Longevity Breathing Techniques: How to Boost Results of Physical Exercise
I’ve written about breathing techniques and offered several guided practice sessions on breathing because we do it all day, every day. Learning how to guide your breath at will therefore gives you the power to shift your state of mind and reinvigorate bodily systems whenever you choose. However, breathing well can go far beyond a little relaxation and peace of mind, and take health and well-being to the next level by boosting the results of any exercise programme. Starting with a few minutes of rhythmic, smooth and measured breathing can...
read moreGuided Breathing Practice
The following 10-minute breathing practice was recorded while on retreat in Crete earlier this year. It’s an easy breathing practice, particularly good for beginners to the Energy Arts System, that covers some of the primary points you want to focus on when you come to sit. To learn more about the theory that underliesLongevity Breathing techniques, click here. Happy practising, Paul To learn more about Paul’s next Longevity Breathing course in Kentish Town, click here! © 2011 Paul Cavel—All rights reserved. Links are...
read moreTai Chi Intensive, London
14 January-14 April 2012 | Camden-Kentish Town, Saturdays 11 am- 6 pm. Senior Energy Arts Tai Chi Instructor Paul Cavel—I will teach a core group of 16 people the 27-step Wu Style Tai Chi Short Form in four sessions over three months. Between classes, I will offer content (neigong) courses to infuse your form with internal power for health and high-performance. Beginning, intermediate and advanced tracks of study will be offered in all classes, so everyone is welcome. Groups will be split depending on the individuals who attend, and their...
read moreBreathing Therapy: Engaging and Balancing the Sphere
December Breathing Techniques Tip Photo by Em Morley Photography Completing the Breath Over the last three months, we’ve deconstructed whole-body breathing to activate various parts of the body. If you’ve been practising, it’s now time to integrate everything into one whole, spherical breath. (Review the series, starting in September 2011, by clicking here.) Activating the Top of the Lungs Most people only breathe into the middle/front of their lungs and therefore have a very restricted breath. That’s why we spent the last three months...
read moreBreathing to Engage the Kidneys and Heart
November 2010 Breathing Tip Deep internal breathing has many aspects and benefits as I hope you’re beginning to discover from my tips (if you didn’t think about it before). This month, we’ll directly target the kidneys and upper back. Everything you’ve learned so far remains in the programme. With the diaphragm, belly and sides of the body active, we’ll include a nice massage for the kidneys and back of the heart. Breathing Theory The lungs and the heart comprise the bulk of the thoracic cavity with the lungs sitting directly on top...
read moreTai Chi to Release Your Nerves & Relax
Tai Chi to Release Your Nerves & Relax Video by Paul...
read moreBagua + Qigong, Kӧln
11-13 November 2011 | Twisting & Coiling: Gods Qigong was developed millennia ago to relax the body and mind, reduce stress and anxiety, and systematically build health and vitality from deep inside the body. Walking meditation, including Circle Walking and the Bagua Single Palm Change, amplifies all of the positive benefits of Gods Qigong with the purpose of boosting energy and increasing flexibility. In Köln, Paul will teach various techniques for optimising the efficiency of the vascular system, weeding out deeply rooted tension and...
read moreLongevity Breathing Therapy: Engaging the Ribcage
Longevity Breathing Techniques As I wrote in last month’s breathing tip, the chest does not rise and fall with the breath. The same is true for practising any neigong component or internal martial art, including bagua and tai chi. Students often ask, “Why don’t you move the chest?” “Surely,” many serious students think, “if the chest doesn’t move it’ll become stagnant and blocked!” Well, just because the chest doesn’t rise and fall doesn’t mean it does not move! The classic Chinese phrase is, “One part moves, all...
read moreBreathing Therapy: The Diaphragm Is the Engine
September 2010 Breathing Techniques Tip Anatomy & Physiology of the Diaphragm The diaphragm connects to the spine and inside lower section of the ribcage, which separates the torso into two parts. Above the diaphragm (the thoracic cavity) sits your lungs and heart. Below the diaphragm is where you house the bulk of your organs (abdomen). Directly below the diaphragm sits your liver, kidneys, stomach and spleen. The diaphragm is responsible for your breathing as the lungs are completely passive and only respond to the action of the...
read moreBreathing into Your Kidneys
An exercise to help you breathe into your kidneys… Thumbnail PhotoImage © iStockphoto.com/Eraxion Any physical and/or energetic exercise can carry risks. Do not attempt these exercises if you have any physical, emotional or mental conditions that may make you susceptible to...
read moreBreathing Techniques to Release Your Nervous System
Preparing for Your Qigong, Bagua & Tai Chi Practice Longevity Breathing techniques are extremely versatile. They can be used in many ways: to open up the insides of your body, increase blood flow and cultivate chi, and as an internal organ massage, doorway into meditation and vehicle for making the body conscious—along with many more health benefits. One of the most practical functions is releasing the nerves to prepare your body for your regular practice, which will optimise your training time. If you do not have a regular qigong, bagua...
read moreEngaging & Balancing the Sphere in Bagua & Tai Chi
Many people who practice the internal arts completely focus on forward, up/down and left/right because that is what is in their field of vision. Rarely do practitioners place their consciousness behind them. This is a speciality of Gods Playing in the Clouds and bagua because each requires that you really work the sphere. However, becoming conscious of what is behind you is also implemented in tai chi. And, when you have it, you can use it anywhere. Photo © iStockphoto.com/Louis16 Methodology of Creating the Sphere There are many methods for...
read moreQigong Exercises to Release Your Eyes
I don’t have to tell you that during the day, stress and tension have a way of building up. In our extremely visual world—with books, television, signs, cell phones, computers and all kinds of gadgetry—a lot of the tension ends up in our eyes and nervous system. I’ve got a few exercises that will help you recognise when your eyes are becoming overloaded and what to do about it. Qigong Exercises for the Eyes The first two exercises are only meant to be done once or twice in order to recognise what is happening inside you involuntarily...
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