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Old 10-16-2005, 04:56 AM   #10
Mark Uttech
Dojo: Yoshin-ji Aikido of Marshall
Location: Wisconsin
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,224
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Re: Techniques for breathing?

I learned long ago to "focus on the outbreath", and so I began a 'Kokyu ho' practice when driving my car. You breathe in through your nose to the count of four and breathe out through your mouth making a silent "ha" sound to the count of eight.I was surprised that that simple private practice of breathing 20 minutes everyday had such a huge change on my aikido. I was a 5th kyu then. The practice has made such a difference that I continue breathing practice every day, twenty years later.
It is a practice that I can do wherever I am, and I do, whenever it comes to mind. Doing just a ten minute practice slows your breathing down, so that when your mind turns to something else, you can notice that your breathing is still slow. In gassho.
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