Diaphragmatic Deep Breathing
Before you begin Golden Flower Kundalini Meditation, you must master diaphragmatic breathing in order to train the diaphragm to regulate the breath and to center yourself. Since we cannot control or even isolate the muscles of the diaphragm directly, we must find a “handle” that allows us to do so indirectly. That handle is the belly or abdominal muscles. When you extend the belly, pushing it outward on inhalation and then pulling the belly in to expel air, you are embarking on a regimen of abdominal and diaphragmatic calisthenics. Starting this activity for the first time — whether sitting, walking, reclining, or lying down — you may feel a burning sensation. That is the muscles of the abdomen telling you that you are beginning to breathe correctly. Using the belly muscles is like pump priming, that is, using the handle of a pump (the belly) to activate the pump mechanism (the diaphragm). Next, you will use the acquired diaphragmatic breathing skill as a means of slowing down the heart rate, which has the effect of relaxing the body. Again, since you cannot influence or control the heart rate directly, you must use a “handle” to accomplish it — in this instance, you will use the acquired diaphragmatic deep breathing capability to make your breathing more profound and more regular. What do I mean by more profound and regular? Profound means still, as in silent; regular means rhythmic. When you’ve mastered the diaphragmatic breathing skill, you will be able to take in more air during each breath cycle. How does this work? Shallow breathing merely fills the chest. Deep breathing fills the lungs, the diaphragm, the belly, even the pockets behind the kidneys. With diaphragmatic breathing, you not only take in more air, you slow down the inhalation-exhalation cycle to the point where breathing becomes entirely silent. The Secret of the Golden Flower says, “Only the heart must be conscious of the flowing in and out of the breath; it must not be heard with the ears.” Like the diaphragm, the heart is a muscle we cannot isolate or control directly. Once again you use a “handle” to control the heart. As The Secret of the Golden Flower says, “The heart cannot be influenced directly. Therefore, the breath-energy is used as a handle.” But why bother with meditation when you have aerobics, bodybuilding, and a host of other exercise programs being offered at reasonable prices in strip malls across the country? Because Golden Flower Meditation is the only method that doesn’t wear the body out. That’s right, whether you know it or not, although exercise programs build the body up initially, over time they actually wear it out at a much faster
rate. Kundalini Meditation, on the other hand, has the opposite effect; it actually rejuvenates and revitalizes the body. The truth is Less is More! "Internal exercises differ vastly from 'external exercises' and other activities that primarily emphasize the external figure. The stress, strain, pain, and contortions associated with external exercises deplete the body of its energy and disturb the delicate biological balance of the internal organs. This impairs the body's ability to fight off viruses and other disease causing agents, thereby causing not only any number of illnesses, but also premature aging and fatigue. Muscular bodies do not protect against diseasecausing agents; internal organs do." ~Dr. Stephen Chang Golden Flower Meditation uses the nervous and respiratory systems to trigger a host of metabolic and somatic activity in the human body, especially in the internal organs. Through Golden Flower Meditation, the nervous system is stimulated such that the natural chemical substances of the body are recombined and used for self-healing, rejuvenative purposes, and greater overall awareness. But it all starts with breathing ...
