Belt Channel Breathing

Hi,

A visual demonstration of it is on the Deep Healing Qigong DVD,
toward the middle of the form. It is also covered in Michael’s
Fusion 2-3 course, so you can see it demo’d on that DVD
(although there is maybe less explanation there).

Basically you put your hands in front of navel, backs
of palms facing each other, and circle both hands around
your “belt” toward the back; then reverse your hands and
bring back to the front. Inhale as you bring your hands
to the back, exhale as you bring your hands toward the front.
Unless you are specifically trying to focus on charging
up the kidneys, in the standard practice you just do
natural breathing (i.e. abdomen expands on inhale, contracts
on exhale). If you are standing up while doing this (typical),
then you can incorporate rocking as well–rock back slightly
to your heels as your hands go to the back, rock forward
slightly toward your toes as your hands come back to the
front–but in total, keep the whole of each foot continuously
connected to the ground.

Qi,
Steven

>>>When I think of the backs of palms I think
>>>of the back of the hands, which feels pretty hard to do.

Yes. This is exactly what I mean. Well sort of . . .
It’s just not rigidly in the sense of having the backs of your hands
touching in perfect opposition. Your arms/wrists are more
relaxed so that maybe your finger tips get close to touching,
but your actual hands are a given distance away. They
say a picture is worth a thousand words, and it’s definitely
true here.

Basically, you want your shoulders and wrists relaxed, and
wherever your hands are, they are . . . so my description
is a rough approximation not the real deal. Then starting from
the front, you trace a circle to the back, left hand going
around the belt along the left and right hand similarly
and in coordination.

Same thing holds when you reach the back . . . you go
to where is comfortable and natural given the range of
motion in your shoulders etc., but not palm-to-palm touching
directly behind you.

In other words, try to do what I described, but do what feels
comfortable . . . ignoring to need to follow the description precisely.
If you do that, then whatever you end up with, should be
pretty much exactly what you should do.

Please forgive my attempt to describe a physical movement
through a text. If I showed you directly, you’d understand
clearly.

I don’t know if I’ve helped you or confused you more, but
you have additional questions on it, feel free to ask, and
I will try some more.

Qi,
Steven