combined with special hand exercises, improves the sinews and ligaments.
Abdominal Breathing
Breathing from the lower abdomen is called natural breathing. When
you were born, you breathed from the lower abdomen. However, as we get
older and stress comes into play, we end up breathing in the upper chest
area. This causes tension in the chest and shoulders that can lead to
stiff necks and backs.
Calms the Mind
Have you ever been mad? Of course! Has anyone ever told you to calm
down by taking some deep breaths? Probably! Why does this action relax
you? Because the deep breathing forces you to use the lower abdominal
muscles. Once that happens your body relaxes. When your body relaxes, so
does your mind. Once you develop this lower breathing, you’ll learn to
use your mind to control your body and relax at will..
Strengthens the Muscles
As you learn the gentle breathing exercises of Tai Chi, you’ll
gradually strength the core muscles and lower abdominal muscles. You
have to teach yourself to use these muscles again to develop a low
center of breathing. This low center of breathing helps with a low
center of gravity and exercises the vital internal organs. Every time
you breathe in and out the proper way, it massages these internal organs
to keep them healthy.
Improves Relaxation
By breathing in the lower abdomen, this takes the tension from the
shoulders, neck, and upper chest. Your body will begin to relax and in
fact, you’ll start to notice when it is tense. In every class, you’ll
learn where these stress points are in your own body and learn to relax
them with the proper breathing techniques. All the breathing techniques
are coordinated with Tai Chi hand expression techniques. Hand expression
increases the relaxation by using the muscles that are tense and moving
them into a position of relaxation.
Increases Energy
Breathing combined with relaxation boosts your energy. Stress causes you to breathe erratically, and you become tense and tired. I'm sure that you've seen people that are stressed, and the first thing that is recommended for them to do is to breathe deep to help them relax. By learning proper breathing, you'll begin to have more energy, and you'll sleep better, and have a lot less stress. Like a golfer, if he is tense, he does not hit the ball as far. When he is relaxed with his swing, he'll hit the ball a lot further.
Great for Stress
“It has been only six weeks since I have been studying the graceful,
gentle and yet powerful martial arts of Tai Chi Chuan. I have already
noticed a change in the way I feel, both physically and mentally, and
I’m happy to report it’s been a good and positive change. I decided to
study Tai Chi Chuan for fitness, self defense, and stress reduction. I
have not been disappointed with my decision.”
