Breath, Qi, Yi, Dantian & Kidneys
Jan 30, 2021
Breath, specifically reverse-breathing, is used to condition the respiration part of the involuntary/voluntary tissues associated with breath and body movement. Reverse-breathing/'moving the dantian' is used to pull those tissues, although not all of those breathing-related tissues are passive: they can be actively contracted because the respiration-related tissues are partially controlled by the motor cortex (voluntary), in addition to the brain-stem (involuntary). Movement and the intent, or "yi", is also used to condition the respiration-related tissues.
However, a point to note is that a person cannot develop the dantian without both reverse-breathing and the movement and stretching of the respiration-related tissues. Full development of the dantian will include the winding motion of silkreeling.
The tensile-elastic tissues (aka the "qi-tissues" or "qi") are what connect the dantian at the center of the body to the extremities like hands and feet. To convey forces from the dantian to the extremities optimally requires that both the dantian be developed and the connecting "qi-tissues" to also be developed/strengthened. The stronger the connection from dantian to extremities, the better force can be transmitted from the middle (and ground-solidity). Much time in traditional Chinese Martial Arts (CMA's) is on training the dantian and its supportive tissue to augment our normal strength.
It takes time and persistent effort to develop the dantian area, its movement and its coordination. As the dantian develops, the muscles in that area become markedly stronger and the ability to pressurize the dantian increases. Some traditional Chinese talk about the "air pressure" as "qi" in the dantian, so once again, the term "qi" can be confusing. However, pressure of a sort in the dantian is indeed part of the development of the dantian, the body connection, and related issues.
The dantian area, in my experience, develops first, but you gradually have to learn to inflate the areas around the kidneys and quadratus lumborum, as part of the whole development of the "qi" systems within the body.
The dantian area can be thought of as the major nexus for mainly Closing forces on the front of the body. The backside of the dantian is the mingmen area, situated between the two kidney areas. The mingmen/kidney area can be thought of as the major nexus for the Opening forces along the backside and outside of the torso and limbs (see an acupuncture doll to understand the relationship of the Yang and Yin channels for Opening and Closing.
The point is that not only does the dantian area have to be strengthened and developed, but the kidney area has to be developed, too. Yang forces are often said to originate from the kidneys because they are at the control center along the Yang-channel line on the back of the body. Yin forces are always shown as originating from the dantian or, more accurately, returning to the dantian.
So, if you thought your job was over if you were developing some dantian, there's a bit more to do. ;)
This corkscrew strength does not initiate from the foot. It initiates from the trunk of the body; it initiates from the waist, from the kidney area. It transfers down toward the foot, and then it rebounds from the foot back up and on through the body. Don't forget, everything initiates from the waist; it then goes down to the foot and bounces back up from the foot. Otherwise, if you are just
using the strength of the foot, it will not be as powerful. When the power is really coming through, its expression is not limited to the hands; it could be in the elbow; in your hip; in your knee;
in your thigh. In Chen style, whenever there is movement—not necessarily a striking move, but whenever you have movement—you have this chan su chin. Chen Xiaowang
Here's a brief excerpt of a qigong done in Chen Village: notice the expansion of the kidney area during the practice:
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