The
Yogi Complete Breath is the fundamental
breath of the entire Yogi Science of
Breath, and the student must fully
acquaint himself with it, and master it
perfectly before he can hope to obtain
results from the other forms of
breath-mentioned and given in this book.
He should not be content with
half-learning it, but should go to work in
earnest until it becomes his natural
method of breathing. This will require
work, time and patience, but without these
things nothing is ever accomplished. There
is no royal road to the Science of Breath,
and the student must be prepared to
practice and study in earnest if he expect
to receive results. The results obtained
by a complete mastery of the Science of
Breath are great, and no one who has
attained them would willingly go back to
the old methods, and he will tell his
friends that he considers himself amply
repaid for all his work. We say these
things now, that you may fully understand
the necessity and importance of mastering
this fundamental method of Yogi Breathing,
instead of passing it by and trying some
of the attractive looking variations given
later on in this book. Again, we say to
you: Start right, and right results will
follow; but neglect your foundations and
your entire building will topple over
sooner or later.
Perhaps the better way to teach you
how to develop the Yogi Complete Breath,
would be to give you simple directions
regarding the breath itself, and then
follow up the same with general remarks
concerning it, and then later on giving
exercises for developing the chest,
muscles and lungs which have been allowed
to remain in an undeveloped condition by
imperfect methods of breathing. Right here
we wish to say that this Complete Breath
is not a forced or abnormal thing, but on
the contrary is a going back to first
principles--a return to Nature. The
healthy adult savage and the healthy
infant of civilization both breathe in
this manner, but civilized man has adopted
unnatural methods of living, clothing,
etc., and has lost his birthright. And we
wish to remind the reader that the
Complete Breath does not necessarily call
for the complete filling of the lungs at
every inhalation. One may inhale the
average amount of air, using the Complete
Breathing Method and distributing the air
inhaled, be the quantity large or small,
to all parts of the lungs. But one should
inhale a series of full Complete Breaths
several times a day, whenever opportunity
offers, in order to keep the system in
good order and condition.
The following simple exercise will
give you a clear idea of what the Complete
Breath is:
(1) Stand or sit erect.
Breathing through the nostrils, inhale
steadily, first filling the lower part of
the lungs, which is accomplished by
bringing into play the diaphragm, which
descending exerts a gentle pressure on the
abdominal organs, pushing forward the
front walls of the abdomen. Then fill the
middle part of the lungs, pushing out the
lower ribs, breast-bone and chest. Then
fill the higher portion of the lungs,
protruding the upper chest, thus lifting
the chest, including the upper six or
seven pairs of ribs. In the final
movement, the lower part of the abdomen
will be slightly drawn in, which movement
gives the lungs a support and also helps
to fill the highest part of the lungs.
At first reading it may
appear that this breath consists of three
distinct movements. This, however, is not
the correct idea. The inhalation is
continuous, the entire chest cavity from
the lowered diaphragm to the highest point
of the chest in the region of the
collar-bone, being expanded with a uniform
movement. Avoid a jerky series of
inhalations, and strive to attain a steady
continuous action. Practice will soon
overcome the tendency to divide the
inhalation into three movements, and will
result in a uniform continuous breath. You
will be able to complete the inhalation in
a couple of seconds after a little
practice.
(2) Retain the breath a few
seconds.
(3) Exhale quite slowly,
holding the chest in a firm position, and
having the abdomen in a little and lifting
it upward slowly as the air leaves the
lungs. When the air is entirely exhaled,
relax the chest and abdomen. A little
practice will render this part of the
exercise easy, and the movement once
acquired will be afterwards performed
almost automatically.
It will be seen that by this method
of breathing all parts of the respiratory
apparatus is brought into action, and all
parts of the lungs, including the most
remote air cells, are exercised. The chest
cavity is expanded in all directions. You
will also notice that the Complete Breath
is really a combination of Low, Mid and
High Breaths, succeeding each other
rapidly in the order given, in such a
manner as to form one uniform, continuous,
complete breath.
You will find it quite a help to
you if you will practice this breath
before a large mirror, placing the hands
lightly over the abdomen so that you may
feel the movements. At the end of the
inhalation, it is well to occasionally
slightly elevate the shoulders, thus
raising the collarbone and allowing the
air to pass freely into the small upper
lobe of the right lung, which place is
sometimes the breeding place of
tuberculosis.
At the beginning of practice, you
may have more or less trouble in acquiring
the Complete Breath, but a little practice
will make perfect, and when you have once
acquired it you will never willingly
return to the old methods.
