Breathing Through Your Feet

Despite varied Taoist practices that promote the notion of breathing through your feet, the lungs are - and this can be stated categorically at last - actually positioned nearer to the chest than the ankles.

However, despite this apparent physical anomaly, an awareness of this anatomical fact can teach us about the act of absorption: Like a plant draws energy from its roots and its leaves, so too can we draw energy from the ground. For it is indeed the soles of our feet that maintain this link , that serve as our roots into the earth and - in Taoist terms - ground us. Grounding here has little to do with coffee beans. It is used in Tai Chi and means the ability to centre yourself by simply re-connecting to the earth, and in a sense - feeding our energy levels.

How does it work?
1. Maintain the 3 points of contact and balance. There is one point beneath the big toe, one beneath the little toe and one in the middle of the heel. Keep all three in equal contact with the floor whilst standing. Be aware of any habits of moving unconsciously towards one point or another - of moving from one side to another.
2. Unlock the joints and relax the muscles to allow the lungs to pull up the energy from the ground. Use your imagination, think of smoke or water or light travelling up through the 3 points and into your chest.

Why Bother?
1. If you learn to breathe through your feet you can still eat, drink and talk at the same time as breathing!
2. Perhaps less sarcastically, your body learns to act as a complete unit - inter-related, inter-connected with the earth, and part of something greater than yourself. Its a start on a long process of Taoist change. Sometimes, small things such as a change in thought can initiate much greater changes. Start with the basics of breath and interconnectivity and you will develop a strong base.

Questions and Answers:
1. Should I sit or stand when thinking of the three points?
Either.

2. Will it help me be better balanced?
Yes. Keep the knees slightly unlocked and stop the hips and waist tilting backwards. Align your body and you will open up the pathways and find yourself with a greater sense of balance.

3. But I don´t feel anything at all?
Try Patience. Try Imagination. Try removing the hiking boots.