The breathing method handed down from ancient times in China is unique in improving health and preventing diseases. The beauty of it is that it starts with breathing.
People usually exercise in four ways. One is called "walking", which is the action of lower limbs; One is called "living", which means standing there; One is called "sitting", that is, sitting to fix muscles; One is called "lying down", but the whole body muscles are relaxed.
But when practicing breathing, sitting is the most suitable, because when walking, it is not easy to settle down physically and mentally, while when lying down, it is easy to fall into a daze, and only when sitting can it be quiet, so it is usually called "sitting".
This sit-in has been circulating in China for thousands of years. The biggest purpose is to maintain normal blood circulation, prevent diseases when there is no disease, and treat diseases when there is disease; As long as you are patient and keep practicing every day, you can achieve great results.
Four effects of meditation
0 1 meditation can strengthen the body, repair the sub-health state of the body and improve the function of internal organs.
Especially for chronic diseases and stubborn diseases, such as hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease, lung disease, cerebral blood supply deficiency, migraine, heavy body, cold limbs, rheumatism, love sweating, night sweats, etc. , has obvious regulatory effect.
When you sit still, your mind is focused on one thing, and your breathing becomes soft and even. The total amount of air entering the lungs through breathing is relatively stable, and the amount of oxygen entering the heart is relatively stable, which is conducive to the regulation of blood pressure.
When sitting quietly, the energy consumption of the body is reduced, and the oxygen consumption of the heart is much lower than usual, so the power of blood circulation is naturally strengthened than usual. Strong blood circulation can help us purify the blocked substances in blood vessels and restore the vitality of many "long-term dormant" blood vessels. This kind of blood circulation can help the viscera purify the accumulated "negative energy" and improve the self-healing function of the viscera; After passing under the skin, it can help skin and muscles purify "negative energy" and improve skin color and muscle curve. Therefore, even in a short meditation, people will feel relaxed and comfortable life energy rising from the depths of the body, just like being massaged inside the body by a pair of warm big hands.
Meditation can also enhance the strength of Xiadantian, which is the source of life energy. In the process of meditation, due to the purification of blood vessels and the harmony of body and mind qi, the meridians of the whole body can be dredged, so that the "qi meridian" can resume normal operation, achieving the effect of consolidating essence and nourishing yuan, and the vitality is full of evil.
Meditation can improve the temperament of life and shape a healthy and beautiful posture.
Persisting in meditation can calm a person's inner temperament and make people present elegant, quiet and soft beauty between gestures. This temperament is the product of the comprehensive effect of physical, emotional and spiritual energy on life. The softer the inner spirit, the better the body is purified, the more stable the mood, and the better the external temperament.
In particular, it is pointed out that the double-disk sitting posture in meditation can quickly shape a beautiful posture. Double-disc meditation is called the most stable sitting posture, which can not only stabilize the turbulent wind in the body, but also quickly reduce the body fat and dredge the blocked meridians. People who practice double dishes can easily keep the graceful curves of waist, buttocks, thighs and calves, and control the energy balance of upper and lower bodies.
Meditation can relieve stress, release anxiety, tension, irritability and uneasiness, and make the whole life feel calm, happy, comfortable and secure.
Although we often ignore the body and talk about the spirit, we seldom think about it. In fact, all spiritual products, including thoughts, emotions, feelings and so on, have a physiological basis, that is, the nervous system of our body. Vimo Zen believes that to completely solve mental problems, we must first start with the body. Because all the feelings of stress, anxiety, tension, irritability and uneasiness are first perceived by the nervous system of the body and then by people. The nervous system is all over the body. If a certain part of the body is diseased or blocked, the signals received by the nervous system will also change, and then the feelings that are not conducive to life and health will be transmitted to the brain, and then thoughts and behaviors that are not conducive to life and health will be produced.
Our unstable emotions and thoughts are not created out of thin air, but the result of "karma". Its causes include not only external people and things, but also internal factors of the body. The nervous system of the body is the physiological basis of emotions and thoughts. For example, when a person is angry, give him an anesthetic and paralyze his nervous system, and his anger will disappear immediately. Meditation is like massaging our nervous system, so that this "naughty child" will no longer affect our emotions and thoughts. In the process of meditation, the frontal lobe activity in the forebrain area will be enhanced, and brain cells will begin to secrete endorphins and serotonin, which are important elements to help the human nervous system relax and calm down.
Many people can feel that their nervous mood is relieved and their agitated mood tends to calm down through ten minutes of meditation. Long-term meditation practice can help us cultivate stable spiritual strength.
Meditation can open inner wisdom, guide people to reflect on themselves, realize the existence of life and realize liberation.
It's not sitting around thinking about nothing, the operation of the brain is not shut down. Sit-in exercises usually begin with concentration. Although the occipital lobe activity of the brain will be weakened, the frontal lobe activity in the forebrain area will be enhanced. The frontal lobe is related to human intellectual activities, so people often have inspiration, new ideas and memories of forgotten things in meditation. Long-term meditation will make the mind clear and sharp. Because the methods of meditation are different, the effects of enlightenment and introspection are also different.
Some meditation methods start with "stopping" and train the mind to rest on one thing. This method can cultivate the "concentration" of life. Some meditation methods begin with "observation" to train the mind's awareness and keenness. This method can achieve "observation wisdom". There are also meditation methods that use "thinking", just like many meditation methods in the Yoga Sutra. Through meditation, people are connected with the sun, the sky, nature and space, and they feel the unity of people and the whole existing world.
All these methods can lead people to introspect, open their wisdom and realize the relationship between their own lives and the existing world. A clear understanding of the effect of meditation will help us to improve our confidence in meditation. As long as you keep sitting every day, these effects will naturally appear.
Meditation method
0 1? Preparation before meditation
(1) You'd better find another quiet room and sit quietly. If conditions do not allow, you can put it in the bedroom. You should open the doors and windows to make the air circulate, but you should not sit in a windy place. You'd better close the door to avoid being harassed by others.
(2) When sitting on a stool or bed, it is always advisable to lie flat. Bedding or cushions should be laid on the seat to make it soft and thick, so as to facilitate sedentary.
(3) Before you sit down, you should loosen your belt so that your muscles are free and your body will not be hindered. But in cold weather such as autumn and winter, be sure to cover your legs to avoid the wind on your knees.
02 sitting posture
1, legs when sitting still
(1) When sitting still, your legs must be rolled up. First add the left calf to the upper part of the right thigh, then pull the right calf up and add it to the upper part of the left thigh. This sitting posture is commonly known as cross-legged, also called legs.
Because of this posture, the outside of the knees can be close to the mattress, and the muscles of the whole body are like an extension of the bowstring. When sitting, they naturally stand up straight and will not lean forward and lean back. However, if it is difficult for beginners and the elderly to imitate this sitting posture, there is no need to force it. The following second method can be adopted.
(2) When sitting, you can follow everyone's habits, or add the left calf to the right thigh, or add the right calf to the left thigh. This sitting posture is commonly known as single cross-legged, also known as single squat.
Compared with cross-legged, there are some disadvantages, because if the left calf is placed on the right thigh, the outer side of the left knee will fail, and it will not be close to the mattress, and the body will easily lean to the right. If the right calf is placed on the left thigh, the outer side of the right knee will fail, and it will not be close to the mattress, and the body will easily lean to the left. Beginners can't double board, it is better to cross their knees with one leg, but pay attention to the straight posture and don't lean, so the effect is still the same.
(3) If an elderly person can't even cook a dish, then put his calf down. This is called the lower plate method. But both knees are empty, which makes them more prone to skew and should be corrected at any time.
When you are a beginner, you will be numb or sore. You must be patient. Practice for a long time, and it will gradually become natural. When the numbness is unbearable, you can exchange your legs up and down. If you really can't stand it, you can temporarily loosen it and put it on after the numbness disappears. If you can listen to it with great patience and extreme numbness, you will lose your feeling. After that, you can react and return to the original state naturally. After this stage, after several times, you will not be numb when you sit down.
(4) There are people with leg problems who can't even sit down and can only sit with their feet down. This is called sitting down. But put your left heel on the back of your right foot. It is called "body integration"; Or both feet can be flat on the ground, but the legs and feet should be kept at a 90-degree right angle.
2. Chest, buttocks and abdomen when sitting.
(a) the chest can be slightly forward to lower the heart socket. The so-called depression of the heart socket means relaxation of the diaphragm.
There is a diaphragm between the lungs and the stomach in the chest, which is recessed in the middle of both sides of the chest, called the heart socket. When we first learn to sit still, we often feel that the chest diaphragm is blocked, which means that our heart has not fallen. At this time, you can use the following paragraph to adjust your heart, let the diaphragm relax, and your heart is frivolous and unfocused. After a long time, you can come down and adjust.
(2) Hips should protrude slightly backward to keep the spine from bending.
The shape of the spine, originally three-fold like a bow, bends slightly outward at the hips, so the hips should protrude slightly backward when sitting; But you don't have to stand out deliberately, you can follow the natural posture.
(3) The lower abdomen should be relaxed and calm. The purpose of calming the lower abdomen is to stabilize the center of gravity of the whole body.
3. Hands when sitting still
(1) Put your hands on your back, put your left palm on top of your right palm, and put your thumbs on top of your navel.
(2) If the right calf is placed on the left thigh, then the right palm should be placed on the palm of the left hand.
(3) Putting your hands like this is natural and comfortable, which can encourage concentration.
4. Other parts of meditation
(a) the head and neck are intact, but they are not deliberately straight.
(2) Both ears should be deaf.
(3) Close your eyes lightly. Some people also advocate that the eyes are slightly open, which is called hanging curtain. Generally speaking, it is easy to fall asleep when sitting, so this method should be used.
(4) Shut your mouth and put your tongue on the palate, which also means that your bones and muscles are integrated.
(5) Breathe through your nose, not your mouth.
(6) When sitting, the buttocks can also be raised by one or two inches to ensure everyone's comfort and not to oppress the renal capsule.
(7) The body should be straight, the spine should not be bent, and it is necessary to sit naturally and steadily, because the body is upright, the qi is upright and the heart is upright.
(8) After sitting down, get up and let out the gas in the pores of the whole body first (otherwise you may be fidgety when sitting down later). Then set out gradually with Xu Xiasheng's arm, rub his hand, touch his face, then put his feet down, massage his feet with his hands, and get up slowly.
Breathing during meditation and how to adjust your breathing.
First, the learning of breathing methods has a great relationship with our life function. Most people only know that diet can sustain life. If you don't drink or eat, you will starve to death. I really didn't know that breathing was more important than diet.
But because diet is not available with money, it feels valuable, while breathing is to absorb oxygen in the atmosphere, which is "inexhaustible", so it feels worthless. However, you should know that fasting for seven days will not kill you. If you block your nose and mouth and don't breathe, you will die soon. It can be seen that breathing is more important than diet.
It is an important effort for us to learn to sit still and adjust our breath, and it is also very necessary to study the methods of adjusting our breath first. Our breathing is called breathing. Respiratory muscle has two parts, one is the muscle between ribs and the other is diaphragm. Respiratory movement is also controlled by the central nervous system. In the medulla oblongata below the brain, there are some nerve cells that control breathing, called respiratory center, and contact with respiratory muscles.
The respiratory mechanism is that the nose is outside, the lungs are inside, and the lungs are located in both chests. When breathing, the expansion and contraction of the lungs have a natural law. Most of our usual breathing can't make the lungs expand and contract as much as possible, only the upper part of the lungs is used, while the lower part of the lungs is almost completely unused, so we can't do our best to spit carbon and absorb oxygen, resulting in unclean blood and countless diseases. This is all because breathing can't conform to the law.
There are two ways to breathe: natural breathing and active breathing.
First, natural breathing, also called abdominal breathing, because when breathing, you must reach the lower abdomen in one breath. When inhaling, air enters the lungs, fills all around, relaxes the bottom of the lungs, depresses the diaphragm, and makes the air drop. At this time, the chest is empty and the abdomen is protruding; When exhaling, the abdomen contracts, the diaphragm pushes up, reaches the lungs, and makes the lung bottom turbid. It can be seen that although breathing is closely related to lung lobes, its expansion and contraction often depend on the movement of lower abdomen and diaphragm, which can conform to the laws of nature and make blood circulation smooth. We should not only use this method when sitting still, in fact, we should use this method at any time whether we are walking, living, sitting or lying down.
On the reconciliation method of natural respiration;
(1) When breathing, the hypoumbilical abdomen contracts, the diaphragm is upward, the chest is tight and narrow, and the turbid gas at the lung base can be squeezed out.
(2) When breathing, slowly inhale fresh air from the nose, filling the lungs, with the diaphragm downward and the abdomen protruding.
(3) Breathe and breathe to make it natural and slim gradually, reaching the lower abdomen.
(4) Breathing gradually becomes quiet and thin, with little discrepancy. After repeated practice, I feel unconsciously for a long time, as if I have no breath.
(5) If there is no breathing, then there is no breathing and no breathing. Although there is a ventilator tube, it seems unnecessary to use it. Breath seems to come in and out from the pores of the whole body. At this point, it can be said that great achievements have been made in adjusting interest rates. However, beginners must not ask for it deliberately, but must let it go.
Second, active breathing, advocating that breathing should be slender, reaching the abdomen and making the diaphragm move up and down, which is no different from natural law. But when breathing, the expansion and contraction of the abdomen are completely opposite. Because it is contrary to natural breathing, it is also called reverse breathing.
On the reconciliation method of active breathing;
(1) Slow and long breathing, full umbilicus, abdominal distension, empty chest and loose diaphragm.
(2) Breathe deeply and long, the air fills the chest cavity, and the chest cavity expands. At this time, the navel abdomen contracts.
(3) The lungs are filled with gas and pressed downwards, while the abdomen contracts upwards. At this time, the diaphragm is pressed up and down, and the action is more sensitive.
(4) When sitting still, it is advisable to breathe very lightly, and it is advisable to not hear the sound yourself.
Some of the above two breathing methods advocate that breathing is longer than breathing, while others advocate that breathing is longer than breathing, but according to general experiments, it seems appropriate to have the same length. In addition, both natural breathing and active breathing are aimed at moving the diaphragm. Active breathing is to artificially make the expansion and contraction of the abdomen go against nature, and at the same time strengthen the expansion and contraction of the diaphragm, making it easier to exercise. However, because this method involves manpower, it is not suitable for everyone to learn, and it is better than natural breathing without any disadvantages.
Breathing exercises need to be practiced to make breathing normal and skilled, and because we usually breathe, we can only inhale about 350 cubic centimeters of air at a time, so the exchange of gas is not always enough. If you can strengthen the depth of breathing, you can inhale 1500 to 2000 cubic centimeters of air at a time, so that the gas in the lungs can be fully exchanged.
However, when sitting quietly, you must be carefree step by step. If you pay attention to breathing, your heart will not be quiet. When you sit quietly, don't take a deep breath. Therefore, breathing exercises should be carried out before and after meditation, regardless of natural breathing and active breathing. The similarities are as follows:
(1) Sitting cross-legged is the same as sitting quietly.
(2) Practice proficiency with short breath first, and gradually lengthen. Each breath can take about a minute at the longest, but you must not use force and be natural.
(3) Breathe slowly and carefully, quietly and long, and slowly inject into the lower abdomen.
(4) When breathing, use your nose instead of your mouth. The nose is a tube specially used for breathing, which has hair inside and can block dust. The mouth is not a respirator. If it is used for breathing, it is equivalent to usurping the function of the nose and may gradually block the nostrils. Moreover, the entrance of dust is prone to diseases, so you should control your mouth at all times, not just when you sit still.
(5) You can choose a place with fresh air and practice for five to ten minutes every morning.
(6) As for quiet breathing, you can practice it anytime and anywhere every day.