“Qi” and “Prana” are names for our life force energy or bioelectricity. The term “Qi” comes from the Chinese medical tradition and “Prana” is the Ayurvedic (Indian medicine) term, from ancient Sanskrit. It is everywhere: in the heavens, in the earth, in each of us. Life force energy is something that keeps us grounded in the moment. If you want more energy, the first thing on which to focus should be your breathing. If you breathe more deeply and completely, you’ll get more oxygen into your blood stream, which in turn will give you more energy. It is also suggested that deep and complete breathing allows your diaphragm to move up and down, massaging and stimulating the internal organs.

I used to be a shallow chest breather. Perhaps the only time I really filled and emptied my lungs was while doing exercise. And it seems I lived most of my life in the flight or fight mode, reacting to every little stressor from my reptilian or limbic brain. I had terrible digestion for most of my life, anxiety, headaches, and was not what you would consider high-energy. I did try to exercise fairly regularly when I was in my twenties and thirties but I believe I did not really learn to focus on my breath until I began to practice yoga in my forties and to chant as part of my Buddhist practice. The chronic pain that previously could only be alleviated by acid reflux medication was cured within a year of beginning to chant and engaging in deep and complete breathing twice a day. The more I chanted and practiced yoga and allowed my body and mind to return to that ability we are born with of breathing from the belly, the calmer I became. Some of my yoga classes involved only focusing on the mechanics of breathing for the entire class. I did not learn if that type of yoga had a specific name or not but I found it very beneficial. One teacher finally gave me an image that I find very helpful in regulating my breath: 1) fill the belly down into the pelvis, then up into the sides, and finally into the back of the lungs; and 2) exhale completely. I check in with my body several times a day to make sure this is the type of breathing I am using.

Have you ever been to the doctor and they asked you to breath deeply and hold it for a certain part of the examination and then told you could go back to breathing normally? Well, the last couple of times I’ve been in that situation, after requests to take a deep breath, the practitioner has felt the need to repeat to me SEVERAL times that I could go back to breathing normally, I guess assuming that I would like to resume shallow chest breathing. I’ve resisted the urge to say that indeed I was breathing normally. And wouldn’t they like to join me in a round of normal, healthy breathing?

In Ayurveda, Pranayama is the practice of deep breathing. The physical manifestation of Prana is breath. Prana is the bridge between body, mind, and consciousness. Ayurveda says that breathing is the physical part of thinking, while thinking is the psychological part of breathing. Ayurveda recommends different types of breathing: each one to help balance each of the three different body types and imbalances that are defined by that tradition. To get a glimpse of what this entails, watch this video. (Note: you do not need to be able to sit in Lotus position as the practitioners in the video do. Simply sit crossed-legged and do what you must to be comfortable. I typically need to put a small towel under my ankles for padding.)

The practice of Qigong is the cultivation of Qi, which requires energy, time, and patience to accomplish. (The Chinese terms “Gong,” “Kung,” “Gongfu,” and “Kung Fu” can be used interchangeably and all mean any study or training that requires energy and time to learn.) I began practicing Qigong about five months ago and am enjoying the sense of increased energy I am experiencing. If you would like to see a sample, please check out this video.

Suggested reading: Qigong for Arthritis by Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming