Core Body Breathing

‘Core body breathing’ is a form of breathing that I find particularly useful when practicing Qi Gong, and also as a method for developing a sense of mind-body synchronization. Like the other forms of breathing mentioned on this blog, it can be practiced on its own as a meditation form in its own right.

What do we mean by the ‘core’ of the body?

In this context, the ‘core’ of the body means the energetic centre-point of any given area of the body.
With regard to the head, neck and torso, you could say that there is a core, centre-line of balance that runs from the crown of our head, down through the centre of our brain, neck, chest and abdomen to the perineum (the mid point between the sexual organs and the anus).
With regard to the arms and hands, their core can be visualized and felt as a line of energy that runs down from the shoulders, through the centre point of the upper arms, elbow joints and forearms. After passing through the wrists, it then splits into five lines of energy that flow down through the hands into the fingers and thumb.
In a similar way with regard to the legs and feet, their core can be seen and felt as two lines flowing down the centre of the legs from the hips, each line splitting into five lines within the feet which pass down though the centre point of each of the toes.

To practice core body breathing: on the inhalation, breathe into the core of your body, feeling qi flow into your body’s energetic core; as you exhale, direct your qi from the core of your body out to the surface/skin. By breathing in this way you encourage qi to flow through all areas of your body and in particular this establishes a communication and exchange between the core qi of your body and its surface qi.