Review of Yin and Yang Breathing Qigong Exercise

One of the key aspects of Qigong that many students underestimate or get wrong, is breathing. It sounds simple. We all breathe and we have all been doing it since we were born. How hard can it be? Well, you would be surprised, because many of us don’t focus enough on our breath and as a result, we may not be benefiting from it as we should.

You need to breathe to live, but you need to breathe properly if you want to be healthy. This is something that many Qigong schools overlook, which means many students never heal the way they should and never reach their full potential. The Spring Forest Qigong Centre, on the other hand, makes sure that all of their students have a firm grasp of this and one of the main ways they do that is through their energy breathing courses.

Energy Breathing

Although short, the Energy Breathing practice is one of the most essential that you can find at the SFQ. This is something that all students should have in their arsenal, something that they should look to perform on a regular basis. And it’s not just something that you should take 5 or 10 minutes out of your day to perform either, it’s something that should always be with you. After all, Energy Breathing is all about controlling your breath, about focusing on getting more out of it and making sure that you are breathing properly at all times. 

As mentioned on the SFQ website, the Energy Breathing meditation can help with all of the following:

• Relaxation of the body
• Balance of the emotions
• Calming of the mind
• More energy and vitality
• Increased oxygen update (more fuel for your body and mind)
• Stress relief (and stress is the leading cause of illness)
• Lowering of high blood pressure — often dramatically

If you are still not convinced then simply listen to the introduction that comes with this download/CD. This is provided by Master Lin himself, who goes through a long list of reasons as to why this practice is so important and why it should be performed on a regular basis. As mentioned by Master Lin, proper breathing will lead to better oxygenation, which in turn will help with a long list of common ailments, including everything from fatigue to improved mental clarity.

The Energy Breathing guide can be purchased as a standalone guide or it can be purchased as part of the level 2 Qigong for Healing course. Energy Breathing is not strictly a level 2 course and is actually not tied to any level, which means it is perfect even for beginners. But if you want to progress through the levels in order, then you should look to take this guide as part of the aforementioned level 2 course and not by itself.

Enhanced Energy Breathing

Enhanced Energy Breathing is an updated, improved version of the Energy Breathing guide mentioned above. It is not something you should look to purchase instead of, but something you should purchase as well as. Think of it like a sequel. So, the best way to approach it would be to make sure you have mastered the first Energy Breathing practice first, and then move onto Enhanced Energy Breathing when you are confident in your abilities and are ready to go one step further.

You can not find Enhanced Energy Breathing as part of any other course, but you can download it as a standalone course. Just like the first Energy Breathing guide, this is led by Master Lin, but there are no preparations or introductions, as they were covered in the previous course. Therefore, you should already know why you are practicing, what that practice can do for you and how to prepare for it by the time you take this guide.

Benefits of Proper Breathing

There is no end to what proper breathing can do for your mental and physical health. It’s essential, and if you do not get this right then you may struggle to get the full benefits from all of the other courses that you take at the SFQ. That’s because proper breathing sets the tone for everything that follows, it is the foundation on which active exercises, healing meditations and everything else is built upon.

As a result, you could say that the Energy Breathing practice is the most essential guide at the SFQ and that it can literally help with every single ailment, every single pain and every single disease.