There are many types of Chinese martial arts, and there are more than 200 schools with complete training systems. In traditional martial arts, there are Xingyi Boxing, Tai Chi Boxing, Baguazhang, Xinyi Boxing, etc., and the vast majority of martial artists have heard the saying of "alchemy dantian", but they usually have little understanding. Therefore, there are three dantians and five dantians in the human body, and at the same time, it is believed that the lower dantian hides the essence, the middle dantian hides the qi, and the upper dantian hides the spirit! However, when actually practicing, except in special circumstances, generally speaking, the intention to guard the dantian refers to the intention to guard the lower dantian.
The ancients believed that the lower dantian was most closely related to the life activities of the human body. It is the "ancestor of life", "the source of vitality", "the root of the five internal organs", "the root of the twelve meridians", "the meeting of yin and yang", "the door of breathing", "the hometown of water and fire", the hub of the lifting and closing of true qi, and an important part of the collection and cooking and storage of true qi. The ancients believed that dantian is an important part of nourishing the whole body, so there is a saying that "no fire can make all the body warm, and no water can make the internal organs moist, which is related to the life of the whole body.
First, the location of the dantian:
The position of the lower dantian part of the front through the umbilicus (the root pedicle that the fetus relies on in the mother's body), and the position of the dantian after the kidney (the essence of the human being, the foundation of life) is commonly known as the "lower dantian area", which is located between the Qihai acupoint of the four fingers under the navel Shenque acupoint and the Guan Yuan acupoint of the lower four fingers, and the ancient books record that the dantian is "located in the abdomen, about three and three minutes below the umbilicus, between the umbilicus and the ridge, close to the umbilicus, and far from the ridge, about three and seven ratios." The shape of the dantian is "just if there is an air sac ear, if the qi does not sink into the dantian, the sac will be flattened and not opened", so the dantian area full of air is like a full air column and an inner tube like a wheel, which can withstand the vibration or knock of external force.
Second, what is Yishou Dantian?
"Yishou" is a method of practice, the Lord is to keep oneness through the mind, eliminate distracting thoughts, and achieve meditation, so when practicing the exercises, we must first pay attention to mental concentration and keep the dantian. The lower dantian is the central part of the adjustment of the twelve meridians and the eight veins of the strange meridians, which means that there is the effect of activating internal qi and penetrating the meridians!
The so-called Yishou dantian is simply to eliminate distracting thoughts, concentrate on the part of the dantian, ignore the ears, ignore the eyes, have no nose, do not smell the heart, and concentrate on the activities of the true qi of the acupuncture points in the body. After all, the mind is also a kind of energy, through the mind to guard the qi, the whole body is relaxed, the upper and lower is solid, the heart is calm, and the heart is indeed mastered "relaxed, quiet, and natural".
After practicing Xi dantian breathing for a long time, you can stay here, and you can achieve a breath and a hundred veins, and a breath and a hundred acupoints are opened. Breathing back and forth, strengthening the vitality and mobilizing the meridians. When the vitality is accumulated in the dantian and gradually filled, it will naturally flow to all meridians of the body, resulting in the phenomenon of "qi flowing all over the body" through the meridians and veins, so that the human body's qi can flow smoothly and flow freely, reaching the realm of yin and yang balance.
Third, the benefits of abdominal breathing
Generally speaking, human breathing can be broadly divided into two types: "chest pose" and "abdominal pose".
Abdominal breathing is divided into:
Abdominal breathing "means that the abdomen bulges when you inhale, and when you exhale, the abdomen contracts. 」
Reverse abdominal breathing "means that the abdomen contracts when you inhale, and when you exhale, the abdomen bulges. 」
This is collectively known as abdominal breathing, which is also known as dantian breathing. Dantian breathing method is a breathing method that can enhance the human body's aura, regulate the smooth flow of qi, strengthen the body's immune function, and balance the body'Xi s yin and yang state. Regardless of cis-breathing or reverse breathing, it is suitable for patients with hypertension, coronary arteriosclerosis, rheumatic heart disease, and cerebral arteriosclerosis. The Xiao Zhou Tian breathing method is suitable for patients with neurasthenia, sperm loss, premature ejaculation, and low blood pressure, and is contraindicated for patients with hypertension and Meniere's syndrome. The aesthetic breathing method is suitable for patients with constipation, indigestion, ulcers, gastric prolapse, chronic gastritis, chronic hepatitis, etc. Tuberculosis, bronchiectasis, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and various heart patients are contraindicated. The nasal suction and mouth exhalation method is suitable for patients with tuberculosis, chronic bronchitis, cold, bronchial asthma, emphysema, atelectasis, dry pleurisy, exudative pleurisy, and bronchi. It can also be used by people with normal respiratory function.
Fourth, then what does this dantian have to do with our practice?
Martial artists usually use the lower dantian reverse abdominal breathing method. The so-called reverse style means that when you inhale, the lower abdomen does not bulge, but when you exhale, the lower abdomen bulges outward! The biggest advantage of this is that it is easy to produce explosive force. Many practitioners can take a breath, and then the position of the dantian quickly bulges, at this time, it is serious, and the qi is stored in the dantian, so it has another nickname, called "Qi Sea". It is an indisputable fact that fish breathe by gills and humans breathe by lungs.
The answer is that the lungs are the only place where the body's gas is exchanged, so the entry of qi into the dantian is just an illusion! Then someone is definitely going to say, when I exhale, my lower abdomen really gets bigger! This is not false at all, anyone can get bigger. According to the principle of science, it should be that the qi enters from the mouth to the lungs, and with the increase of the air storage capacity in the lungs, the alveoli increase, squeezing the diaphragm behind the lungs, and then squeezing the internal organs down to the lower abdomen, so it is not the qi that makes the lower abdomen bulge, but the internal organs!
The principle is very simple, the qi enters from the mouth, and the qi is stored in the lungs, at this time, unlike when the diaphragm is naturally lowered, it is lifted, and then, when exhaling outward, part of the qi runs outward, and the other part of the qi will be stored in the lungs, pressing the diaphragm downward, causing the internal organs to fall instantly, and the resulting strength.
The specific methods of dantian breathing can be taken such as "standing gong", "sitting pile gong", "sleeping and lying gong", etc. Dantian breathing must pay attention to "nose inhalation and mouth exhalation", "qi sinking dantian", and store qi in the dantian qi sea and Guan Yuan. It is also necessary to "keep the mind and qi in the dantian", the breath should be quiet, slow, thin, long and even, and the qi should be drumming in the body. When inhaling, the mouth is closed so that the air enters through the nasal cavity, and when exhaling, the mouth is like a shallow whistle, and the breath is long, even, and slowly exhaled. Inhale slowly, be long, exhale to store the qi along the Ren pulse to the dantian, the dantian is warmed to a certain extent, the true qi will automatically "spread all over the body", the body will gradually heat up, continue to guard the dantian, let the true qi flow on its own.