Breathing and Energy

"According to a long-held tradition, Huang Ti, the so-called Yellow Emperor, who began his rule around 2700 B. C., practiced a form of exercise called Tao Yin with the aim of increasing his life span.  The word Tao means "guide," and Yin means "leading."  These terms give a hint of how the exercise works: the movements of the limbs guide the circulation of the blood so that the tissues throughout the body can be repaired and cleansed more efficiently.  The movements also lead the breath in and out of the lungs, so that more oxygen can be inhaled to nourish and energize the body and the poisons can be exhaled more efficiently.  ...  Essential to the practice of Tao Yin was the way in which the movements of the limbs were combined with the breathing.  It is actually this combination that make the exercise so beneficial for health.  Huang Ti's exercises were also know as T'u Na.  The word T'u means "exhale," and Na means "inhale."
-   Dau Liu, T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Meditation, 1986, p. 3.



"The form of energy composing the chakras and currents in the subtle body is unknown to science.  The Hindus call it prana, which means literally "life" - that is "life-force."  The Chinese call it chi, the Polynesians mana, the Amerindians orenda, and the ancient Germans od.  It is an all-pervasive "organic" energy.  In modern times, the pyschiatrist Wilhelm Reich attempted to resuscitate this notion in his concept of the orgone, but he met with hostility from the scientific establishment.  More recently, Russian parapsychologists have introduced the notion of bioplasma, which is explained as a radiant energy field interpenetrating physical organisms."
-   Georg Feuerstein, "Yoga: The Technology of Ecstasy," 1989, p.258.  




Breathing: Bibliography, Quotations, Notes

The Yoga of Breath: A Step-by-Step Guide to Pranayama  By Richard Rosen.  Foreword by Rodney Yee.  Illustrations by Kim Fraley.  Boston, Shambhala, 2002.  Index, notes, 304 pages.  ISBN: 1570628890.  VSCL.    

Pranayama Beyond the Fundamentals: An In-Depth Guide to Yogic Breathing  By Richard Rosen.  Includes an instructional audio CD.  Boston, Shambhala, 2006.  Index, bibliography, glossary, notes, 214 pages.  ISBN: 1590302982.  VSCL. 

Light on Prānāyāma: The Yogic Art of Breathing  By B.K.S. Iyengar.  Introduction by Yehudi Menuhin.  New York, Crossroad Pub. Co., 2012.  Originally published in 1985 in English.  Index, glossary, appendices, 296 pages.  ISBN: 9780824506865.  VSCL.